GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Wondering if anyone else has this happen to them. The fuel tank reserve on my bike is totally useless. The warning light doesnt even come on until the bike starts to sputter and quit.  I switch to the reserve and i'm lucky if I can get even a mile farther down the road. There is basically no reserve at all.

What kind of bike?

i have a 2004 gs500f

Quote from: airbrushThe warning light doesnt even come on until the bike starts to sputter and quit.

Warning light?? :dunno: Maybe you're confusing the oil light for a fuel light? There's no fuel light on a GS500F.

yup im confused...its the oil light, my mistake...newbie :). Anyways, this still doesnt make any sense why my reserve totally sucks.

Are you sure your not riding around on reserve all the time?  What kind of milage are you getting out of a tank?
You may have to put the fuel valve into the prime position after you completely run out of gas.  That will refill your carbs with fuel, it is possible when you run dry that you just deplete the little bit of fuel left in your lines when you switch to reserve.  That would explain the 1 mile on reserve.

No im definitely not riding around on reserve. I open the tank and look in, there is still gas left in it...not sure how much, but definitetly more than enough to get you farther than a mile on it. I'll try priming it next time this happens and see if that helps...i doubt it though. How many miles do others get once switched to reserve?

on my 2002 i get about 180 before I switch to reserve, if I am on the interstate I can get 240 before I hit reserve.  the dealer that assembeled it may have crossed the lines when they built it up, it has happened before.

what i mean is how much farther can you go on your reserve?? My mileage is fine...i get about 300-25km on a tank around the city.

i always feel a little iffy riding on reserve, so my personal best is a modest 15mi

i have to agree from the symptoms, it almost seems that instead of riding on 'ON' and switching to 'RES', you're actually riding on "RES" and switching to 'PRI'... but you know.. if that's not what you're doing, it's odd

thats definitely not the case....just wondering why i get absolutely no mileage when switching to reserve...not even enought to limp it to a gas station!! Just seems very odd to me...i mean that is the point of the reserve isnt it? I do fill up well before usually, just happened to catch me this time.

Another case of switched fuel hoses?

switched fuel hoses?? how do you mean? but in the on position all seems well...just the reserve doesnt do squat. Will switching the hoses remedy this? The tank was off before i picked up the bike...as i painted it. The dealer put it back together for me. Maybe I should check this out then??

Airbrush,

The same has happened to me. My bike ran out of fuel, I switched to reserve and only made it a mile or so.

I am 100% sure the fuel switch was not set on reserve or prime
prior the the bike running out of fuel.

I have not checked to see if the lines are switched (only thing I can think of). For my own comfort level I refuel every 150 miles. That's the max mileage my butt can take anyway.

Not sure that helps, but if you find out your lines are switched, let us know.

RC

I would rather remedy the situation as this doesnt seem right to me at all....this is the point of a reserve... if i cant even limp it to a gas station then what is the point of "reserve"

Your right, that is the entire point of having a reserve.  I'd still prefer a light or a gage, but you get what you get I guess.  
My bike can get between 50-60 miles once I hit reserve.  I've got the 5.0 gallon tank including a 1.1 gal reserve - '04 model.

If his fuel lines are switched wouldn't he be actually running on reserve all the time?  He said he can look into the tank and see gas, just no go...  I still think going to prime for a minute will fix it.  Carbs are out of gas is all.

Quote from: RCAirbrush,

I am 100% sure the fuel switch was not set on reserve or prime
prior the the bike running out of fuel.
RC

OK. I am a little confused now.  I just bought my second moto ever,  a 2002 GS500. Before this bike I owned a 1973 Honda CB350 so I really stepped up quite a bit from the 31 year old ride.

What is confusing me is this: On the fuel switch (of the GS500) there appears to be three positions: straight down, PRI, and RES.  As on my old Honda.  Now, note, I did not receive an owner's manual with the Suzuki and I am still rather new to the motorcycle scene.  On the Honda, when you run the bike, you leave the fuel switch on "main"

When running the GS500, should you leave the switch on PRI until it sputters then switch to RES?  According to RC's last post, he is "100% sure the fuel switch was NOT set on reserve or prime" before running outta gas.

