Dumb petcock question

raptormeat

Been Around the Block
So when I run out of gas on the freeway and switch to reserve it takes a good 20 seconds for my bike to pick up speed again. When it runs out of gas in the regular setting the bike completely loses power and I'm stuck rolling 40mph for a solid 15-20 seconds kind of dangerous. Any way to alleviate this?
 
Always run the bike on reserve. ;D

Seriously, though... you can get a larger diameter petcock and fuel lines, but that's about it. The delay is the time it takes the gasoline to fill up the carb bowls again.
 
put a vent on the tank with a small hose
keep the hose in your mouth as you ride
when it comes time to switch over to reserve blo hard into the hose pressurising the tank to fill your carbs faster
or anticipate and switch to reserve before it runs out
 
My cb550 gets 90 - 95 miles in the city before switching to reserve. If I'm in a precarious traffic situation and I think it's going to need switching based on the trip meter, I switch to reserve before it's required. Once I'm back on safer streets, I switch it back. If the bike starts to stall at that point, I switch it back to reserve and find a gas station.
 
xb33bsa said:
put a vent on the tank with a small hose
keep the hose in your mouth as you ride
when it comes time to switch over to reserve blo hard into the hose pressurising the tank to fill your carbs faster
or anticipate and switch to reserve before it runs out
this seems like a good idea, will try it out and report back.
 
DM's got it. I can usually tell, however, when I am running out of gas before switching it to reserve -- it'll be slow to react, sputter, then go back to normal for a few seconds before cutting out. If I switch to reserve when I first catch it, it's fine. Knowing mileage helps -- does your trip odometer work? I zero it every time I fill the tank. If you find yourself sputtering you can flip up the choke -- that got me a half-mile once to a gas station so I didn't have to walk.
 
carnivorous chicken said:
DM's got it. I can usually tell, however, when I am running out of gas before switching it to reserve -- it'll be slow to react, sputter, then go back to normal for a few seconds before cutting out. If I switch to reserve when I first catch it, it's fine. Knowing mileage helps -- does your trip odometer work? I zero it every time I fill the tank. If you find yourself sputtering you can flip up the choke -- that got me a half-mile once to a gas station so I didn't have to walk.
do carniverous chickens eat raptor meat?
 
xb33bsa said:
..blo hard into the hose pressurising the tank to fill your carbs faster...

Thanks for that... It was a long night and a pick-me-up was what I needed this morning. ;D

-Deek
 
xb33bsa said:
put a vent on the tank with a small hose
keep the hose in your mouth as you ride
when it comes time to switch over to reserve blo hard into the hose pressurising the tank to fill your carbs faster
or anticipate and switch to reserve before it runs out

This is how I do it.

Works a treat.
 
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