Out of gas.

[patrick_777]

Just got in the house after pushing my bike 2.5 miles home. Went down into north Tulsa today to check out a motorcycle shop and was over-confident (read: ignorant) in the amount of gas in the tank/reserve. Apparently, the "reserve" only holds a couple of teaspoons of gas, because once it started sputtering, switching over to reserve got me only about 30 more yards down the road. My tripmeter read 191.2 when I stopped initially. It now reads 193.9.

Lesson well learned: Fill up the tank often.

85 degrees / 75% humidity/ Full sun = bad post-ride recovery.

It was going so well too.

:oops:

[Badbob]

Maybe you only thought you had it on reserve. You might want to check your owners manual. Reserve is .8 US Gallons which will get me about 50 miles.

I've done that.

[patrick_777]

Very interesting point Bob.

Did everyone know that you can run the bike for over 190 miles (mostly "full" tank) with the switch in the reserve position the WHOLE TIME?

Yes...it's possible, and it makes you feel stupid.

[Badbob]

Its not the kind of thing you forget twice. The good part is that you only had to go 2.5 miles.

I start looking for gas at about 150. Just in case. The way things are you might pull up to a pump running on vapor only to find its out of order or there is no gas because the delivery is late. I had that happen. If its 50 miles to the next pump your going to have to wait. I think its better to leave some room for options.

[Sarris]

Been there, done that. I got kinda used to a fuel injected bike with a fuel guage or low fuel light. I ran out on my first tank on my GZ because the Suzuki dealer had it on reserve when I picked it up and I didn't check it. Thank the Lord that it stalled at an intersection with a gas station, so I rolled to the pump.

Very valuable lesson learned. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.

LOL

:lol:

[Easy Rider]

Did everyone know that you can run the bike for over 190 miles (mostly "full" tank) with the switch in the reserve position the WHOLE TIME?


Well, no, apparently EVERYBODY didn't know that !! :lol: :neener: :oops:

[patrick_777]

Yeah, obviously. Maybe I should have said "everyone ELSE"...

[Moedad]

I ran out of gas on a 70+ mile ride on Saturday. Flipped it to "reserve" and rode a mile to the closest gas station. I have this question: How much gas are you guys able to fit in your tanks? Mine was empty and I filled it until the auto shut-off on the nozzle kicked in, then added a little more until I got up to what seemed to be close to the bottom of the fill neck. It was barely over 2 gallons according to the pump. Am I not filling it enough? I have a CA bike with a 3.4 gallon tank.

[Easy Rider]

Mine was empty and I filled it until the auto shut-off on the nozzle kicked in, then added a little more until I got up to what seemed to be close to the bottom of the fill neck. It was barely over 2 gallons according to the pump. Am I not filling it enough? I have a CA bike with a 3.4 gallon tank.

Let's see....3.4 minus .8 leaves 2.6....I think! So you are a little shy of the 2.4 I "think" you should be getting.
You are NOT filling up while sitting ON the bike and holding it straight up, are you? That would be bad for 2 reasons!!

You can actually get more in if it is on the side stand....and you can fill it until the fuel just touches the filler neck.
One or both of those things should get you an extra .2 to .4 on a fill.
There is always some unused space left at the top.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

quick question: i know the GZ had a .8 gallon reserve, and 3.7 main tank... by "main" that in effect means "total," right? so 2.9 gallons until you hit reserve?

[Moedad]

Let's see....3.4 minus .8 leaves 2.6....I think! So you are a little shy of the 2.4 I "think" you should be getting.
You are NOT filling up while sitting ON the bike and holding it straight up, are you? That would be bad for 2 reasons!!

Nope.

[Easy Rider]

quick question: i know the GZ had a .8 gallon reserve, and 3.7 main tank... by "main" that in effect means "total," right? so 2.9 gallons until you hit reserve?

Well, since you put it THAT way.................... :??:

Yes, I think if you look elswhere in the "specs", you will see that the total fuel capacity is listed ad 3.7 gal.

But, as we were discussing, you will likely NEVER get a useable 2.9 before reserve; more likely 2.3 to 2.6.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

ok now i'm worried.

last fill up i had gone about 220 miles. i don't remember exactly how many gallons i put in but i do remember the MPG was about 68. so, 220/68 is 3.24. am i driving with my reserve on?

i guess i could just go out in the garage and check...

[patrick_777]

Remember - The long side points toward what you want.


http://www.idlerants.com/images/fuel_switch_thumb.jpg (http://www.idlerants.com/images/fuel_switch.jpg)

[5th_bike]

The picture above shows the 'normal' position, not the 'reserve' position.

Last time I put in on reserve 4 miles before the gas station and filled it up with 2.931 gallons (for $11.72, which got me a full tank of gas for my car just a few years ago), touching the bottom quart of the fill pipe. Now at 208 miles I just switched it to reserve again and will get gas tomorrow.

