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Fuel switch on reserve
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:11 pm
by -Curly-
Can you run a bike with the fuel switch on reserve all the time? I was looking at a honda Shadow VLX, but its main fuel tank is only 2 gal with .9 gal reserve. I'm figuring that 2 gal will only last about 2 1/2 times to work and back and i would like to get 3 trips in before refueling.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:26 pm
by Gadjet
yes, you can.
It really helps if you know what your mileage is on a tank of gas first though. You don't want to be running on reserve and hear the engine start to stutter and die.
I ran my old bike on reserve all the time, but this was mainly because the petcock was very hard to turn. I knew what my rough range was though, so I just watched my tripmeter and filled up before I got to my (theoretical) max range.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:29 pm
by bikeguy joe
Yes you can.
You will want to keep an eye on the milage though so you don't run out!
Re-set your trip meter every time.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:10 pm
by Sev
The reserve is more of a safety feature, so that you can run out of fuel, and keep going a little further. But it'll run just fine either way. Though my bike really doesn't like starting on reserve for some reason.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:59 pm
by Wizzard
When I see anyone pushing their bike into a gas station I have a good laugh . And even tho I know basically how much fuel I have , I have made it a life long habit that when I first sit on the scoot and it's warming up , to take my gas cap/caps off and look for my self , regardless of what my odometer is telling me .
Regards, Wizzard
I would never run my sled on reserve unless needed.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:50 pm
by Loonette
My old bike had a defective reserve switch (learned the hard way), so I always had to know my mileage. My new bike has a low-level light, but I don't trust those for any kind of accuracy, so I still watch my tripometer. As long as you know what you've got left in there, no worries.
Cheers,
Loonette
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 8:56 pm
by JustJames
The reserve is there for a reason. I'd never ever let the gas go down until i have to use reserve. I happened once and it is very bad. I always fill the tank before it hit reserve or if I know I will be on a long ride and might not make it before the reserve line.
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:10 pm
by TechTMW
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:17 am
by ronboskz650sr
The other day I forgot to reset my trip meter. I was excited about a curvy section of road ahead, and just forgot. The next day, I headed back there, and my bike surged in a left -hand sweeper. I saw the fuel light flash before I stood the bike back up, and reached down to get reserve. After turning back to civilization, I found I only had .2 gal left! I would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere, except for reserve. Good backup system, for me at least. Food for thought. (Hate getting old.)
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 6:51 pm
by Randy
I pushed my 500 pound Virago 920 about 1/3 of a mile to the gas station. It didn't seem that far when I started, but after that, I never kept it on reserve all the time.
It seemed like 100 miles, and who would have thought such a slight upward grade would have made such a huge difference.