4 ms·

always fun when you're barreling down the highway and the engine starts to lean out, prompting you to hurriedly locate and switch the petcock over before the en

always fun when you're barreling down the highway and the engine starts to lean out, prompting you to hurriedly locate and switch the petcock over before the engine stalls completely. suppose then that you go fill up and forget to set the petcock back to normal. 8ball says: "I see a long walk in your future."

geocrasher 6y ago
I once put a new fuel pump in a Chevy pickup with two tanks on the side of the road because I was switched to the empty tank. Good times.
jessaustin 6y ago
IME it doesn't take too many hikes to learn that part of the procedure for turning off the engine is "turn the fuel switch off reserve".
- 0_____0 6y ago
  out of years of riding it's only happened to me a couple times. one time i was eastbound on the bay bridge when my bike started to sputter. i'd just reassembled the tank and had left the screw-style reserve fuel valve open, so there was no reserve fuel to be had. a very kind lady put her blinkers on behind me and followed as i coasted the last few hundred yards toward yerba buena island. i pushed my bike up the ramp and looked in the tank to assess. it's a dirtbike, so the tank has two distinct "lobes" to accomodate the top tube of the frame. I had a few ounces in the tank but they were not in the lobe with the fuel pickup, so i dumped the bike on its side to get the fuel to slosh over to where i wanted it. i got back on the highway and, going quite slowly and gently, managed to get to the gas station at west oakland bart, the engine leaning out and sputtering right as i rolled into their lot.
  - chihuahua 6y ago
    I think that driving on those last few ounces of fuel is a completely different feeling. Normally you take for granted that the engine works for hours at at time. When you've come to a stop and found those last few ounces of fuel, it's such a relief that the engine can run again, and you know it won't run for very long, but every minute that it continues running saves you many minutes of walking or pushing. You appreciate every minute that the engine produces that amazing amount of power (compared to your own power when you're pushing a 300+ pound bike)
    - 0_____0 6y ago
      It's a crazy amount of energy. The 2.5 gallons of gas that that tank holds has more energy than all the food I eat in a month.
dnautics 6y ago
Surprised there isn't a mechanism that mechanically switches the petcock over when you put a fuel nozzle up to the port
- quesera 6y ago
  Most motorcycles are surprisingly manual. This was originally a necessity (like in cars), but remains aesthetically preferable for many riders. OTOH, Honda Goldwings have stereo systems. They might grow an automatic fuel reserve switcher-backer someday too. :)
  - names_are_hard 6y ago
    Many new bikes come with a lot of rider aids for safety (ABS, TCS) as well as all kinds of electronics (fuel maps), so this is changing. But of course manual transmission won't go away until bike are electric. I am one of those who likes things old school. My bike still has a carburetor, has no fuel light or tachometer, and I have certainly had some practice reaching down to turn the fuel petcock to reserve while sputtering on the highway. If they didn't intend for me to do that, why did they put it on the left side? :)
    - thesmok 6y ago
      > But of course manual transmission won't go away until bike are electric. See multiple Honda bikes with DCT (dual clutch transmission). This is what I'm planning to get as my first bike.
  - abruzzi 6y ago
    Fuel injected motorcycles don’t have reserve (at least, none that I’ve seen.) instead they have low fuel lights or full fuel gauges. I’m guessing it’s because the fuel pumps are in the tank and the fuel injection system needs high pressure.
    - ericbarrett 6y ago
      Fuel injectors require filtered gas because even small particles can clog them, and said filter is more likely to be clogged or even compromised by sucking up the last drops of fuel (and scale and debris) in the tank, so the low-fuel warning is required. Carb jets can get clogged, too, but are wider since they're not under as much pressure. Also, since they're a wear item they're a lot easier to clean and/or replace.

geocrasher 6y ago

I once put a new fuel pump in a Chevy pickup with two tanks on the side of the road because I was switched to the empty tank. Good times.

jessaustin 6y ago

IME it doesn't take too many hikes to learn that part of the procedure for turning off the engine is "turn the fuel switch off reserve".

0_____0 6y ago
out of years of riding it's only happened to me a couple times. one time i was eastbound on the bay bridge when my bike started to sputter. i'd just reassembled the tank and had left the screw-style reserve fuel valve open, so there was no reserve fuel to be had. a very kind lady put her blinkers on behind me and followed as i coasted the last few hundred yards toward yerba buena island. i pushed my bike up the ramp and looked in the tank to assess. it's a dirtbike, so the tank has two distinct "lobes" to accomodate the top tube of the frame. I had a few ounces in the tank but they were not in the lobe with the fuel pickup, so i dumped the bike on its side to get the fuel to slosh over to where i wanted it. i got back on the highway and, going quite slowly and gently, managed to get to the gas station at west oakland bart, the engine leaning out and sputtering right as i rolled into their lot.
- chihuahua 6y ago
  I think that driving on those last few ounces of fuel is a completely different feeling. Normally you take for granted that the engine works for hours at at time. When you've come to a stop and found those last few ounces of fuel, it's such a relief that the engine can run again, and you know it won't run for very long, but every minute that it continues running saves you many minutes of walking or pushing. You appreciate every minute that the engine produces that amazing amount of power (compared to your own power when you're pushing a 300+ pound bike)
  - 0_____0 6y ago
    It's a crazy amount of energy. The 2.5 gallons of gas that that tank holds has more energy than all the food I eat in a month.

dnautics 6y ago

Surprised there isn't a mechanism that mechanically switches the petcock over when you put a fuel nozzle up to the port

quesera 6y ago
Most motorcycles are surprisingly manual. This was originally a necessity (like in cars), but remains aesthetically preferable for many riders. OTOH, Honda Goldwings have stereo systems. They might grow an automatic fuel reserve switcher-backer someday too. :)
- names_are_hard 6y ago
  Many new bikes come with a lot of rider aids for safety (ABS, TCS) as well as all kinds of electronics (fuel maps), so this is changing. But of course manual transmission won't go away until bike are electric. I am one of those who likes things old school. My bike still has a carburetor, has no fuel light or tachometer, and I have certainly had some practice reaching down to turn the fuel petcock to reserve while sputtering on the highway. If they didn't intend for me to do that, why did they put it on the left side? :)
  - thesmok 6y ago
    > But of course manual transmission won't go away until bike are electric. See multiple Honda bikes with DCT (dual clutch transmission). This is what I'm planning to get as my first bike.
- abruzzi 6y ago
  Fuel injected motorcycles don’t have reserve (at least, none that I’ve seen.) instead they have low fuel lights or full fuel gauges. I’m guessing it’s because the fuel pumps are in the tank and the fuel injection system needs high pressure.
  - ericbarrett 6y ago
    Fuel injectors require filtered gas because even small particles can clog them, and said filter is more likely to be clogged or even compromised by sucking up the last drops of fuel (and scale and debris) in the tank, so the low-fuel warning is required. Carb jets can get clogged, too, but are wider since they're not under as much pressure. Also, since they're a wear item they're a lot easier to clean and/or replace.