Run out of Gas!

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rajrakhiria
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Run out of Gas!

Post by rajrakhiria »

Coming back from A great day at Moto GP, heading Northbound on M40, it was unfortunate I ran out of petrol! Has this happened to anyone else? In hindsight yes I should have checked tank before setting off, but this was the second time his has happened! First time I was fortunate as not too far from home, but this time it was getting dark on the hard shoulder and it took rescue services one hour and half to reach me!

I will look on the forum, but I've forgotten the fuel tank capacity? Is there no reserve tank that kicks in, or does it need to be switched?

Is there a universal petrol gauge that can be fitted?

Raj
tink
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by tink »

They have a reserve
You turn the fuel tank one way when you got loads of fuel then once you've used most of it up the bike will cut out and then you turn the tap 180' and you then use the reserve to get you to the nearest garage
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KwakKwak
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by KwakKwak »

:smt115

You may just be riding on reserve all the time.

16 litre tank, last 4 reserve.
Does the low seat height reflect the low intelligence? Easier to get an asshole onto.
cargo
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by cargo »

:smt115 :smt115

Or it could be that you just didn't know or understand that just about every motorcycle ever produced in Japan has come with an option to switch to a reserve source of fuel when it runs out on main. To be fair some have fuel guages.

When I rode a sixteener special 50cc moped in the Seventies deliberately running out and on to reserve was a great way to try and convince a female pillion that there was no fuel left and she was stuck with you all night on some remote road in the middle of nowhere in need of some shared bodily warmth banghead
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KwakKwak
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by KwakKwak »

But here's the real mind bender, how does the fuel get to the "reserve tank" when you fill up, I wait a few minutes and then put some more in :pmsl

I had to get a bloke to open his petrol station up late one night in Dungannon (he lived beside it, thank fuuuck) when I had drained every drop of reserve on my seventeener special 80, I had bodily warmth from a female pillion too, I married her, aaaaaawwww.
Does the low seat height reflect the low intelligence? Easier to get an asshole onto.
cargo
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by cargo »

My 1987 FZ750 (total babe magnet) had a very clever little electrical switch to change onto the mystery reserve tank it also switched on a vibrating pillion seat..................very trick and clever and rare in those days...............no clue as to how fuel got into that reserve but it always seem to be there when I needed it as were the babes
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by tink »

There is no real reserve tank it's just a different feed you select when turning the tap
Look at the fuel tap,in the picture, the main feed is the big tube and the reserve is the small one
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KwakKwak
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by KwakKwak »

tink wrote:There is no real reserve tank
:pmsl :pmsl :pmsl

Having taken the bike apart several times I've often wondered where that pesky reserve tank was.

:ffs I'm extracting the urine, (reserve tank urine obviously)

I should also point out I DO NOT actually wait and fill it up a bit more, although when I fill up the 600 I leave the ignition on and watch the fuel guage go up, saves bending over to look into the tank, its fuel guage is quite depressing, bloody thing hammers down.
Does the low seat height reflect the low intelligence? Easier to get an asshole onto.
rajrakhiria
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by rajrakhiria »

What a great education this has been to us all! Music to my ears :smt020 When Mr Recovery man came to pick me and the bike up from the M40 on his loader (that was an experience) and maybe we should have a conflab on a separate discussion of how bikes (in particular ZXR babies) should be strapped!

Going back to to reserve, never actually thought about it (yes should have looked and tried). Truth be told I think the markings for reserve are worn out, will check in the morning. Obviously that doesn't mean I was not in the wrong, wish the pick up bloke had said something now. We went to a near service station (which was not so near). Filled it up whilst on the loader.....I was filling up to the highest level (as at this point suffering from race fatigue)! Found out for sure there is an overflow pipe for the petrol!

Thanks guys. This is better than Facebook and all those unsociable social network stuff which obviously none of us do!

Raj oldman
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by cargo »

rajrakhiria wrote:What a great education this has been to us all! Music to my ears :smt020 When Mr Recovery man came to pick me and the bike up from the M40 on his loader (that was an experience) and maybe we should have a conflab on a separate discussion of how bikes (in particular ZXR babies) should be strapped!

Going back to to reserve, never actually thought about it (yes should have looked and tried). Truth be told I think the markings for reserve are worn out, will check in the morning. Obviously that doesn't mean I was not in the wrong, wish the pick up bloke had said something now. We went to a near service station (which was not so near). Filled it up whilst on the loader.....I was filling up to the highest level (as at this point suffering from race fatigue)! Found out for sure there is an overflow pipe for the petrol!

Thanks guys. This is better than Facebook and all those unsociable social network stuff which obviously none of us do!

Raj oldman

how refreshing.............................a sense of humor :smt002

reserve on a zxr is fully turned clockwise on the tap
off is a quarter turn anti clockwise from there and on is another quarter turn anti clockwise
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banner001
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Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by banner001 »

and with regards to a proper "fuel meter" its possible to fit either of these two if you wished...
https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/s/in ... be-senders

or

http://www.acewell.co.uk/Acewell%20Acce ... full&id=36

the first types are generally better as you can get the sensor to go all the way down to the bottom of the tank, and you can foam the tank if you wish, but they are more likely to break down. the second type are the arm-type senders using a float to control a variable resistor, you can get them in 100,250 or 510 ohm outputs in +ve and -ve configurations (so you can mount them upside down), and then hook them up to an appropriate fuel guage, make a bracket to attach to your clocks and you're good to go!

is it worth it, probably not, i leave my bike on reserve all the time and ive only once run out of fuel and that was when i drained the tank and forgot that i had drained it. i do 110 miles and then fill up, if im on the motorways ill stretch it to 150 miles before filling up unless ive been bombing along two-up.

another thing you can do is to fit a thermistor inside the tank at a pre-defined height. as the fuel covers the thermistor its kept cool and its resistance is constant, once the fuel no longer covers it it will heat up and lower its resistance/increase current flow, this can be coupled to a light that informs you that you are low on fuel...it all depends on what you want to achieve, personally i reset my trip meter at every fuel up, and just topup once i start to go into the low hundreds.
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
rajrakhiria
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:29 am
My Bike: ZXR 400 L9
Location: Wednesbury, West Midlands

Re: Run out of Gas!

Post by rajrakhiria »

This will make you all judder and entertain.......switch was on reserve, (as Mr Kwak Kwak informed) must have been running off reserve tank (whoops check vocabulary), different feed ever since I owned the bike! It's beyond me why I have overlooked something so minor, us blokes are usually on top of our game!

I'm always banging on at the 'Mrs' not to drive until the red line in the car, and now this happens!
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