If you put it on the side stand and fill it to the brim your gauge should register as full - I always filled mine up while sitting on it and when I tried it on the side stand my needle started registering full. Also be careful not splashing fuel on the tank. I fail at this every time ...

 

I fill it while parked on kickstand. I fill to the metal orifice.

Filling while sitting on sounds kinda sketchy to me?

Too many things that could go wrong.

 

If I am riding right away for some distance I will fill mine as full as I can make it. If it is going to be parked, especially in the sun I will not go quite as full, with expansion the gas will,just get pushed out the overflow tube.


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with expansion, the gas will just get pushed out the overflow tube.

I guess I better find this, see where it comes out at and where it drains to.

 

When you're inches away from being a human fireball, I opt for filling with the bike on the kickstand. Of course it's different in the States. Here we don't fill our own tank. If you're a cager they even wash your windows.

 

I have always filled my previous bikes while sitting on them, never though about it other than how convenient it was..then I read on a forum someone griping about how the Shell attendant told him he had to get off his bikes for safety reasons, and I watched an episode of 1000 ways to die where a guy filling a plastic gas can that was sitting on his pickup truck lit up because of a static charge, and the fact that this is my first bike where the gas cap is on the side of the tank instead of the center...now I know better!

 

I fill it on the side stand. Then fill it to just past the bottom of the neck. Seems to get as much fuel as possible.

 

I get the question as filling with the kickstand down tilts the bike so you are wondering if you are actually filling it up completely. I tried both ways and fill with the kickstand but fill to just above the orifice to make sure i fill it completely. Unofficially i noticed that filling up while sitting on the bike didn't register as full as I thought it would on the gas needle. But that was just a one time observation

 

I fill up on side stand as close to the top as I can but careful not to spill fuel on to tank - denim finish does not clean too well!. Only filled twice so far and both times with the pump on the left. On the right the nozzle would be nearer to the pump but at the wrong angle

 

Side stand, pump on either side, but with me always standing on the opposite side of the tank cap so that I can actually see what I'm doing. I must be getting old- bending over the bike to look down into the tank is beginning to hurt my back

 

+1 on what Hockeyref said. I am almost always several miles from my destination when I fill up so, side stand as full as I can get it without the cap pushing it out.

 

Someone once told me they never fill their bike up while sitting on it because if there's a fire (and fires at the pump are more common than you think) you can't get away quickly. That's not why I fill it on the side stand, but, it's something to think about; they've got a point!

I fill it on the sidestand, fill it up to the filler neck. If you're having issue with fuel driblling on the tank, there's a couple steps to avoid that. First, do NOT let the nozzle dip BELOW the fuel level. Make sure it doesn't get submerged. Second, hold the nozzle up in the filler for a second or two after you finish filling, tap it gently on the filler neck, then put it away. That's what I always do. Although in the end, a little gas won't hurt anything. The clearcoat on the paint is resistant to fuel (assuming a factory paint job, you'll have to check with who painted it if it's custom!)

If you do get more fuel sitting on the bike how much more is it? Seems like some people overthink this. You get what, an extra 1/8th of a gallon? An extra 5 miles? If that even? Seems easier just to hop off and fill it. I usually like to take that time to stand up anyway. I have long legs so I like to stand and stretch 'em!

 

Always on the side stand. I'll have to try it from the left. I always fill from the right and have to be careful of the hot pipes. If you fill past the bottom of the neck insert, the cold gas will expand in the heat and dribble out the over flow tube. That mostly happens in hot weather but I've seen in caused by engine heat too. I never sit on my bike when fuelling, I want be able to move fast if something lights up.

 

Fuel tank filling

That brings back memories of by-gone days. We pay a person $8.00 and hour to watch a guy making $100.00 and hour fill his own tank here. I remember those days when you pulled up, sat in the car until someone came out and pumped your gas, now they don't care if you buy from them or not....buy gas, check the oil, wash the windshield, look up your wifes skirt while cleaning the windshield, what a life style now gone..

 

service station

That brings back memories of by-gone days. We pay a person $8.00 and hour to watch a guy making $100.00 and hour fill his own tank here. I remember those days when you pulled up, sat in the car until someone came out and pumped your gas, now they don't care if you buy from them or not....buy gas, check the oil, wash the windshield, look up your wifes skirt while cleaning the windshield, what a life style now gone..

I worked in a service station for 13 years. That was the best part of the job.

 

With stand down like to get off strech the legs and move around a little.

