Howdy all.

I have a problem.  When I get down to about half a tank of gas on my 96 GS500e, my bike starts to behave as if it doesn't have any fuel.  Topping of the tank fixes this problem.  Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

low fuel.

I'll assume for a moment that it's not because you're not switching to reserve.

You could have some kind of "krud" in some part of the fuel system that's limiting your fuel flow.  When the tank is fuller, there may be enough pressure to push fuel past the krud.

If you can reproduce the symptoms at idle, try direcly connecting a siphon from a gas can to the carbs and see if the problem goes away.  If so, you'll have to clean or replace the fuel lines, or maybe clean out the petcock.

What's the age/condition of the bike?

Heh, funny funny NGFL ;p

Its a 96, and i would say the condition is fair.  I was suspecting something along those lines, figured it had to do with the pressure being insufficient.  Bah.  Looks like its time to tinker on my next day off.. till then just refill every 150 miles.

I'd pull the petcocks and clean them,check the vaccume line going to the petcock on the frame,and replace the fuel filter.Remember there is 2 petcocks. 

Quote from: richreid on June 15, 2007, 10:55:17 AM
Heh, funny funny NGFL ;p

Its a 96, and i would say the condition is fair.  I was suspecting something along those lines, figured it had to do with the pressure being insufficient.  Bah.  Looks like its time to tinker on my next day off.. till then just refill every 150 miles.

Are you sure it's actually half full? In 96 I'm pretty sure the gas tank size was right around 4 gallons with a 1 gallon reserve. That gives you somewhere around 3 gallons of gas before you have to hit the reserve. If you're getting typically gas mileage, 50 mpg +/-5 then 150 gallons is right around where you may need to switch to reserve. On my 96 I usually fill up at 150 to avoid hitting the reserve.

Good point.  NGFL might have been right all along.

positive   I of course tried to switch to reserve with the same results.. visual inspection showed fuel above and beyond reserve level. 

I tend to be a gentle rider, my friends often say I am the guy who writes those stupid break-in-rules.  I rarely exceed 5k rpms, and prefer to cruise at 4k.  I usually get 60-65 to the gallon, and tend to fill up at 175 miles, and have only once had to hit my reserve tank (I was well over 200 miles on that tank).

Yep, it needs a good thrashing after that many easy miles

Wouldn't hurt to check out your fuel lines and petcock. Besides, it prolly needs an air filter change.

holy crap, you cruise at 4K? I feel like I'm lugging it anywhere below 5K.. power doesn't really come on until 5.5.... that's nuts..