Finally ran out of gas. Doh!

[tmckay]

Did a bunch of maintenance last weekend -- new tires on, new front brake pads, brake fluid, chain maintenance.  Bike had been off the road for a few weeks.

  Didn't check the tank, 159 miles on the odometer, but I figured I would hit the first station.  I checked the petcock while riding.  Uh oh, on reserve already!  Stupid, but okay, only 3 miles or so to the gas station ( and about the same from home)  Cough, sputter, die, push  Long 3 miles.

 There is no such thing as a light bike, and no such thing as a small uphill!

 What a brain surgeon  :lol: I had 2 gallons of gas in the garage left over from the snow blower.

 Good lesson, since the weather was nice and there was daylight.

[sanityfree]

well, at least you were able to recognize the fact that you were out of gas, and didn't need a professional to tell you.

[Kerry]

Here's a "Hint from Heloise" for next time.  When the bike dies on REServe:

1) Pull in the clutch and let the bike coast as far as you can stand it.  Every step saved is a step earned!

2) Switch the petcock to PRIme and lean the bike to the left.  Wait for 30 sec - 1 min, to allow a bit of extra fuel to drain out of the fuel tank.

3) Leave the petcock on PRIme.  I will almost guarantee that your bike will start again.

4) Get moving as soon as possible, and avoid high revs.  (Accelerate slowly, shift up at fairly low revs, get into as high a gear as possible.)

5) With 3 miles to go, you may not make it on the first go.  If the bike dies again, repeat steps 1 - 4.  You may have to lean a little further each time to drain more fuel from the tank.

6) When the bike absolutely refuses to start, THEN get off and push!

PS - No Heloise jokes, please.  :mrgreen:

[sanityfree]

Hint from who?

[tmckay]

Kerry,

 Thanks for that tip!  Perfectly reasonable.  I don't think I will ever forget that advice.   Part of the old mental toolbox.

Trev

[JLKasper]

Back in my young and foolish days (1976), my buddies and me were out enjoying a few beers while cruising in my '51 Ford Tudor sedan (Yes, it was a different era).  My fuel gauge wasn't the most reliable, and the flathead V8 began to sputter at least a mile from the nearest gas station.  Almost immediately, the guy riding shotgun told me to pull out the choke.  I did and the car ran like crap, but kept running, thanks to me cutting through a corner grocery store lot to avoid the 4 way stop at the corner.  It finally died while I was pulling into the station, and it rolled up to the pump with ten feet to spare.  

I don't think the same technique would work on the GS, though.  Part of my daily routine is to check the fuel tap position.  I got that sinking feeling of feeling the tap already on reserve just once; luckily I was within 100 feet of a gas station.  I don't want to be stuck in BFE without a decent fuel supply.

[rjsjr]

Heh, its not that uncommon.  I managed to run out of gas not 100 feet past the entrance to the bay bridge (between san francisco and oakland - very long) and had to push it across two consecutive long suspension bridges before I found a place to pull it over.  Fun to do that on a hot night in leather jacket, helmet, and armored jeans with mad commuters swerving and honking around you at 50 mph.

The stupid previous owner switched the fuel lines and it turns out the bike was set to reserve even though the switch indicated the normal fuel position (grr!).

[Lars]

It happened to me once. The trip meter was on 200 km when the engine started sputtering. Normally it sputters exactly at 225 but ok, I switched it to reserve... and found out it was on PRI already. ARGH, the whole tank was empty. The bike died in the middle of an intersection (of course).  Pushed it to the side of the road and leaned it to the left. After a minute I started it again and rode slowly over de pedestrian walks and bicycle paths. After 2 km There was a gas-station where I could fill up.
Glad it didn't happen anywhere else, the bike gets really heavy if you have to push it for a couple of miles. (don't ask, also have experience with that).