Ran Out Of Gas????

[molly]

Hey, this might be a stupid question, but has anyone here run their GZ out of gas? I was coming home from work today, going at highway speeds (55-60), and thank goodness my husband came to meet me on his Harley so we could ride home together. We were going along nicely, and all of a sudden, the GZ just "shut down". I pulled off the highway, and DH pulled up behind me. He told me to put the bike on reserve, and he checked out all the electrical components, and said they seemed OK. We went to restart the bike while it was on reserve, and it did fine all the way home. Most other bikes I have ridden spit and sputter when they need to go on reserve. Mine just completely stopped! Has anyone else had this experience? Thanks for the help.

[caroledee1]

You can reach down and switch it to reserve on the go or pull off the road to do this too. If it died just pull in the clutch lever and bump the starter.

[molly]

Thanks, Carole! I was just wondering if it was normal for the GX to just "die out" instead of sputtering and spitting prior to running out of gas. Never had a bike do this before! My Harley used to "warn me" to switch to reserve, by lagginf and sputtering. Hope I have nough to make it to town for more gas in the morning! YIKES!

[Badbob]

I've hot reserve on my GZ250 many times in the almost 17,000 miles I have put on it. How the bike acts depends on a lot of factors. On the straight and level at highway speed it just quits. A lower speeds it may sputter a bit before it dies. The bike can act very strange depending on conditions. Reserve is just another fuel outlet that is lower in the tank. Imagine two tubes sticking into the bottom of the tank one much taller than the other. The tall one is where the gas goes when the petcock is in the on position (normal). When the gas level gets close to the top of the pipe things start to get interesting. If you lean hard to the right the gas level drops below the top of the tube. Do this enough and you will not get enough gas to keep it running. Riding on a rough road may cause enough gas to slosh around to keep it going longer or possibly surge as it starves for gas and then gets a little as the gas sloshes over the top of the tube. Most of the time the bowl of the carburetor and fuel lines hold enough gas to get you past short periods of sucking air, but if the conditions are just right the GZ250 cna act pretty strange.

Some of the stranger things I have had happen:

Once I hit reserve just as I started the bike. It would start and idle but stall if I tried to move it.

On what passes for a twisty road around here, the first sign was losing power when leaned over into a right turn. When the bike was vertical or leaning left it was fine. This lasted for about 3/4 mile before it finally died.

I used to ride until I hit reserve and go looking for gas. Now days I make damn sure I reset my mileage to zero and when it gets to 150 miles I begin to seriously look for a gas stop. When I'm on long trips I start looking at 100 miles. Gas stops can be very far apart in the areas I like to ride in.

I don't like hitting reserve. Imagine pulling into some fast moving traffic, twisting hard on the throttle trying to merge smoothly hitting reserve and third gear at the same time. Its not a good feeling.

I suggest that you practice switching to reserve while riding. You might think that it will be easy to reach down and switch to reserve but it may not be as easy as you think. My wife says she can't do it.

[jonathan180iq]

Bob's suggestion of switching to reserve while riding is very good. It makes emergency switches very smooth and anti-climactic (sp). As Bob explained, you're simply drawing fuel from lower in the tank. However, it is important to remember that you should switch back to normal before your next ride. The absolute worst feeling is to run out of gas while on reserve. After this happens once, you'll never let it happen again.

[molly]

Good Morning, and thanks for all the responses. I took a chance and rode the bike (on reserve) to the local gas station this morning prior to going to work. I was praying, but only had to make it about 4 miles. All went well, and now the GZ has a "full tummy", the petcock is back to the normal position, and she seems happy again. Could not believe it shut down so suddenly yesterday!!! Guess i will pay more attention to gas levels in the future. LOL! :blush:

[prof_stack]

While passing a semi against the wind on a busy 2-lane highway my former Buell Blast suddenly sputtered and cut out. Way sooner than normal. I had actually practiced the motion of reaching under the tank and turning the petcock earlier in the morning and in seconds it kicked in and ran fine. It was a bit harrowing, however.

"Modern" motorcycles with fuel injection usually warn you with a light on the dashboard. But it is wise to set to zero the tripmeter at the time of a fillup.

[davidc83]

You should be able to go 40+ miles on reserve. The reserve is approximately .7 gallons, Even at Interstate speeds of 70mph, I get around 70+mpg so I start looking for gas stations around the 200 mile mark. So dont worry about going 4 miles to a gas station. Just remember to take it off reserve when you fill up, or the next time you run out, you will be out.

[caroledee1]

Bob's suggestion of switching to reserve while riding is very good. It makes emergency switches very smooth and anti-climactic (sp). As Bob explained, you're simply drawing fuel from lower in the tank. However, it is important to remember that you should switch back to normal before your next ride. The absolute worst feeling is to run out of gas while on reserve. After this happens once, you'll never let it happen again.

Hmmm. I think that is what I suggested." Switch to reserve on the go. " A little background on me. Been turning wrenches since 1978 when I joined the

U.S. Army. Worked on tanks and wheeled vehicles for seven years for my uncle (Sam). Preferred tanks. IQ not 180 but plenty of common sense. Lived in

Germany for almost 6 years. Lots of life experience. Saved up for my 1st motorcycle when I was 16 back in 1976. :2tup:

[jonathan180iq]

Ok. I'd better not piss off the tank lady.

I always get crap about the 180iq thing. Did no one ever watch the movie "Sneakers"?

What part of Germany were you in? I've visited.

[molly]

My husband was stationed in Germany briefly while he was in the Army. He said it was the best part of being in the Army...PERIOD. Too bad it was long before we met. I was just a little girl! LOL!

[caroledee1]

The first tour I was north of Frankfurt at Ayers Kaserne (The Rock) with the 3rd Armored Division. Kirch Goens. The second tour I was west of Frankfurt

with the 37th Transportation Group at Russelsheim and Rhein Main Air Base. The autobahn was probably one of the best things and having a Porsche

to drive!

[Gadzooks Mike]

I always get crap about the 180iq thing.



So why advertise it?

[jonathan180iq]

Did no one ever watch the movie "Sneakers"?

[caroledee1]

Yes, but:
http://upload6.postimage.org/538921/respect_my_authority_774051.jpg (http://upload6.postimage.org/538921/photo_hosting.html)