Tank reserve question

[qslim]

Ran it down to the wire the other day more than I like to. Gas gauge was bouncing on 'E', so I reached down and flipped the petcock to reserve so I could get to the station next to my job. Didn't work, though. Bike started stumbling, hesitating, stalling, ETC.. Probably had a bunch of goo in there seeing as how I haven't ever used the reserve on this bike (I've put about 3k miles on it since I got it in august).
Anyway, my question is how is the 'reserve' portion of fuel setup in the tank? I'd like to run off reserve now and then so I can use it when I really need it, but do I have to run the main tank down first, or can I just flip the fuel lever to reserve any time to access that extra bit?

[SqDancerLynn1]

Check the petcock IF the in tank filter is removed YOU will not have reserve

[Redman]

The reserve isnt really a seperate tank or area, the gas is all in the same tank and sloshing around. The the reserve takes gas from a lower point on the filter that sticks up into the tank. The main takes gas from a higher point on the filter.

On my 850G the it starts sputtering on main about when the guage is at the red mark.

You said it started to sputter near the empty, so you turned it to reserve and you ran out anyway. So, Like SqDancer is suggesting, its as if you dont have a reserve. If someone took the filter off the petcock, then the reserve and the main would both take fuel from the very lowest point.

You cant see the filter looking in the tank, so need to take off the petcock. Is just two screws/bolts. Drain fuel first.

[ptm]

I think dpep had a problem like that where there was a lot of rust and debris in the bottom of the tank. Everything was fine with the petcock on ON since (like REDMAN said) it's taking fuel from a higher point in the tank. When it got low enough and he switched to RES, the gas would flow very slowly because that part of the petcock filter was down in the grunge - so it ran very poorly.

I agree - take off the petcock and see what it looks like and see if there's a bunch of muck in the bottom of the tank.

[Rick]

Petcocks

I had a somewhat similar experience some time ago with different results. I had never ran it on reserve & as I found out the hard way, an inch or so of water was sloshing around on the bottom of the tank...I never knew it as the main pickup tube is about two inches high....besides the build-up of muck the water had rusted the tank completely thru from the inside. One day I detected the smell of gas only to discover a weeping hole in the tank. After draining the tank I found the leak as a small rust spot...poked it with a screwdriver ,it broke thru to the size of a dime...poking at other spots I quickly swiss cheesed the bottom of the tank...only the nice paint job I had was holding it together....The tank was trash after that. Do something about the rust before its' too late.
______________________________________________Rick ........

[qslim]

Since I ususally don't let my tank run less than half, my concern is that moisture and stuff will collect at the bottom and when I really DO need to run on reserve, I'll get nothing but crap to my carbs. But, it sounds like I can just flip the lever over to reserve regardless of the amount in the tank to run gas through that part of the outlet, right?

[beby99]

Yep, thats right.

[dpep]

Reserve -- Use it or Lose it. Everybody should use reserve on their bike regularly. The reserves on these bikes are big. You can safely make it up to 40 miles after switching to reserve, IF YOU HAVE A RESERVE THAT WORKS!!!

Here is my tale of woe that PTM was referring to about what can happen when you have a reserve that does not work.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=71747

If your gas guage works and you never get close to empty, just run it on reserve all the time. Regular use of reserve is the only way you can be reasonably sure of being able to use all the gasoline in your tank when you need to. If your reserve doesn't work know, get it fixed. Rebuild your petcock or buy a new one. Clean out your tank and coat it.

[Ghostgs1]

Well, I used my reserve for a whole tank. Stupid me, forgot which position was reserve and which was run. When I bought gas I needed 4.9+ gallons, boy that was close. Ray

[roadrunner]

GS 550E Underpowered

Hi there all,

I have a gs550e (1980) v plate, my problem seems to be that the bike will run ok on RESERVE but it splutters and coughs etc when i turn the petcock on to ON!!!. I have stripped down the petcock as far as practically can do and everything was ok. Sucked on the vacuum tube with the petcock in the both positions (reserve and on) and the fuel flowed great, but, when i put it all back together and ran the bike it spluttered and coughed etc when i turned the petcock on to ON!!!.
Strange i thought!!!
Any ideas?

[Redman]

gsslim,

Here, snagged this pic from an ebay auction.
This is a GS petcock with filter, but is for a later year than yours, (note size of the lever) so is a little differernt than yours. But the mounting (2 bolts) and the o-ring seal is the same. And the filter part is perrty much the same. See the four sections of screens, the lower one is the reserve.

.

[Giblet]

One word - Pingel. Well worth the $100 I spent on my GK. Petcock problems gone. Oh yeah, my reserve works.

[Clone]

Could anyone tell me definitively why it is not possible to just use a different petcock, from say a Honda or Kawa rather than spending the money on an over priced pingle?

[Jethro]

Could anyone tell me definitively why it is not possible to just use a different petcock, from say a Honda or Kawa rather than spending the money on an over priced pingle?

If the bolt holes line up and you can fabricate a gasket, no problem. Just make sure it has a 5/16" outlet.

I have a Pingel, they are sweet.

[earlfor]

Different petcocks have different mounting bolt patterns, some two bolt, some three, different bolt diameters and different bolt spacings. Not all require the same flange/gasket area and not all have the same diameter pick up tube assembly to fit the pick up opening in the tank. Some openings are round, some are oblong.

Earl

Could anyone tell me definitively why it is not possible to just use a different petcock, from say a Honda or Kawa rather than spending the money on an over priced pingle?