Idiot of the Day Award goes to me!

Message

bluecamel · #1 Unread post by **bluecamel** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:46 am

I've only had my bike for a couple of weeks and for most of that it's been sitting in a garage waiting for me to be able to afford a part I need. So, I actually was sort of broke from buying the part and could only put a couple bucks worth in the tank. Combine that with the fact that I'm not entirely sure how long an entire tank even lasts me yet and I was really enjoying riding again and not paying attention to my miles. Well, I ran out of gas on the interstate and by the time I knew what was going on, it was too late to switch to reserve.

And apparently my reserve doesn't have enough for me to start it up and go a couple of miles, as I thought it would. You would think that pushing an almost 600 pound machine a mile and a half, partly up hill, will be enough to keep me from forgetting this ever, ever again. I sure as "poo poo" hope so.

vladmech · #2 Unread post by **vladmech** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:09 am

It could also take a bit for your reserve to kick in. I dont know why exactly, but I ran out of gas also, and when I switched over to reserve it took about 45-60 seconds before my bike would start up again.

flynrider · Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:18 am

Someone made almost this exact post about a week ago. You've got a problem in your fuel system.

Assuming that you weren't already riding on reserve (accidentally) when you ran out, something is keeping you from using the reserve part of your tank. It's usually anywhere between 1/2 and 1 gallon, so you should be able to go pretty far after switching.

I'll see if I can find the other post and I'll update here. I believe he ended up having a cruddy fuel tank and a clogged riser on the petcock.

Update : Here's the other post http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopi ... c&start=15

bluecamel · Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:25 am

Actually, I remember reading that post...something about a tower in your tank

I definitely was not in reserve to begin with.

But maybe I have the same thing vladmech is talking about and I just didn't wait long enough, thought that doesn't sound good either since you should be able to switch to reserve mid-flight.

Now I wish I had tried it again after sitting. Is there some way that I can test the reserve without an empty main tank? If I can switch to reserve and start, does that tell me anything?

flynrider · Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:35 am

bluecamel wrote: If I can switch to reserve and start, does that tell me anything?

Just starting won't tell you anything. Your bike can start and run for awhile on just the fuel that is in the float bowls. If you ride it around on reserve for awhile and it doesn't die, that would indicate that your reserve fuel flow is not clogged.

Did you fill the bike up when you got to the gas station? The total amount of fuel you put in vs. the tank capacity, should tell you if the reserve amount was still in the tank.

bluecamel · Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:40 am

No, I couldn't fill up. The gas station I got to had no gas in the ground anymore. They now run a couple side businesses out of the shop. Kind of strange.

I ended up carrying gas back to the bike, so I'm not sure how much I got in there. 3 gallons, I'd guess, and I couldn't see the gas level in the tank at that point. Maybe if I feel adventurous this weekend, I'll carry gas with me and run out on purpose. I'd really like to know my limits on the bike.