 

fillg tank

I got the needle to peg full with the bike on the stand. If you think about it, you might be able to get a tad more fuel in if standing upright, BUT, I think if you were to then place the bike on the stand, the fuel would pool up to the left side and most likely be considered over filled according to Kawasaki's manual. As others have stated, its too easy to have a mishap, I think, if filling up whilst on the bike. Sounds like a perfect opportunity for "Murphys Law" to come into play; "what can go wrong will go wrong".

 

Fuel while it's on the side stand.

I can get a meaningful amount more fuel in the tank if I add above the bottom of the filler neck, but as someone previously mentioned the risk of expansion sending some out the overflow/vent tubes increases the higher you go.

 

Sitting on the bike, legs spread, and an accidental overflow runs down the tank to the front of the seat. That will burn like hell!!

 

You find what works for you and go with it. There is no sacred ritual that must be performed before the petroleum gods will allow you to anoint your motorcycle with their nectar. On the bike, off the bike, left side, right side, straddling the front wheel...all of them work and they each have their advantages and disadvantages.

A few drops of gas on your hot engine or exhaust isn't going to send the whole block up in a fireball or I wouldn't be typing this.

 

A few drops of gas on your hot engine or exhaust isn't going to send the whole block up in a fireball or I wouldn't be typing this.

8,623 times someone flicks a cigarette out the window and nothing happens. The 8,624th time it somehow manages to set the grass next to the road on fire. Are you sure the gas on the hot engine or exhaust doesn't work by the same rules? Same with the boat. I boat burned on Lake Pleasant this month because someone launched and started it without running the blower first. It was always okay before.

I fill mine with the side stand down, up to the metal inside the neck. My manual says, and I heard this from one of those radio talk show mechanics about cars, that overfilling can pollute some filter and mess up how the engine runs. This does not happen with older bikes or cars. That is why you aren't supposed to top off the car after the pump clicks off. Someone who understands this better than me could always chime in.


Romans, I shake off that last drop into my tank because I am too cheap to waste that much money. Jack Benny and I would have gotten along well.

 

i always fill up to the brim while on the kickstand that way there is always some space for expansion to occur. i mean the difference between fillin up on kickstand and upright is not that much. maybe get another 10-15 miles from it?

 

Five gallons of gas will expand about 0.1 gallons for every 20C (36F) temperature increase. So at 50 mpg, if you go five miles after filling, that would burn the amount that would have expanded with a 20C increase. I usually just fill up on way to work so I don't worry how full and how much it might have expanded. Of course it probably starts out cooler since it gets pumped out of an underground tank and it probably warms up pretty well sitting over the engine and maybe sitting in the sun. So maybe it's a 40C increase? That would require a 10 mile ride after filling.


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In the one time I did it, I filled to the brim partway though a ride knowing that a little extra cushion on the gas would allow me to get home with confidence rather than concern, without another fuel stop.

Just so happens it was a hot day and we took a short break after filling. Apparently the heat soak was just enough to cause some gas to spew out of the overflow/vents because within the time of that short break I noticed a small puddle of something under my bike. It was gas from vent/overflow tubes.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not promoting anybody spraying hot parts with gas, but I have had a literal couple of drops of gas hit my exhaust before and I didn't go up in a fireball. It did make a nice little sizzling sound but that's it.

I read about a lot more motorcycle v. car fatalities than I read about fatalities at gas stations. As with everything else, don't be a dumbass and you'll be a lot better off.

 

I am confused about the idea that filling up with the bike level can allow you to get more gas in the tank than filling while on the stand. Seems to be generally accepted in this thread, but it just doesn't make sense to me. If the bike is leaned left on the stand, the filler cap on the right is pretty much the highest point on the tank. So if you fill up that way you must get more in than filling up with the bike level, which lowers the fill cap relative to the tank.

Rereading, that sounds a little more snarky than I mean. I'm not emotionally invested in this - do what makes you happy! But I am puzzled!

 

sizzling sounds

Only sizzling sounds I want to hear is the sound of a steak sizzling on the grill or in a pan.

 

I always fill with kick stand down and fill to the bottom of fill neck. Lately it seems to be 3.4 or 3.6 gallons with between 190-200 miles on the odometer. I absolutely love this gas tank!

I suggest that you never over fill. We have plenty range on the 900 without doing that.

 

I always fill with kick stand down and fill to the bottom of fill neck..

Ditto.

Also, to keep fuel off the tank, I use one of the complimentary paper towels to catch any drops coming off the pump when I remove it.
Almost every fuel station has paper towels near the window squeegee.

For what it's worth, a few drops on a hot engine or pipes ain't gonna 'splode ya.

 

I am not 100% sure on this but I think it is actually illegal here to fill while siting on the bike. I wouldn't anyway because it is just too awkward..