fuel gauge for bike

4wdingman said:
HI I was thinging if you could make a fuel gauge for a motorized bike.
My idea is that you have wire going into the tank connected to something that will float ,so when it full it will float to top and will push the wire out of the tank and have a gauge on the handlebars to measure the wire.
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Very "Piper Cub-ish".

Hmmmm a new paint scheme?
 
When I was younger we had a lawn mower that had a "Cat's Eye" mounted at almost the bottom on the side of the tank. As long as it was amber you had gas. I think it was a hex style made of plastic with a little sight glass built into it. I do remember that it had a round cork gasket for a seal. You just unscrewed it and replaced the gasket. Also that's how you cleaned the tank. Gas will not burn. Fumes will! If I were to drill into a metal tank I would fill it to the top with water and then drill the hole. Any members that do not know what there doing! gas can KILL you. Fumes will turn the tank into a bomb! I think we got the gaskets at Western Auto. It's been years.
 
I think the (J-3 Cub) floating cork with a wire sticking through the cap would work. If I do it I will put some rigid tubing soldered to the cap to hold the wire straight up and the gas won't slosh out. If you make one let us know how and how good.
 
I'll post some pic when I finish the build and I figure out how to post pictures but it is really as easy as 2 holes, 2 brass elbows and a peice of clear fuel line.
 
Carry a Water Bottle in it's proper holder, I prefer a silver color so Sun doesn't overheat it, use it to carry spare mixed fuel, just in case you run out...problem solved...or call CAA,AAA for a refill from you're cell phone....lol
 
Back in the 60's I logged some flight time in a 1946 Ercoupe. It had three fuel tanks and the only gauge was a piece of wire with a cork on the bottom that extended through a hole in the cap. Each tank had its on gauge. Wire was bent into a "hook" at the top so even when it hit bottom you still had some reserve left. Must work........I never ran out of fuel (well almost one time but not the gauge fault).
 
lol trailblazerpete, it's not so much running out of fuel I'm concerned with (A: can pedal B: can look in tank) it's simply the "stylie factor" I'm after heh, but yeah - good tip tho ;)

ut1205 - I had a buddy with a Super Koala (ultralight version of Piper Cub) with that epic "cork & wire" gauge, talk about a simple and reliable mechanism lol, o'course my lil plane had a semi-clear tank in the wing above - so I had but to look up ;)
 
I like the idea of a cork and spoke in a small tube soldered to the gas cap,wondering though, where do you find a tube the diameter of a spoke?...might also look cool with a small dice glued to the protruding end of the spoke....
 
Ok,so I drilled a small diameter hole the same dia.as the spoke,inserted spoke through the cap,attatched a cork,now I have a gas gauge,that simple...Full tank the spoke is high out of the tank,empty tank,the spoke end sits on the gas cap...
 

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I checked those links, too long,and,according to my Lawn Mower that has one,that cap wont fit...these are threaded onto the gas tank filler...
 
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XFired said:
Ok,so I drilled a small diameter hole the same dia.as the spoke,inserted spoke through the cap,attatched a cork,now I have a gas gauge,that simple...Full tank the spoke is high out of the tank,empty tank,the spoke end sits on the gas cap...
Click to expand...

can you put up a picture of what you did to the cap, im interested in making a simple gauge
 
The best way without making a gauge (if you have a rear rack) is to simply bungee a spare jerry can (1 Gallon works alright for normal riding, 2 Gallon gives it a good enough range for serious riding). Just pull over and fill up when you run out. Also helps to make the premixing less irritating and lets drivers know they are not passing a bicycle.
 
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