Gas Reserve

[slotcar]

My owners manual says I have a 4.5gal tank on the '96 GS500E. In the first three weeks I have owned the bike I have been averaging about 58-60mpg when I fill the tank to just about 1/4" above the filler neck rim. The reserve seems to need to be switched on at about 170 miles which would seem to mean that there is still 1.25 or 1.5 gal left when I switch to reserve. Does this sound right?

[Rema1000]

That's right.  You'll get down to between 0.25 and 0.5 gallons left, before you need to switch to PRIme.  Then it starts to kill at stopsigns; or kill when you twist the throttle too quickly, etc.  For about the last 0.1 gallons, you may have to stop every 1/4 mile and tilt the bike to the left, to try to get what little is in the tank to the carburetor float bowls.

My record is adding 4.52 gallons to a '92 (same size as your '96), but by then I was limited to riding slowly on the shoulder, and coasting whenever the engine killed.

I'd say that if you want to be able to ride smoothly in traffic, then don't plan on using the last 0.5 gallon.

EDIT: also, to get the tank completely full, you need to help the air bubbles escape when filling.  Usually if you wait 10 seconds, the fuel level in the tank neck will drop.  You can speed it up if you wiggle the handlebars or jiggle the bike a little.

[johncam4]

can some one post a pic of the valve on RESERVE and then ON...im still so confused by that valve

[Kerry]

In the "diagrams" below, the petcock positions from left to right are:

1) ON

2) RES(erve)

3) PRI(me)[/list:u]

1989-2000

Code Select Expand


         1                   2                   3

        PRI                 PRI                 PRI
                                                 ^
                                                 |
  RES    |            RES <---            RES    |
         |
         v
        ON                  ON                  ON





2001+

Code Select Expand


         1                   2                   3

        RES                 RES                 RES      
                             ^                              
                             |                              
         |    PRI            |    PRI            ---> PRI
         |                                                  
         v                                                  
        ON                  ON                  ON
     


[dufoes]

I have a gas question as well - hopefully someone can answer. I recently bought a new GS500F. I filled it up with a full tank of gas, and it just died on me (I presume from lack of gas in the main tank because it will work on reserve) and I've only gone 128 miles on this tank. This doesn't seem normal to me at all. I thought I would be getting amazing gas milage, such as 50-60 MPG as REMA stated. Anybody know what's going on?

[Kerry]

Anybody know what's going on?

Tell us more:

1) What's your filling method?  Do you fill with the bike vertical, or on the sidestand?  Do you continue until the fuel is at least up to the bottom of the filler tube?  Do you jostle the bike to get rid of air bubbles?  Etc.

2) If you fill up right now using the SAME method you did last time, what does the miles/gallon figure come out to?[/list:u]You may be getting good mileage (miles/gallon) but not getting enough gallons.   :dunno:

[dufoes]

I filled it with the sidestand (first time filling it up and didn't know any better) up to the neck. I didn't shake the bubbles out, either. The thing that puzzles me is that there appears to be about a half of tank left when I look in.

By the way, if you have any filling suggestions please let me know.

[Kerry]

I filled it with the sidestand (first time filling it up and didn't know any better) up to the neck. I didn't shake the bubbles out, either.

Gotcha.

The thing that puzzles me is that there appears to be about a half of tank left when I look in.

If you can see the "hump" like in the picture below, the fuel level is significantly lower than you think.  (Been there, done that!)



Check your level periodically until it looks about  like the picture.  Fill the tank and see how many gallons it took.  That will be good info to have for future situations.

By the way, if you have any filling suggestions please let me know.

I never get off the bike when I fill up.  (Some folks disagree with this method, but it's worked for me for 32,000+ miles so far.  :dunno:  To each his own!)

* I pump at full speed until the fuel level approaches the filler neck.

* At that point I slow the flow and start shifting my weight back and forth, from one foot to the other.  Just a couple degrees of angle from vertical, nothing major.

* When the level reaches the bottom of the filler neck I stop pumping and keep shifting.  Bubbles come out and the level goes down.

* I put in a little more fuel and repeat until I can't get the level to drop below the filler neck anymore.

* Then just another little shot to finish off.  (You don't want the level so high that replacing your filler cap will force fuel out of the tank!)[/list:u]
I have a magnetic tank bag to deal with.  I used to attach it to the side of the gas pump while I was filling up, but after leaving it behind a time or two I came up with a more self-contained method:

If the engine is hot I fold the lower flap underneath the bag so it doesn't touch the cylinder cooling fins.

[dufoes]

Thank you very much for your help Kerry. I just went and filled it up - it took 3.496 gallons of gas, so I averaged 37.76 miles per gallon (if  I filled it up to about the same point). Is this good? Normal? Bad?

Thanks again for your help.

[johncam4]

whats prime for

[Kerry]

it took 3.496 gallons of gas, so I averaged 37.76 miles. [...] Is this good? Normal? Bad?

38 mpg is NOT good.

But which figures did you use?  170 miles and 3.496 gallons?  Because that would come out to 48.6 mpg, which is acceptable but not quite wonderful.

[dufoes]

My trip meter read 132 miles (since last fill-up). 132/3.496 = 37.7574.

Does gas milage depend on how you ride? I'm 205 lbs and I like to gun it. In addition, I ride my bike a lot around campus, which is sort of hilly.

Of course, the 37.7574 mpg is dependent upon whether I filled it up to the same level as I did last time, but I don't think I could be too off. This time I also took your suggestion by filling it up while on it and shaking it around slightly so the air bubbles would escape.

[Kerry]

Sorry - I guess I mixed your numbers together with slotcar's....  

You'll probably have to "go around one more time" before you get a definitive answer on your mileage.  I recently related how my brother came out for a visit, borrowed my bike for the day, and came back with a gas receipt and a trip meter number.  According to the data, the bike had gotten 75 mpg while he rode it!

It took me a while to figure out that he didn't fill the tank FULL like I do.  (Whew!)  So, you could be having the opposite calculation problem.

If your bike is running well it should get 50 to 55 easy.  But gunning it a lot could drop that figure a bit.