Fuel Valve...

[Prafeston]

In case any of you were wondering...the Prime position on the fuel valve is not the off position.

Taking the MSF Course this weekend and I was told that if you have a manual valve you should turn it to off after you have turned your bike off. I have never done this on the GS or even knew about it. I park my bike in the shed behind my house and the lighting isn't real great and all I could see was the on position and the reserve position so I just figured the third position was off. Then I go to start it in the morning and it won't start...the shed smells like gas. I check my valve and with the morning light I see that I had it in Prime all night. Luckily it didn't flood the engine too bad though. I just took the spark plugs out turned it over a few times with them out. Dried off the plugs real good and put them back in. Started right up. I road it around a bit and made sure to get all the gas flowing right again.

Anyway, moral of the story is the GS has an automatic fuel shut off valve. Learn from my stupidity.

BTW Tomorrow we get to work on swerves, stopping in curves, the proper way to ride over an object in the road, and I'm guessing the infamous box drill.

[Kerry]

Heh heh.

I took the MSF class about 7 months before I got my GS.  All the talk about the manual valve was familiar to me from the various '70s bikes my dad had when I was a kid.  When I first got the GS my dad and I were riding around town -- him on his bike and me with about a gallon and a half of fuel in the tank.  The GS eventually started jerking and acting up in general.  When I pulled over, my Dad and I were both confused by the fuel switch.  (Not to mention the fact that there seemed to be "plenty of fuel" in the tank.)  We tried every switch position.  It seemed to run best on PRI (although we couldn't tell if the indicator was pointing to PRI or away from it).

The next day my Dad rode the GS to the gas station and filled it up ... and the problem mysteriously went away! 

Live and learn.... 

[Prafeston]

I've only had two problems with the bike in the 2 months I've had it and both have been with the fuel valve...haha. First time was kinda my fault for installing the hoses up wrong after removing the tank and switch the on and reserve hoses...which meant when I was in On I was really in reserve and road the bike dry on gas. I also found it quite hard to figure out which way that valve switch was pointing at first. No I ride with it on Reserve until it starts to sputter then I switch it to On...problem solved!!!

-Rafe-

[Kerry]

Doesn't that leave you without a useful PRIme position though? 

[Prafeston]

I don't need a prime position..

I'm pretty sure that the prime hasn't been swapped.

But like I've said...I've never used to Prime...oh except to flood my engine...

[CndnMax]

Prime is basically reserve without the vacuum right, so wouldn't that mean his prime is now on w/out the vacuum 

[ohgood]

Heh heh.

I took the MSF class about 7 months before I got my GS.  All the talk about the manual valve was familiar to me from the various '70s bikes my dad had when I was a kid.  When I first got the GS my dad and I were riding around town -- him on his bike and me with about a gallon and a half of fuel in the tank.  The GS eventually started jerking and acting up in general.  When I pulled over, my Dad and I were both confused by the fuel switch.  (Not to mention the fact that there seemed to be "plenty of fuel" in the tank.)  We tried every switch position.  It seemed to run best on PRI (although we couldn't tell if the indicator was pointing to PRI or away from it).

The next day my Dad rode the GS to the gas station and filled it up ... and the problem mysteriously went away! 

Live and learn.... 

Your dad rides ? I can't think of anything cooler than going for a spin with mine. Too bad he swore off two wheeled machines way back when he served on Okinawa. Apparently he had a tie up with a taxi on a scooter 150 years ago, and it's set like cement in his mind.

I do have a picture dear old dad sitting on my gs when I was adjusting chain tension, and he actually fired it up... BIIIIIG GRIN, and then shut it off.

[Kerry]

Prime is basically reserve without the vacuum right, so wouldn't that mean his prime is now on w/out the vacuum 

That's right.  So I guess he can still fill his float bowls after working on his carbs ... as long as there is a gallon or more of fuel in the tank.  My most memorable use of the PRI position was to get me a few more miles down the road when the REServe position stopped delivering enough fuel to keep the bike running.  (See [THESE 2 POSTS])   That's the functionality that I was thinking about when I mentioned "a useful PRIme position".

Thanks for making me clarify that! 

[Kerry]

Sorry about the hijack, Prafeston.  But when someone asks....

Your dad rides ?

Does my Dad ride?  Oh yeah.... 

He's had at least one bike since long before I was born.  He's got 7 or 8 in his current stable.  Check out some of his long-gone bikes in [THIS OLD POST].

About 3 years ago he rode a Honda ST1300 from his home in Arkansas to Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage, not Hyder ) and back.  The next year he touched each of the 48 states and several Canadian provinces on the same bike, with a teenage granddaughter as passenger and hauling a 2-compartment tent trailer.  It took them 30 days.  He'd like to do something similar by himself, but take more time ... he felt like too many of the states got "short-changed".    His latest acquisition is a Suzuki 650 Vstrom, which he loves to death.  ("When are you going to give one a test ride, Kerry?")

I can't think of anything cooler than going for a spin with mine.

I'll spare you my initial "learning to ride" story from when I was 12 or 13.  (It was my Dad's idea, not mine.  )  But in 1999, after years of being away from home and not having much to talk to my Dad about when I called, I decided to take some action.  That's where [THIS NEXT OLD POST] comes in.  (At that point it had been a LONG time since I'd ridden a bike, so I took the MSF course to get off on the right foot.)

The ultimate "ride with Dad" happened in 2003 when he and I traveled 3,253 miles together over 10 days ... up to British Columbia and back.  (See the trip journal, maps and photos [HERE].)

My Dad is 75 now, but he still rides.  I wonder if I'll ever get in another BIG ride like that with him though...?

Too bad he swore off two wheeled machines way back when he served on Okinawa. Apparently he had a tie up with a taxi on a scooter 150 years ago, and it's set like cement in his mind.

Sorry to hear that, but I understand where he's coming from ... having "had a tie up" with a cow myself.  If you don't get right back on (after healing physically) it gets easier and easier to stay off.

[kensar]

I think my 1999 GS English model should have the same fuel tap. Can anyone please tell me what the Prime position is and how does it work? How much fuel is left in the tank when I have to go to reserve? Thanks,Ken.

[Kerry]

I think my 1999 GS English model should have the same fuel tap. Can anyone please tell me what the Prime position is and how does it work?

Here's a photo from my '99.  Point the long part of the handle in the direction of the labeled position you want.

The PRIme position acts like the ON position of the older-style ON/OFF fuel switches.  If there is fuel in the tank, and you switch to the PRIme position, fuel will flow to your carburetors.

The ON and RES positions introduce a measure of "safety" not provided by the older switches.  In these positions, fuel will only flow to the carburetors when the engine is running.  They do this by taking advantage of vacuum pulses from the carburetors themselves to move a diaphragm inside the fuel switch.

How much fuel is left in the tank when I have to go to reserve?

According to the Haynes manual:

[kensar]

Great reply Kerry. Many,many thanks. This site is fantastic. Ken