Triumphrat

tooblekain

When I was descending down Palomar Mountain, I noticed that my bike would hiccup or when I want more throttle it would be delayed. At first I thought it was because of the altitude affecting the carbs...but after 3 miles, my bike eventually died. I thought the worst...but hoped it was only that I ran out of gas. I pulled over to the side, flipped the switch to RESERVE and sure enough it fired up. Here's the kicker though....My bike died out at only 85 miles!!!

Now that I know the first sign of running out of fuel, I do have a question for you all: Can I flip the fuel switch from ON to RESERVE while I'm riding or do I have to pull over, turn off the bike, flip the switch and fire it up?

Also, when filling up when on the RESERVE, do you have to fill up first and then switch to on? Or flip to off, fill up, reserve, then on? I ask because the concept of a reserve switch is completely new. I guess my biggest concern is how do I know that my reserve get refilled?

Please bear with me because all my vehicles have been fuel injected and I've never dealt with carburators in my life.

BigRedandRiding

Well, I'm not sure which bike you have, but 85 miles to reserve is a pretty low - you should check out your carb set-up at your dealer. I just squeaked out 135 miles on my Speedmaster (stock carbs, but no airbox, bigger jets, K&N air filter & straight pipes) without hitting reserve yesterday. But if you are trucking through the mountains and heavy on the throttle, then it's possible.

Anyway, YES, you can flip to reserve while riding - no problem. If you zero your odometer after every fill up, and the bike seems to sputter while riding, just carefully reach down and flip the petcock switch 180 degrees to "Reserve". (Keep your eyes on the road and feel for it.) You should be good for another 30 miles. It's simply, a mechanical function - like a water tap. No complicated EFI issues to worry about.

As for fill-ups, it doesn't matter if you are on "Reserve" or not. The petcock just switches between 2 tubes connected to you tank. But if you are on "Reserve" and forget to flip it back to "On" when you fill-up - you are asking to run out of gas later on down the highway.

As for riding at high altitude... anything above 3500-4000 feet and you may have difficulty starting and some fueling issues with the carbs, depending on how you have them set-up. You can temporarily help alliviate the problem by turning up the black idle screw down on the left side of the carb. (But if you ride at altitude a lot - you might want to change jets.)

Hope this helps...

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-CT
2006 Speed Triple - Fusion White / Pazzo/Rizoma/K&N/LSL/Motovation/Micron CF Race Cans
2003 Speedmaster - Red & Black / 125/42 Jets/AI Removed/K&N /17T Sprocket/Custom Straight Pipes/Ceramic-Coated Headers

CommandoRdster

You can switch to reserve while running down the road.There is no separate reserve tank.The petcock assembly has a standpipe up in the tank that,when on main supply mode,keeps the bottom portion of the tank from draining.When you switch to reserve,the standpipe is bypassed and lets the last of the fuel drain to the carbs.

It's a good idea to get familiar enough with the location,and function,of the petcock,that you can reach down and switch it over without looking.

Additionally,there is a small amount of fuel that gets trapped on the side of the tank opposite the petcock.So,if you run completely out of fuel,you can lean the bike over to the left,and maybe splash enough gas over to the petcock side to get you to a gas station.

This next part is very important.As soon as you pull into the gas station,or at least before you pump your fuel,SWITCH YOUR GAS TAP TO EITHER OFF OR TO MAIN FEED ON. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE IT ON RESERVE!


Cheers!
Bruce

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"What're ya rebellin' against Johnny?"
"Well uh,gas prices mostly,but don't get me started"
-Kieth May
The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time. -Nietzsche

Freeze

LOL. looks like i'm not the only one to do this fatal error.

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drharveys

Why do you think we all know the "tilt the bike to the left to slosh some gas to the petcock side" trick?

johnnyb84

I agree with all you said Bruce, except I don't understand why it is important to switch to off or on before you fill up.

I thought the only important thing was not not leave it on reserve when you leave the station cause then when you run out of gas, you have no reserve.

CAPTDON

If you spent the day in the mountains- low mpg is to be expected on a carb bike. The higher you get- the more gas she'll burn! If you were on the way down (angle) the reserve wont let ya get all the gas & there is the illusive little bit on the other side of the tank!! I wouldnt worry about it! Fill on reserve & forget to switch = no reserve next time! No fun!!!

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CAPT D

Gwiaz

Back in the day some of us did it this way. I still do. I always run my bikes on RES. Once you know the range of your bike there is no reason to run out of fuel. For the 04 B/B right around 100 MI I start looking for fuel, around 125 mi. really looking for fuel. Bike goes dry between 140/150 mi. the 76 Bonnie right around 125 mi or so. Now the reason. As told to me years ago. The idea is that you use all the gas in your tank, no old stuff just sitting at the bottom of the tank. Now the best part. At least once a year I get a 1 gal. can of gas, strap it on , and run the bike all the way out of gas. Now I know my range is correct, and when I fill er up it is all fresh gas. Also use SEA FOAM in the tank for many reasons, read the can. There you have it. Don't be too tuff on me, just the way I do it and for me it works.

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The GWIAZ

Sic Semper Tyrannis

No real problem with this, if you have a 100% lack of absentmindedness. As to the reasoning, eh. When you pull the trigger on that pump you're mixing the old and new pretty well. If it makes ya feel better, run it dry and change the fuel filter.

Ok, let me have it.

(+1 on returning fuel switch to on first. I do it after killing the engine but before dismounting. Made that mistake once, too. Once.)

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See ya on the road, skag. -Goose
'07 Bonnie Black, D&D reverse cones, no AI, Unifoam airfilter, snorkel removed, 128 main, 42 pilot, down-turned m-bars, LSL rearsets.

bushman66

For a (soon to be 06 Scrambler owner) can you explain this comment above??? thanks!