[patrick_777]

The picture above shows the 'normal' position, not the 'reserve' position.

Thanks, I should have said that in the post.

I won't accidentally-keep-it-on-reserve-through-the-whole-tank again.

[Orpheus]

I meant to start a thread on a similar topic a while back and forgot. I ran out of gas about a month ago and switching to reserve did nothing for me; ended up pushing the bike a couple of blocks to the nearest gas station. I tried priming it and starting it, and also just starting it on reserve but nothing worked. Is it possible that my reserve line/valve/however it flows out of the tank is clogged or something? The other option is that something's wrong with the petcock, but I really doubt that. I've been pretty much just making sure that I refuel @ around 200 miles, but I don't like that I'm not sure if the reserve is actually going to be there when I need it.

[patrick_777]

I meant to start a thread on a similar topic a while back and forgot. I ran out of gas about a month ago and switching to reserve did nothing for me; ended up pushing the bike a couple of blocks to the nearest gas station. I tried priming it and starting it, and also just starting it on reserve but nothing worked. Is it possible that my reserve line/valve/however it flows out of the tank is clogged or something? The other option is that something's wrong with the petcock, but I really doubt that. I've been pretty much just making sure that I refuel @ around 200 miles, but I don't like that I'm not sure if the reserve is actually going to be there when I need it.

As this thread says, I actually had my petcock (tee hee) set to reserve for the whole tank, so it basically ran it bone dry. Make sure you have the long side of the fuel switch pointing to OK and not RES.

[jonathan180iq]

I did this once. I was wondering why I was over 200 miles on my tank and hadn't been forced to use reserve yet. When I filled up, around 205 miles, I saw my mistake. Fortunately for me, it happened before I ra out of gas.

-Jonathan

[Easy Rider]

I meant to start a thread on a similar topic a while back and forgot. I ran out of gas about a month ago and switching to reserve did nothing for me; ended up pushing the bike a couple of blocks to the nearest gas station. I tried priming it and starting it, and also just starting it on reserve but nothing worked.

It is possible that your petcock (or the taps inside the tank) are somehow messed up but...............
I'm afraid I have to say that it is MUCH more likely that you have it on reserve all the time.
The long part of the lever should be toward the FRONT of the bike, over top of ON.

It is also possible that you didn't get it switched over fast enough. If it dies completely, it may take a good LONG minute to get the fuel flowing good again. Switch to PRIme and count slowly to 100 BEFORE you touch the starter. :tup:

[Sarris]

Man, that petcock position always looks backassward to me as well. Suzuki in their infinite wisdom........

:lol:

[Orpheus]

It is also possible that you didn't get it switched over fast enough. If it dies completely, it may take a good LONG minute to get the fuel flowing good again. Switch to PRIme and count slowly to 100 BEFORE you touch the starter. :tup:

This is probably the problem; I figured that switching to prime would just dump fuel and I'd instantly be able to start it. I'm sure that I keep the petcock pointed at "on" (as shown in the picture a few responses before) and this seems like the most likely solution. Thanks.

[Badbob]

Man, that petcock position always looks backassward to me as well. Suzuki in their infinite wisdom........

:lol:

It is almost the reverse of my other bike. I second the backassward.

[mrlmd1]

Not to add insult to injury, but if you look at that picture of the gas valve a few posts back, there is an arrow on the large handle pointing to what it is doing, and it's quite clearly spelled out in the owners manual if anybody ever reads these things.
But just looking at it, it could be confusing without a closer look.

[Rudeboy]

twice I have run out of gas on the GZ
both times I had the petcock in the proper position.
the second time I intentionally ran out of gas while set to ON to test the petcock
after switching to the RES the bike did not run.
I coasted down the road to a safe spot to pull off.
The bike would not restart in RES position or PRIME position

Today I will be removing the petcock to check it out.
my question is
Does the GZ use the old method of a standpipe inside the tank for the main?
or is there some other complicated method that they have come up with?

[Rudeboy]

here are the results incase anyone else runs into the same problem

yes the GZ does use a traditional standpipe
this means that when the petcock is set to ON that the gas flows from the tank through a plastic pipe that is about 2 inches tall
when you switch to RES the gas flows from the very bottom of the tank.