So what do I do? Only put the switch on PRI when I start the bike? or leave it on PRI under normal riding until you need the RES and point the switch straight down when bike is off?

Thanks
MinnGS

MiinGS - you should run it with the fuel switch in the ON position,  switch to RES when you start running out of gas, and switch to PRI in special circumstancs

airbrush - try to run it in RES and then switch to ON when you start sputtering... if you can go more than a mile, fuel lines were put in backwards :oops:

my 2c

Thanks Crash.

Now, is the ON position with the arrow pointing straight down?

hehe minngs, check out this thread (http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5524&highlight=fuel) - it's the one where i ask the same questions  :oops:

Thanks again. That is an excellent answer.

I have to say that buying the GS500 was the smartest thing I have ever done.  I hope to make a few changes to the bike in the next few months:

lower bars: cafe style
bar end mirrors
stiffer springs in the front fork(even at my 155lb weight it feels soft)
exhaust??

Truly a fun bike!!

Quote from: airbrushswitched fuel hoses?? how do you mean? but in the on position all seems well...just the reserve doesnt do squat. Will switching the hoses remedy this? The tank was off before i picked up the bike...as i painted it. The dealer put it back together for me. Maybe I should check this out then??

If your fuel hoses are switched at the fuel tank, and you put the frame-mounted petcock in the ON position, then when you run out of fuel you will have run all the way through your REServe.  Switching to REServe will enable the normal ON function, which will have become useless many miles before this point.

The fuel hoses on your 2004 should be just like the 2002 setup.

Take a look at the 2002 BikeBandit "Fuel chicken" page.

The first thing to know is that the in-tank petcock is depicted at the "wrong" angle.  It has been rotated 180 degrees, presumably so you can see the OFF / ON / OFF switch on the "in" side of the petcock.  When mounted on the bike, the longer (RES) outlet tube should be in front and the shorter (ON) outlet in back.  (For further clues, see the 'R' stamped in the petcock above the RES outlet tube, and the 'O' stamped above the ON outlet.)

Now examine the hoses in the BikeBandit diagram.  Item #5 is labeled as the ON hose, so it should be connected to the shorter outlet tube.  Item #6 is the RES hose and should be connected to the longer outlet.

NOTE: The following diagram (from the Clymer manual!) is for the 1989-2000 models, but it shows that the 180-degree rotation on the Suzuki parts fiche has given lots of folks the wrong impression over the years:



The Haynes manual shows the (1989-2000) hoses connected to the correct outlets, but it STILL shows the petcock mounted backwards:



I can't decide which diagram is more "dangerous" - the one that shows the hoses in the right position or the one that doesn't show the outlet tubes at all.

==========================================

The only thing left unexplained would be:  Why does the lower (RES) portion of the in-tank filter "run dry" after only 3 gallons?  The only possibility I can see is some combination of filling the bike with it leaned over on the sidestand, and inserting the pump nozzle all the way into the fuel tank.  This could easily rob you of a couple gallons worth of space in the tank.

If everything is hooked up right, then when the RES position runs dry you should still be able to get a few miles farther by switching to the PRI position.  But not if the hoses are switched - the PRI position draws fuel from the RES hose, and if the hose is connected to the higher filter drain level inside the tank, then PRI will be as worthless as RES.

I was having a problem like this a few weeks back. I found that the hoses on the lower petcock were in the wrong position. I think everythingis working fine now.

At this point i still havn't had the nerve to run it to the point that I needed to run on reserve. Might do that on this tank of gas and carry a small gas can with me the day I think it will happen.  :)

jnosal
Yellow 99 GS500E

MinnGS


On your GS, when the arrow is facing down your in the "ON" position.

Just for clarity, you don't need to use the prime position unless you completely run out of fuel.  All priming does is gravity fills your carbs with fuel as opposed the normal suction filling.  When you run out of gas your carbs are empty, this just refills them.  If you do use prime, switch over to either "on" or "res" as soon as it gets running smoothly again.  If I'm not mistaken if you leave it in prime when you shut the bike off all the gas will continue to run out of the overflow on the carbs and there goes a full tank of gas and your MPG.

