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fuel gauge jumpy
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:36 am
by Max
My Paso's fuel gauge is very jumpy. I have had this bike since new and don't remeber if it was like this in the begining. Is every one's like that? There is supose to be a balancer or something in the circuit usally.

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 4:09 pm
by Skins
I'm not much on electrics. but the mechanical side of it is quite easy. It's easy to take the mechanism out of the tank from underneath. You can see how it works quite clearly. I got mine to read accurately, and the warning light come on at the right time.
You might find the contacts on yours need touching up.
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:17 pm
by Max
Thank you Skins. I will get on it the next time I take the tank off.
Re: fuel gauge jumpy
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 7:37 pm
by pasosardegna
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:51 am
by Marinus
Skins wrote:
I'm not much on electrics. but the mechanical side of it is quite easy. It's easy to take the mechanism out of the tank from underneath. You can see how it works quite clearly. I got mine to read accurately, and the warning light come on at the right time.
You might find the contacts on yours need touching up.
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MIne has the same problem. Shows empty at when its only used 12 litres. Skins, was the problem on yours only mechanical?
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:15 am
by Finnpaso
Skins know, what to do to things to get it accurate, but i haven seen/hear anybody, who have managed to get that "jumpy" away from 750 Paso meter

It can be, that heavier floater can balance little. Does anybody know, why there is going 3 wires inside fuel meter in dash? Need "fuel meter specialist" now

I have tried long time ago connect big electrolyte capacitor between meter input and earth, but that didnt help to "jumpy"..... there have been dicussion about this long time ago, here, or in mailing list.... Btw, 907IE have very stable fuel meter compared to 750 Paso

"REFINED BIKE"(907IE),like have told earlier many times

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:54 pm
by Skins
if i remember correctly, two wires go to the gauge and one goes to earth. i'll check the wiring diagram later to confirm.
yes, the problem was basically mechanical, but getting the low fuel warning light to come on at the right time meant adjusting the contacts for the light to make contact at the right time.
to make the fuel level reading accurate and steady, i made a heavier float, and changed the angle and length of the float arm by bending. The longer you make the arm, the steadier will be the reading the reading. But there are some baffles in that area of the tank that you have to work around. It takes time to get the best result, just as it does with my 'Ducati Cuddle' DellOrto synchronizing and idle-setting technique, but it can be done. You have to take the whole filler cap assembly off so you can get your hand in there.
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:52 pm
by Marinus
So Skins as you may have gathered I bought the bike. I rode it 1100km home from CHCH on the weekend. I fought with it for the first leg up to Kiakora. Well really I fought with it most of the way home. At slow speed it wants to fall into corners so bad I found myself locking my inside elbow. And at high speed it gets a wobble. I could go on and on but although the tires had a reasonable amount of grip on them I figured they must be at least 4 years old. By the time I got home, the back was bouncing around the corners. I pulled her out of the shed to wash her yesterday morning and the back tire was flat and had worn really quickly after about Toupo. So I’ll get new rubber under her. She is running the Michelins and I have been through the site to look for alternatives. What do you run on yours?
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 7:58 pm
by Skins
there is no alternative, i'm afraid. or at least no easy one. you will find material on the site about this problem, which is the most awkward Paso problem. I suggest you put new tyres on her and make contact with Paso owners up there and see if they can advise you about the handling. They do have extremely light steering compared to every other bike I've ridden, but that's something I love about them. It is delightful once you're used to it, assuming there is no other handling problem, eg loose steering head breaings, etc. you can slow the steering by backing off the rear suspension, and having the rear axle in the high position in the swing arm, br rotating it in the eccentrics.
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:04 pm
by Gwenadu
I figured they must be at least 4 years old. By the time I got home, the back was bouncing around the corners. I pulled her out of the shed to wash her yesterday morning and the back tire was flat and had worn really quickly after about Toupo. So I’ll get new rubber under her. She is running the Michelins and I have been through the site to look for alternatives. What do you run on yours?
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have you check-up the pressure of your tyres? It is surprising how a little low pressure(~2bars) makes the Paso heavy to drive...
Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 6:20 am
by Paul
Marinus,
I had a similar problem to you. This was my first Ducati and I was expecting the legendary Ducati handling. It handled like a pig and would just drop in to corners. I got to the point where I thought it was me. I was lent a Buell Lightning at a track and within two laps I was leaning this over further than I had ever dared with the Paso.
I continued to use the tyres that it came with as replacements were unobtainable then. I did have a spare set that were given to me with the bike, but it seemed wasteful to use these up.
"Fortunately" I snapped off the front tyre valve when inflating the tyre. As I had to take the wheel in to a tyre shop to get the valve replaced I decided to have the other tyres fitted at the same time. This was the best decision I have made as it completely transformed the handling of the bike.
Before looking at items like the head bearings etc. replace the tyres and have a test ride. You'll probably find that this has cured the problem.
Paul
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:48 am
by Fraser
Guys,
I change of mind set is required. Instead of a fuel gauge that is jumpy consider it as being highly accurate. So accurate, that every motion of the fuel in the tank is faithfully replicated by the motion of the needle on the gauge.
My fuel gauge is acutely accurate and I'm happy about it.
Fraser.
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:52 am
by Marinus
I put the new tires on and what a transformation. After a few hundred Km’s I was still concerned about the bike running wide when exiting corners. After it was a major contributor to me having a we off I decided to make a priority of sorting out the suspension. I had noticed that the static sag and loaded sag on the front were next to nil so I dismantled the front end and found that there were 32mm spacers in the top of the forks. I removed them and put in new 5w fork oil and that has fixed the problem. I also put a little more preload on the rear to get an even bounce and sag. I have just come back from a 300km ride through a beautiful stretch of winding road in the Coromandel. Now the PASO is handling closer to what it was built to do. It was a magic ride. Great weather, scenery, twisty roads and a setup with which to enjoy it. It was a real buzz!
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:01 pm
by devildad
My fuel gage was flipping out of control. Checked tank sensor, fine, when I went to reassemble I checked all contacts, one on the tank disintegrated. Replaced it and now it works fine.