[Ksnarf]

ok, this is going to be a stupid question which will probably get me slapped

do i have a reserve? my gas tank guage reads empty and my gas light comes on at about 120 miles, but i can still hear gas sloching around in the tank AND when i fill up it's usually around 3 gallons. according to the owner's manual my tank should hold 5.5

thanks;
kris

 

[ekinnee]

Do you have a petcock? Does it have a reserve setting?

 

[Ksnarf]

I can't find one, im assuming it would be easy to get to without removing plastic. That's the way it's been on the other bikes, i just can't find it on this one.

 

[Imposter]

I would imagine it would be near your left knee when your sitting on the bike. What bike do you have? Sounds odd that a bike would not have a petcock that is easily accessable.

 

[Ksnarf]

I managed to find the petcock, it sits behind the bottom of the gas tank. there is a primer button, but no switch. maybe i just don't have a reserve. my other two bikes did and it's kinda weird. I don't like riding without a reserve as the gas guage is not that accurate. i can't ever get more than about 3 gallons out of my 5.5 gallon tank


kris

 

[r1schmelz]

What kind of bike is it? Most of the fuel injected bikes do not have a petcock. The gas light coming on is your reserve. You still have plenty of miles to get to a gas station. Thats probably why you are only filling 3 gals.

 

[Ksnarf]

it's in my sig.. 87 ninja 750r

well, i can go about 140ish miles before the light starts coming on when i go up hills or take a hard left turn. if that was true i should be able to ride over a 100 miles with my gas light on. that just doesn't seem right

 

[r1schmelz]

That should definatley have a petcock which aside from reserve needs to be turned off when not riding it. If you look around your tank you should be able to see a fuel hose that goes to you carbs. The petcock will be attached to that.

 

[r1schmelz]

That does seem a little far on reserve. I put a litter of fuel in a back pack ond road it till it was empty. I get about 50 miles before its completley out.

 

[Ksnarf]

thanks for all the replies

i double checked the owner's manual and doesn't say anything about a reserve tank or a switch for it. it mentions the primer and it should used everytime i start the bike (seems odd, but ok) i have looked at all the fuel lines and can't find a switch that i could get to easily while on the bike (which would seem to be the idea for a reserve)

ill keep looking

 

[Monjoho]

I believe (and I could be wrong) that our bikes(I've got an 85' ZX900) have some sort of vacuum operated petcock. When the light comes on that is your reserve tank basically.

 

[Ksnarf]

yea, that's what i figured. This weekend i will probably put some gas in my portable gas can and ride around with the light on, just so see how far i can go before dying.

kris

 

[Imposter]

Just be careful, the bike when it dies can sometimes jerk a bit, have your hand on the clutch. Be safe bro.

 

[Ksnarf]

thanks

it happened to me once on my old Honda, i was riding to work when i started slowing down, being a VERY new rider i rolled on the throttle it went for a bit then it started sputering and jerking all over the place. I remember thinking "what the hell is going wrong" a light went off in my head and i got it switched over to reserve. that was an adventure

kris

 

[ZX-2R]

YES KRIS, YOU HAVE A RESERVE

Your bike on the other hand...You'd have to ask the tech guys. All them big fancy bikes...whew! I set down have cool glass of water (do what I call a spill and fill) and I'm ready to ride. RESERVE!!!

 

[Whitey]

It's like Monjoho said that light is your reserve, I did the samething you did way back when I first got my zx750, looked all around for the petcock and was wondering why the hell it had a button and no switch. If it ever starts to run real crappy all of a sudden and wont idle, check that vaccum line running to to the primer, mine came off and just about made me shoot the bike trying to figure out what went wrong.

 

[spdrkt ZX7R]

You have a gas light on that bike?

 

[Whitey]

Yup