Thanks BK.

:thumb:

I have to say, this site is one of the best support sites i have seen.
Everyone has been quite helpful and straight forward.

out.

Quote from: BKOn your GS, when the arrow is facing down your in the "ON" position.

Yep, this is true for all models.  For anyone who cares, the RES and PRI positions are different from the pre-2001 bikes to the 2001+ models.

1989-2000:
   PRI

RES  |
    v
   ON




2001+:
   RES

    |  PRI
    v
   ON

Quote from: BKJust for clarity, you don't need to use the prime position unless you completely run out of fuel.  All priming does is gravity fills your carbs with fuel as opposed the normal suction filling.

Correct on the gravity-feed nature of the PRI position.  But some folks also use the PRI setting (momentarily) when their bike starts sputtering as it runs out of gas, just before switching to the RES setting.  This is because the PRI setting can be more "quick-acting" than the vacuum-dependent RES setting.

Quote from: BKIf I'm not mistaken if you leave it in prime when you shut the bike off all the gas will continue to run out of the overflow on the carbs and there goes a full tank of gas and your MPG.

It would be more correct to say that "the possibility exists" for an overflow.  As long as the fuel system is clean, this should NOT happen.  But if dirt particles or old, gummy fuel causes one of the float needle valves to stay open, then what BK describes is the result.

I have to add, that the reason you still get a mile or so down the road after switching to "reserve" is that there'll still be a little bit of fuel above the petcock in the tube.

I've had the same problem. 2004 Model. Running fine, start to run out of gas, move to reserve and will run for a mile or so before it's dead. Happnened again today, stopped on the road side, looked in the tank and it was empty. Fortunately the gas station was within 1/2 mile. My though, always be aware of the milage since the last fill-up and look in the tank before every ride.

Quote from: ravenboy on June 29, 2008, 05:16:28 PM
I've had the same problem. 2004 Model. Running fine, start to run out of gas, move to reserve and will run for a mile or so before it's dead. Happnened again today, stopped on the road side, looked in the tank and it was empty. Fortunately the gas station was within 1/2 mile. My though, always be aware of the milage since the last fill-up and look in the tank before every ride.

Have you checked the routing of your fuel lines? If there is no RES fuel left, your fuel lines must be switched. See Kerry's post in this same thread.

I find it odd that no-one has mentioned a torn/bad diaphragm in the frame mounted petcock.  Couldn't this cause the symptoms he is experiencing?  My bike does the same thing and when I posted a question about it, that was one of the first things mentioned.  I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm pretty sure it's the problem with my bike.  I just fill up @ the 200 mile mark.

Check the routing of the hoses. If they're hooked up to the right outlets, make sure the lines aren't pinched somewhere...this is what happened to me. The dealer has mounted the tank back on..the reserve hose was pinched against the frame tightly.

Quote from: lewismug on June 29, 2008, 06:37:51 PM
I find it odd that no-one has mentioned a torn/bad diaphragm in the frame mounted petcock.  Couldn't this cause the symptoms he is experiencing?  My bike does the same thing and when I posted a question about it, that was one of the first things mentioned.  I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm pretty sure it's the problem with my bike.  I just fill up @ the 200 mile mark.

:dunno_white:  I don't see how a diaphragm tear would drain the RES. The tank outlet (ON or RES) is controlled by the plastic valve behind the diaphragm. Maybe if that valve was broken?... but that seems pretty unlikely.

EDIT: the photo below was copied only to show the plastic valve that controls fuel flow. Please ignore the JB Weld and the related comments
(http://www.bbburma.net/Temp/Jenya_petcock_plugged.jpg)
(taken from this thread: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=19363.0)

On second thought, I seem to recall you have a newer GS? If so, the insides are totally different; fuel starvation shouldn't even be a problem??  :dunno_white:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=37366.0

A malfunctioning diaphragm will not allow fuel in either On or RES. They both rely on the same passage for fuel supply to the carbs. 

This is truly a reversed fuel line problem. 
My bike's PO had actually put the supply line to the carbs on the RES port of the petcock and talk about confused fuel supply. It only put out fuel in PRI.