Ran out of gas today... reserve didnt work???

[Ed89]

Kerry, mine's 89 and the plastic filter screen above the tank mounted petcock does come apart.  Well, at least it came apart in my hand.  :mrgreen:

Anyway, as far as I can tell, the reserve outlet is in front.  That means (for me at least):

(1) The longer outlet is at the front.
(2) The petcock on/off scitch faces the right, i.e., I have to access it from the right side of the bike (to be totally unambiguous, all directions are as if I am sitting on the bike like I am riding it).
(3) The picture of the tank filter you have above, the right of that picture is the front of the bike.

I have the older/smaller tank, and it is dark out side now and my tank is almost full and my flash light just reflect back on me.    In any case, I have tried to look at the tank filter a few times in the pass and was never successful without the help of a small mirror that I can stick into the tank.  So number (3) is from recollection of when I took out the petcock not too long ago (maybe two weeks).

Anyway, Kerry, you have the newer/bigger tank, right?  It might explain how you could have taken a picture of it.  Maybe I am just incompetent. :lol:  Does your tank filter look like it is made of metal?  Mine is (off-white) plastic.

My apologies if I have caused any confusion.  :mrgreen:

Cheers,
e.

[Ed89]

Sorry for all the bad speling  :mrgreen:  and stuffs.

[Kerry]

Thanks for the feedback, Ed!

I have a '99 model, so the tank should be the same as yours.  (They got bigger in 2001.)

My in-tank filter sure gives the impression of being made of brass and plastic, but I wouldn't swear to the metal part.  Does your filter look like GRU's (in the first photo on my Fuel Hose Routing page)?

You probably can't answer this question right now, but I wonder if the filter screen "tower" can be flipped 180 degrees and mounted back on the base of the petcock...?  (Trying to figure out if it only goes on one way.)

EDIT: Changed link from sisna.com to bbburma.net

[perfdrug]

there's an R on the tank mounted petcock for the Reserve outlet. all of this possible "it's switched" confusion is unneccesary. connect the reserve hose to the tank one labeled "R" and don't even worry about front/back long/short. especially since there's so many variations floating around

(side note) when i got my bike the hoses were all backwards. the on hose was plugged into the carb inlet on the tank petcock. the res hose was plugged into the on petcock, and the reserve hose inlet on the tank petcock actually traced to the carbs. it was a mess. so don't trust the hoses till you see them for yourself.

[perfdrug]

I then called my mom to bring me some gas

hehe. isn't that the funniest phone call possible?
me: uh mom, i need you to go to the gas station, take one of those red tubs, and bring me some gas...
mom: not again
me: i know mom. just hurry up, this sucks.

[jpw]

I then called my mom to bring me some gas

hehe. isn't that the funniest phone call possible?
me: uh mom, i need you to go to the gas station, take one of those red tubs, and bring me some gas...
mom: not again
me: i know mom. just hurry up, this sucks.

Then some guy a R6 rolled up to see what my problem was, it looked all stock to me,  i want to steal it.... :mrgreen:

[jpw]

or i guess we could trade....

[wasabi_peas]

Kerry,

My GS had been repainted before I bought it, and I ran out of gas on the first tank I had.  After looking at your authoritative diagram and the Clymer manual diagrams over and over, I realized that the owner had put the fuel petcock in backwards.  This explained the near-impossibility of turning off the tank valve.

I've found that the non-business end of a pair of twezers or a small screwdriver can be inserted into the side of the petcock slot to twist it, though it's neither easy or glamorous.

If I wasn't having so much fun riding it, I'd run the tank down low and swap it around.

[Ed89]

Thanks for the feedback, Ed!

I have a '99 model, so the tank should be the same as yours.  (They got bigger in 2001.)

My in-tank filter sure gives the impression of being made of brass and plastic, but I wouldn't swear to the metal part.  Does your filter look like GRU's (in the first photo on my Fuel Hose Routing page)?

You probably can't answer this question right now, but I wonder if the filter screen "tower" can be flipped 180 degrees and mounted back on the base of the petcock...?  (Trying to figure out if it only goes on one way.)

That photo looks right for my bike.  I about if the screen tower (hehe) can be flipped 180, although I do remember clearly when I was about to reattach it to the petcock, I thought to myself, "Better put this in the correct way!"  I did take another look through the gas cap for my filter, and whadayaknow?  I could just see it.  

Anyway, as a side note: I had to drain my tank when I removed the petcock.  I remember I had just put in a gallon of gas just right after I hit my reserve, and had gone only 1.5 mile after that.  I drained out 2 gallons of gas and there was still some left in the tank (about a quart I suppose) which would not flow out unless I tilt the tank.  Since I didn't need for all the gas to come out (and I ran out of containers), I left it at that.  Which means that after I hit reserve, there is about 1 galloon of usable gas left.  Just a data point since there is always this little back and forth and uncertainty about how much reserve fuel is available.


Cheers,
e.

[peter]

good thread!

after running out on my recently acquired k2, I realise the previous owner got the hoses wrong too..

I was wondering how I'd managed about 260m before hitting the reserve!!

[Kasumi]

As this thread came alive i will take the opperutinity to point out one common misconception ive read alot and seen alot off.

The tank on all motorcycles ive seen so far (motorcycles are getting wackyier these days though) are just one tank. There isn't a main tank then when you flick the switch you get to the reserve tank. Nor do you need to switch to reserve at the pumps in order to fill your whole bike up. The tank is one big tank. They usually have a feed tube sticking up the centre of the tank with two valves for letting fuel through, one higher up one at the bottom (on a bike with no reserve switch and just a light they have a float on and only one valve usually). When the bike gets low on petrol and cuts out (or a reserve light comes on when the float has reached the bottom of its travel) the petrol has fallen below the higher valvel. This on a motorcycle with a reserve switch requires you to switch onto reserve in order to open up the valve lower in the tank. Its like this so you realise you've needed to switch so need petrol. With a reserve light the petrol keeps flowing but the float hits the bottom and turns the light on so you again know you need fuel.

In my opinion a reserve light is far better i don't know why they don't have them on all motorcycles. Who wants their engine to die on a hill when they think they are fine for petrol on the flat. Reserve lights are much better.

[Egaeus]

In my opinion a reserve light is far better i don't know why they don't have them on all motorcycles. Who wants their engine to die on a hill when they think they are fine for petrol on the flat. Reserve lights are much better.

A petcock is cheaper than a gauge.  You want fancy?  Get a more expensive motorcycle.  At least, that's the impression I get.

[Kasumi]

I don't see how it can make a lot of difference really. Petcock, chunk of metal, larger valve not to mention the 2 valves in the tank. Reserve light, one light, one float on the end of one valve in the tank, so you drop 2 valves here, a few wires. Can't see how its cheaper to have a petcock. Reserve light is more superior.

[Jarrett]

The best way to guage how much fuel you have is to set your trip meter.  It doesn't get any more simple than that.  I don't want a reserve light.  I have bad luck with lights burning out.  I agree with Egaeus.  I like to keep things simple.