IN my case, the reason I was running out of gas and not able to run at all on the RES was because the ON standpipe had fallen out of the hole it is forced into.
This means that it did not matter if I was set to ON or RES, I was always running off the bottom of the tank.
it might also account for some minor performance issues since the standpipe has a built in filter.


http://www.postimage.org/aV1Lfioi.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1Lfioi)


http://www.postimage.org/gx2bCtdA.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gx2bCtdA)


http://www.postimage.org/aV1LfpSJ.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1LfpSJ)

[Rudeboy]

http://www.postimage.org/aV1Lg_Er.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1Lg_Er)


http://www.postimage.org/aV1Lh4DJ.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1Lh4DJ)


this is the way it looked when I took it out
http://www.postimage.org/PqQLpiS.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqQLpiS)


this is the way it should have looked
http://www.postimage.org/aV1Lhm5J.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV1Lhm5J)

[patrick_777]

Great pictures and that's some good information to have. I'm glad you got it fixed.

My problem was that I was just switched to reserve, probably didn't switch back after filling up the last time. I remembered at this last fill-up though ;)

[jonathan180iq]

No one has poster petcock photos yet. Thanks for that.

Those little screen filters are good for keeping out large particles. But, that's about it. I would suggest a replaceable inline filter as well. I have one. They only cost about $4 and do a fine job.

[ddoyle]

Been there, done that. I got kinda used to a fuel injected bike with a fuel guage or low fuel light. I ran out on my first tank on my GZ because the Suzuki dealer had it on reserve when I picked it up and I didn't check it. Thank the Lord that it stalled at an intersection with a gas station, so I rolled to the pump.

Very valuable lesson learned. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.

LOL

:lol:
Looks like you bought yours from the same dealer as me. Yep, they told me the tank was full when I bought her (not!) and it was on reserve the whole time. My fault for not looking. Luckily I was on a side road near a gas station. The next time was on the highway at 65mph and I felt that hiccup....reached down to turn the valve to reserve and couldn't find it! (this was at 4:30 in the morning and luckily there was nobody behind me) Finally found it after slowing down to about 50....bit of a pucker factor there. Last time.....I fill up around 150 miles now.

[Sarris]

Don't be too paranoid. I usually hit reserve at 180 to 185 miles. I've gotten used to reaching down and flipping to reserve on the roll. I never even miss a beat. When I get to the gas station the first thing I do is flip off of reserve. The second thing I do is reset the odometer to zero. Then I fill up.

This ritual keeps me from pushing so long as I don't have a senior moment and forget what the hell I'm supposed to do.

:)

[Orpheus]

twice I have run out of gas on the GZ
both times I had the petcock in the proper position.
the second time I intentionally ran out of gas while set to ON to test the petcock
after switching to the RES the bike did not run.
I coasted down the road to a safe spot to pull off.
The bike would not restart in RES position or PRIME position


Same thing here. I ran out again a couple of weeks ago and I definitely had it switched to ON. After letting it prime for a while, it wouldn't start in RES or PRIME, and I ended up having to walk a couple of blocks to a gas station. I'm figuring that I must have the same problem as you posted in the later post with the pics of the petcock. I'm just going to make sure that I fill up before 200 miles from now on.

[mcintyre_aerospace]

I dont really know how often I fill up. Ive only ran out 2 times, having to push it around a mile or two, but this bike is a real easy pusher, it may be to good because it seamed like I would have to jog to keep up with it on a flat road, it just rolls really easy. As for filling it up, i fill it all the way until it allmost spills out the top, no problems as of yet. Whenever I go out of town I take a little liter bottle of gas with me just in case.

[Easy Rider]

I dont really know how often I fill up. Ive only ran out 2 times, having to push it around a mile or two,

You do know about that little REServe trick, don't you ??? :oops: :lol: :lol:

[5th_bike]

As for filling it up, i fill it all the way until it allmost spills out the top, no problems as of yet.
You're supposed to only fill it up to the botton edge of the 'filler pipe', which is the cylinder inside the tank that fits the cap. If you fill it up to a too high level, fuel can spill when the bike is in the sun. I always fill it up until the fuel definitely touches the rear bottom edge of the 'filler pipe', but it shouldn't touch the front bottom edge.

And like 'Easy' said, there is a 0.7 gallons reserve capacity in the tank - I just used it today - when the bike starts hesitating and sputtering a bit, reach under the tank and turn the petcock from "ON" (points to the front) to "RES" (points to the back) and you're good for another 40 miles at least.

[patrick_777]

How 5th described is exactly how I've been doing it. I fill with the bike on the stand to the bottom of the filler cap.

http://www.idlerants.com/images/gasfill.png

[Jenny]

Mine was empty and I filled it until the auto shut-off on the nozzle kicked in, then added a little more until I got up to what seemed to be close to the bottom of the fill neck. It was barely over 2 gallons according to the pump. Am I not filling it enough? I have a CA bike with a 3.4 gallon tank.

