Reserve tank won't work!!!

[boredman111]

Has anyone experienced this?  I just bought a 500f and have put like 400 miles on it.  I have filled the tank twice and both times when I ran out of gas the reserve tank wouldn't work and I had to push it.  If I was real persistent, I could get it to start for a minute and start cruising and it would sputter out after a few yards.

I am going to take it to the shop tomorrow but I thought I would see what anyone had to say. :dunno: [/quote]

[tdan553527]

No probs with my 500F, 200-220 miles then run out, switch to reserve and go another 55 miles. 7000 miles on it already and love it. I think a couple of people have had problems with the fuel petcock and have had to get it replaced, then everything was fine.

[boredman111]

We'll see what they say tomorrow.  I think I am gonna pick up some cool blinkers and do the old fender elimination this weekend before the ride.

Any advise on a tank bag for commuting to work?

[Stephen072774]

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9751&highlight=switched+fuel+lines

Check out this thread.  The dealer might have hooked up your petcock wrong.  Either way have them fix it.

[Kerry]

Hoist on my own petard -- Stephen072774 was faster than I!  Steve points you to a different message thread than I did below.  But they're all inter-related, so ... ENJOY!

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It sure sounds like your ON and RES hoses have been switched at the fuel tank petcock.  I don't know what kinds of prep and setup has to be done on new bikes, so I don't know if the dealer would have any reason to be goofing with these hoses.

But there's a chance that an enterprising employee noticed that the hoses were "routed wrong" according to the parts fiche diagram on BikeBandit, and switched them to be helpful.  The problem is that the "FUEL chicken" diagrams for EVERY model year have been misleading, because they all show the fuel tank-mounted petcock rotated 180 degrees from how it is actually installed.  (Presumably so you can see the On/Off valve which would otherwise be hidden from view.)

If you look at your bike, you will see that the longer outlet on the tank-mounted petcock is in front, not in the rear like the diagram shows.  If the fairing weren't in the way you could also crouch down in front of the petcock and see that the longer outlet is marked with an "R" for REServe:



With some more "creative crouching" and a flashlight you can see a raised "O" (for ON) above the shorter petcock outlet.

Now that we've determined that the petcock is shown rotated in the diagram, all that remains is to verify which hose should really be connected to which outlet.  This is where it gets really tricky.  If you go to the 2002 BikeBandit FUEL chicken Parts List page you will see that item 5 is labeled as the ON hose and item 6 as the RES hose.

Through much pain and suffering we have scientifically  :mrgreen: determined that these hoses are mislabeled, probably as a consequence of the petcock rotation.  If you would like to live through the hairy details, please see the multi-page thread Out of gas, no reserve?.

The long and the short of it is that the hoses as they appear in the BikeBandit diagram are visually aligned with the CORRECT petcock outlets.  But when the petcock is rotated 180 degrees, the hose labeled 5 will go from the longer, forward outlet to the rearmost inlet on the frame-mounted ON/RES/PRI petcock.  And the hose labeled 6 will go from the shorter, rearward outlet to the "underneath" inlet on the frame-mounted petcock.

Whew!  I gotta update my Fuel Hose Routing page to include these details about the 2001+ models!

Bottom line?  Unless the fairing gets in the way you should be able to determine fairly easily whether your hoses are switched.  If they are, this will explain your "No Reserve" symptom, because the ON setting will drain your tank down to and through the last gallon or so of REServe fuel.

[JamesG]

I see the more things change, the more they stay the same...

[boredman111]

:dunno:


Turns out there are three fuel positions RES, PRI, and ON.  I didn't no down was ON, I thought that was OFF!  So I was riding on PRI which I thought was PRImary, but noooo!  So I ride on PRI run out of gas (on purpose this time) and switch to RES and all is well!

They also told me not to ride to RES every time but to refuel before that is better for the bike!  I didn't know that either, I was taught to ride til the reserve than find a gas station!

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (OR ON A RIDE!)

Thanks to all for the input!

[stephan]

Ahhhh yes . . . .

It seemed about time for a fuel delivery problem!   :lol:

Glad you got it sorted out.  I too have had to push my bike before, what  a humbling experience that is!

Ride safe!!  

[Kerry]

So I ride on PRI run out of gas (on purpose this time) and switch to RES and all is well!

Did you mean to say that you rode on ON and then switched to RES?  In my experience, PRI is the position you use to get the last few tenths out when RES runs dry.  :dunno:

At least, that's how it works on the '89-'00 model petcock.

[boredman111]

I have read your postings and you know much more than I.  However, they called PRI the "primer" tank and that I should just switch to RES if my ON runs out.  It would make sense if the PRI could be a last pinch because they said PRI loads more gas to help if the engine has been off for a long time......

:dunno:


This weekend I am going to try to install the lighter adapter that you show on your sight so I can play XM Satellite radio to my helmet Chatterbox!

Thanks!!!!

[Kerry]

The PRI setting (noun form: PRImer, verb form: PRIme) does not get fuel from a different tank.  It drains using the same hose that the REServe setting does.

However, fuel will not travel through the system on the RES setting unless the engine is running.  This is because both the ON and RES settings will only pass fuel through the petcock if vacuum "pressure" is applied to a diaphragm inside the petcock via a vacuum hose connected between the petcock and one of the carbs.  If there's no vacuum the diaphragm doesn't move, and fuel doesn't flow.  And that vacuum only exists when the engine is running.

The PRI setting, on the other hand, bypasses the diaphragm completely.  If you turn the petcock to the PRI setting, fuel WILL flow from the tank (assuming no blockages and non-empty tank).   Personally, I think the reason that the PRI setting will flow fuel after the RES setting quits, is that the weight of the "fuel column" from the tank assists somewhat in moving the diaphragm.  Below a certain level, the weight just isn't there.

Anyway, you're right.  Start in the ON position, move to the RES position, and use PRI as a last resort.

(I've been through this a few times.  For one such incident, see these 2 posts in the gas problem.. for sure thread.  I got close to having to do it again last night, in the desert east of Wellington, UT!)

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Good luck with the Accessory Outlet.  It's a handy mod!

[airbrush]

I have a new gs500f and have the same problem...i just checked the hoses this weekend and they are connected right...pretty hard to goof them up as they are marked r and o. So has there been problems with the fuel petcock..anyone?

[mjm]

I have a new gs500f and have the same problem...i just checked the hoses this weekend and they are connected right...pretty hard to goof them up as they are marked r and o. So has there been problems with the fuel petcock..anyone?

Could the problem be that you are assuming the free end of the lever is the "arrow" that points to the setting?  On mine the actual "arrow" is embossed on the lever and points the other way (In otherwords, what you think is pointing to "on" may be pointing to reserve.)

[Kerry]

This is a good point at which to ask whether the 2004 petcock is different from previous years.

Here is the petcock from my '99, in the ON position:


And here is the petcock from mosesyang's '01, also in the ON position:


I have assumed that the '04 petcock is just like the '01 unit.  Right, or wrong?

[boredman111]

As usual, Kerry is dead on!!!!

It is a black dial like the '01 with an arrow.  ON is down and PRI is to the rear, and RES is up top....

[boredman111]

I think I can finally post a pic....

[boredman111]

Try again....

[chinox22x]

I think I can finally post a pic....

here u go