The most I have put in is 4.9 gallons. I bet 5.1 is total capacity, remember that you can not fill it completely full due to the way the fill cap is designed. It always leaves an air space at the top to allow the gas to expand. On the 4.9 gal fill up, I did the slow top off at the end and had the fuel above the metal holed part in the filler neck. When I got home and parked the bike, I lost a pint or two of gas as it warmed up, it pushed it right out the over fill tube.