[HokieBill]

I think that the assertion that a fuel pump will overheat if the fuel level is low is an "old wives tale". The fuel pump is cooled by the fuel that flows through it, not by being immersed. And remember that the pump flows FAR in excess of what is being used, with the remainder being returned to the tank continuously. The heat sink theory is baloney, too. With the fuel sloshing around the vast expanse of the tank, it will cool easily.

As far as driving past the "0" miles display, I've driven at least 50 miles past 0, and still only filled up 11.7 gallons. So even then, there was plenty of gas left to "cool" the pump

Ditto to Reddog99's logic. If (and I think that's a big if) the pump needs cooling, the fuel sloshing around and the fuel traveling to and from the engine will do that. On the other hand I do think it is a really bad idea to actually run out of gas. That can't be good for either the pump or injectors since the fuel is bound to provide some amount of lubrication.

I do not know why the pump is in the tank but I would guess it has to do with easier self-priming rather than cooling. Self-priming would not be a problem on a motorcycle since the pump is below the tank.

 

[HokieBill]

I bow to your greatness Norm201. Great investigative work.