Would an electric fuel pump work?

[terry1013]

Ok, back in the day, I used to carry a small inline 12v fuel pump as a means to temp repair lift trucks when I couldn't get my hands on a mechanical pump quick enough. I've left several on the trucks per customer request when my elec pump was 20.00 & maybe a mechanical pump they needed was no longer made or was just too expensive. They lasted fine. I've really considered trying one on my GS. My recent rejet and cleaning "seems" to have taken care of my problem but wanted to ask if anyone has considered trying one on a bike. The small battery would be a concern, I'd have to check the amp draw to see if the alternator would keep up and replenish the battery. I always kept the pressure at 10 psi and think the carbs would handle it.
Anybody ever try or can someone tell me why it won't work?.

[werase643]

why would you need one?
gravity works pretty dang well.

fuel pumps on bikes are for when the tank is below the float bowl.
or
fuel injected bikes

[terry1013]

To overcome a sh*tty petcock. Lots of members have installed a Pingle petcock, sounds pretty expensive from what I've heard. Again, my GS seems to be running great right now but if it starts the starving issue that seems pretty well documented and debated across this board, I'm wondering what "my" next step may be. The elec fuel pump worked great for me in other applications and am considering it as a serious means to fight the starving problem unless someone has walked that path before and had problems that I'm not considering. A nice little 10 PSI pump with an internal pressure switch would be a simple answer IMHO.

[werase643]

M'kay
is your tank clean?
rust?
have you cleaned the screens on the fuel shut off valve (in the tank)?

i have bypassed the vac fuel switch on the racebike
but the only time i ever had a prob with fuel flow was when i didn't get the tank shut off aligned perfect
WFO should drain the bowls after 5000 ft....but still didn't

[Richard UK]

Sounds like a good idea.  Plenty of higher spec bikes have them (e.g. the old Honda Hawk 650 would probably be a good match), so you could get one cheap from a bike wrecker.  They rarely go wrong, so a second hand one should be fine.

[dgyver]

I have never had the problem of fuel starvation and I run WOT almost all the time. My valve is not vacuum actuated either. The only reason I have considered a Pingle is to have a quicker access to the tank shutoff.