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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> My commute home yesterday. /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1215607722 Message started by misterdub on 07/09/08 at 05:48:41 |
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Title: My commute home yesterday. Post by misterdub on 07/09/08 at 05:48:41 So there I was: cruising down a main drag through my neighborhood, in the last 5 minutes of my commute home. The road is a little curvy, has a speed limit of 50mph and there's not a car in sight so I'm humming along enjoying the nice day when all of a sudden the bike just shuts down on me. 50mph... 40mph... 30mph... as I'm slowing down, I try starting it back up with no luck. I pull over to the side of the road. I try the ignition. I try the ignition while giving it some throttle. Then I flip the fuel switch to reserve and try one last time. Ignition, nothing. Ignition with throttle and whoomp, it starts up with a sputter, idles rough for a few seconds and then evens out. Since I'm a noob, I just figured I misjudged the amount of gas I had and went straight to a gas station. When I got there and opened up the tank, I could see gas at the bottom! There wasn't a lot but it's not like it was bone dry. So now I'm confused: can you see the "reserve" fuel at the bottom of the tank. I kind of always assumed the "reserve" was a distinct compartment in the tank somewhere. Is it just a tube that's lower down in the tank than the "On" setting? :-? I just want to make sure the shutdown was my goof and not something more serious that I need to investigate... that could've been real ugly had it happened a few minutes earlier on the highway. :o |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by aebooze on 07/09/08 at 05:50:26 You can see the reserve. The tank holds like 2.8 gallons and I think .6 gallons of that is the reserve. At least now you know. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by misterdub on 07/09/08 at 05:53:31 0307000D0D1807620 wrote:
Definitely good to know! Next time, I'll reach for the reserve fuel valve when I'm moving. Thanks! I've never run out of gas before on the bike or in the car. It was a bizarre feeling to suddenly have the engine kick out on me while at speed. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by T Mack 1 on 07/09/08 at 06:00:38 2F293A3C20480 wrote:
The ON is a higher pickup on the fuel screen/tube. Remember to switch to back to ON after filling the tank.... ;) |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Charon on 07/09/08 at 06:10:43 The reserve is not a distinct compartment. There is a little standpipe in the tank through which fuel is used in the ON setting. The standpipe is two or three inches tall, depending on the bike. When the fuel drops below the top of the standpipe, you are "out of fuel." The reserve setting draws its fuel from the bottom instead of through the standpipe. I don't know about the Savage/S40, but on some bikes when the reserve runs out there is still some fuel trapped on the other side (opposite the petcock) of the tank. When the reserve runs out you can lean the bike way over to the petcock side and get a little more fuel. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Rustbucket on 07/09/08 at 07:10:23 I always misjudge how much fuel i have and run out on a regular basis.. lol My 05 will start to loose power/ run a little sluggish, thats when i hit reserve and she straightens up in a second or two. My engine has never just up and died, i always have a good 20 seconds to reach down and flip it on reserve. Yes you can still see a little fuel at the bottom of the tank when you hit reserve but you can also see theres alot of metal showing where there should be fuel.. lol |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Jackhammer on 07/09/08 at 07:41:46 Don't feel bad, I've only had my bike a month, and it's cut out on me 3 times already for the same reason. Now i'm pretty comfortable just reaching over, throwing it in reserve, and firing it back up without even missing a beat. Although it is an uneasy feeling when you are moving pretty fast and there is no noise but the wind by your ears after the bike cuts out..... |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by misterdub on 07/09/08 at 09:11:01 567177706671676F6170040 wrote:
In hindsight, I can see the warning signs now that I was about to run out of fuel. It was idling and running a little weird since the last stoplight I was at but like I said, I've never, ever run out of fuel in any vehicle I was in and it was real hot that day so I thought maybe the temperature was to blame for the weird behavior. ;D 694240484B424E4E4651230 wrote:
Heh, yeah, the MSF instructor made a firm point in class that we should practice flipping it to reserve while moving/without looking. I've been focusing on practicing the manuevers they taught and basic skills, maybe I should add that to my list of things to practice. :) |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by SimonTuffGuy on 07/09/08 at 11:30:34 I had the same question about if reserve was in a different compartment of the tank or not, so thanks for the answers everyone. :) |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Gary On A Savage on 07/09/08 at 15:36:33 545241475B330 wrote:
Yep! That and knowing how much gas/distance before running out. Fuel management is a must on most bikes. On the Savage you have about 100 miles or so before you need to start thinking about gas, very important on some rides. The Savage doesn't have a trip odometer, so you might want to think about putting a bicycle speedo on it. There are a few available for $10-20 and will let you know your actual speed as well as a trip odometer. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Trippah on 07/09/08 at 16:21:07 Now that you have experienced the aggravation - you might want to try and simply stop in for fuel when your odometer trips the next 100 mile tick over. Doesn't help the ild westerners who live 30 miles to the next gas statioon but for us lucky new englanders there's a station every 10 miles or so. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Hard Corps on 07/09/08 at 17:22:57 Funny you posted this. I did the exact same thing today on the way home from work. I had filled up over the weekend and then rode the snot out of my bike the past couple days. I hadn't realized I was close to 150 miles. I usually fill up religiously at 100 miles. I was coming in to a stop sign and she started to chug and sound a bit dry. It felt just like when my lawn mower is about to run out of gas. So at the stop sign I just reached down, flipped the switch and drove the next 10 miles to the gas station by my house. aebooze is exactly right on the numbers. The tank is 2.8 gallons. When I filled up about 10 minutes after having to switch to reserve I had put in 2.2 gallons. So the reserve is roughly .6. Have fun & be safe. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by Dj12midnit on 07/09/08 at 17:51:55 so I was on my way home and I got to thinking I had not filled up since last Thursday. I begin to do the math about 35 miles a day times 4. I know I am getting better millage now that im not jumping on the throttle all the time, but I should have hit reserve by now. So I decide to reach down and check the fuel lever, and what do you know I left it on reserve. So what the heck lets flip it to on and see what happens. needless to say two miles latter sputter sputter. Lessen learned: No mater how many people in line at the gas station, take your time and don't miss anything. |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by grandpa on 07/09/08 at 18:15:30 Wait until your rolling at 70 mph in commuter traffic. There is no stumble or stutter, just silence. I now switch to reserve before the freeway portion of my commute if I might be getting close. Soon as I am off the freeway I switch back to normal. Nothing like a cage closing on you while you're reaching for the fuel valve!!!!!!!! |
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Title: Re: My commute home yesterday. Post by sluggo on 07/09/08 at 20:40:16 797F6C6A761E0 wrote:
Definitely good to know! Next time, I'll reach for the reserve fuel valve when I'm moving. Thanks! I've never run out of gas before on the bike or in the car. It was a bizarre feeling to suddenly have the engine kick out on me while at speed.[/quote] had to switch twice today at speed, i'm used to so no biggie, ontime i had just started a questionable pass when i had to switch. that was exciting, i was just up to the car door when it happen. fell back a little mad the switch then finished the really questionable pass. and never looked back. ride ride ride, that's what a. cures monkee butt, b.gets you more experience. enjoy sluggo |
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