You use the auto-fill option when you pump gas for your bike? When my partner took me to the gas station so I could fill my bike for the first time, he said that I should always go by sight and not rely on something like that. If something were to go wrong, I’d have gas all over my bike and myself. (FYI, this did actually happen once when I was filling the tank on my car – it was a mess! The auto-off feature didn’t work and gas just started pouring out all over my car and my feet. I was pissed off, and the folks at the gas station didn’t do anything about it (offer to pay for that tank, offer to pay for the car wash, etc.). Then I ended up with a scratched car because I was in a rush and forgot to check if anyone had shoved something into the brushes at the wash-yourself car wash. (*@#&$#$ teenagers had shoved some rocks into the brush and I scratched the paint on a newer car.

I’d be scared to death to ever use auto-fill. I pump slowly into my tank and watch the gas rise. No way I’m soaking my bike and myself in gasoline 

[Comike14]

Hmm, I used to run out of gas often, but the reserve was always more than enough to get me to a station. What I ended up doing was (because I was never always consistent on the throttle) to head to a gas station at 150 miles. That way I know I still have at least a dozen or so miles to go before the reserve, and the fill-up costs that much less. I was filling up about once a week, but never really had to put in more than 2.75 gallons.

On the post above, Jenny, I always did it by sight. I would stand my bike up straight (straddling it) and fill it to within about an inch from the top, then slowly lean it back to the kick-stand position so no gas would slosh out. That was enough gas to fill it up, but leave enough room to fit the cap back on and leave a little air in the tank. I can't imagine letting the auto-click thing decide when to shut the pump off.

And just a couple general tips from one who has been screwed by once (I'm sure they've been stated, but to re-iterate):

1. Always reset your odometer back to 0 when you fill up before you turn your bike back on.
2. Always make sure you've reset your fuel switch to the main tank from the reserve when you fill up before your turn your bike back on.

Been caught pushing my bike for failing to do both. These are little bikes, but they get real heavy uphill.

[Easy Rider]

On the post above, Jenny, I always did it by sight. I would stand my bike up straight (straddling it) and fill it to within about an inch from the top,

Well now there's a REALLY bad habit you need to work on un-learning. :cry:

Something happens so that gas splashes out .......it runs down on the hot engine where it ignites.
And there you are with the nozzle in hand, flames exploding in your face and unable to make a hasty exit because you are straddling the bike.

Bad. VERY bad. :cuss:

[Jer]

O_o

[Comike14]

On the post above, Jenny, I always did it by sight. I would stand my bike up straight (straddling it) and fill it to within about an inch from the top,

Well now there's a REALLY bad habit you need to work on un-learning. :cry:

Something happens so that gas splashes out .......it runs down on the hot engine where it ignites.
And there you are with the nozzle in hand, flames exploding in your face and unable to make a hasty exit because you are straddling the bike.

Bad. VERY bad. :cuss:

Hmm. Never looked at it that way. Though I thought you needed an open flame to ignite gas, or a spark, not just a hot engine. Do you fill while the bike is at the kick-stand (leaning) position?

[rusty rider]

Yes, always fill bike on kick stand, standing beside the motorcycle. Gas can ignite on a hot muffler, I've seen it happen on an old tractor we had on the farm.

[Easy Rider]

Hmm. Never looked at it that way. Though I thought you needed an open flame to ignite gas, or a spark, not just a hot engine. Do you fill while the bike is at the kick-stand (leaning) position?

Yes gasoline can and will ignite with sufficient heat alone. Then there is a chance of a static spark. Either way, a BIG risk with NO corresponding reward.

Yes, I do it on the side stand......with the bike far enough from the pump so I have room to move around.
Wierd stuff happens at times. Witness the video that captures a guy pumping gas into his car when another car crashes into the pump he is using.......setting the pump and both cars on fire.

See patrick's post with diagram. :tup:

[jonathan180iq]

Sarting to sound like putting gas in the bike needs a How-to.

[Comike14]

Sarting to sound like putting gas in the bike needs a How-to.

Guess so. Not something I ever really figured was difficult to do or dangerous, but apparently I'd been doing it wrong the whole time.

Ah well. Now I know for when I eventually do ride again. Thanks for the tips--tis what forums like this are for, even as basic as filling up your tank.

[music man]

I used to exclusively sit on my bike and put gas in it until one day I got a hold of one of those gas pumps that doesn't shut off right when you let go of the trigger, and bam there I was with gas pouring all over my gas tank, dripping off of it, and I had just rode about 80 miles non stop, bike hotter than hell. Needless to say I got off of the bike and stepped away found something to wipe it up with and lived to tell about it, but I can safely tell you that if that gas would have ignited, I would not have had time to get off the bike before I would have been on fire.



Later :rawk:

[alanmcorcoran]

and spilled gas two out those three times. I wasn't sitting on it and it was tilted, but gas went on the engine. I wiped it off all of the paint. Hoping to get it right one two times in a row.