SuzukiSavage.com - Gas tank capacity?

Bobbert Serious Thumper Offline CHOP IT Posts: 836 Los Angeles, CA Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #15 - 03/10/08 at 22:56:56 I dont think it should be a problem. Those with more experience would know better than me. It's deceiving because "On" only runs when the bike is running, so when it's off, the On becomes off....I guess
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Savage Chick Junior Member Offline Ride Free! Posts: 81 Greenville, SC Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #16 - 03/10/08 at 23:09:57 that's totally confusing...yet I get it. Thanks.
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Re: Gas tank capacity?
Reply #17 - 03/11/08 at 03:08:36

The way the petcock works is considered a "safety" feature. Old style bikes with on-off petcocks, are easy to oops and forget to switch it off. Which, due to the imperfect real world, can lead to the carb overflowing. The vacuum triggered action of our petcock is suppose to stop that forgetfulness. Huh

But........ if the bike sits long enough the gas can evaporate out of the carb. When starting in this condition, the vacuum switch doesn't stay open long enough to get gas in the carb fuel bowl. Thus, there is the PRI or 'prime' postion to flow fuel into the carb before starting. Flow it for a little then switch to on.

In the ON position, there is a small tube that raises the inlet up a bit so that when riding and you get to that level and "run out" of fuel, you can switch to RES (reserve) and have 0.6 gallons to get to a gas station.

The "run out" of fuel manifests itself two ways. In "city" stop & go driving, you will notice the idle RPM's dropping, then just a couple of minutes later you will start to have the "blah" no power when hitting the throttle, and/or a bucking or mis-fire condition. On highway cruising, you go right to the Blah/bucking/ mis-fire.

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Trippah Serious Thumper Offline I ride, therefore I am. Posts: 2517 central Mass Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #18 - 03/11/08 at 05:42:49 and it can run out at the most inoppertune times..like cutting into traffic. You should consider stopping for fuel at each 100 miles travelled. Some folks use a counter, i try to stop each time the odometer clicks another 100 miles travelled. Have fun.
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Re: Gas tank capacity?
Reply #19 - 03/11/08 at 06:06:34

Savage Chick wrote on 03/10/08 at 21:51:07:

Dad ... wanted it on PRI...he won... Lips Sealed

... Will I have problems??....

The carb has to have some sort of mechanism to stop gasoline flow, else it would be flooding all the time. If this mechanism leaks slightly it makes no matter while running, but will flood while sitting. Leaving on PRI might cause gasoline leakage if the carb is slighly faulty. Otherwise, the big problem with running on ON with the REServe available is that you will not run the tank completely dry and you will never know what your actual tank capacity is.

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Re: Gas tank capacity?
Reply #20 - 03/11/08 at 07:17:33

Paladin. wrote on 03/11/08 at 06:06:34:

Otherwise, the big problem with running on ON with the REServe available is that you will not run the tank completely dry and you will never know what your actual tank capacity is.

Running in the "On" position, you will have reserve so that when you run out of gas in the "On" position, you don't have to push your bike to the nearest gas station.

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Bobbert Serious Thumper Offline CHOP IT Posts: 836 Los Angeles, CA Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #21 - 03/11/08 at 12:05:43 so Im wondering, why couldn't the ON feature run just like the RES and suck the last drops, or is it a safety feature so you know that you're low on gas?
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #22 - 03/11/08 at 12:21:57 It depends on how far do you want to push your bike? If you got a gas station on every block and can coast up to a pump upon luck, then remove the plastic screen from your petcock and let us know how it works for you.
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Re: Gas tank capacity?
Reply #23 - 03/11/08 at 14:15:13

OK, here's what a two-cylinder bike sounds like when one cylinder is full of gas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HDp32VFMsI

The Hyosung has no petcock, but a vacuum operated gas switch. The diaphragm failed on a regular basis, and when it did, one cylinder would fill with gas. Not only did this make it hard to start, but it would pee a bunch of liquid gas right in front of the rear tire. This produced interesting handling characteristics, as well as a bit of a fire hazard.

That's the bike I traded in on the Savage!

I made the video to show my dealer what the problem was. By the time I would trailer the bike 90 miles to him, the fuel switch would jiggle enough to work. Then, once I got it back home, the problem would pop up again.

If the Savage vacuum switch ever fails, this board has a number of threads telling how to make the petcock manual!

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Savage Chick Junior Member Offline Ride Free! Posts: 81 Greenville, SC Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #24 - 03/11/08 at 15:01:01 thanks guys for all the great info!!
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barry68v10 Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 955 Maryland Gender:	Re: Gas tank capacity? Reply #25 - 03/11/08 at 18:43:49 If you want to drain your tank completely and pick up an extra half pint or so of fuel.... REMOVE YOUR TANK SCREEN COMPLETELY! Makes for some interesting "Paladin-like" experiences. Pushed my bike 2 miles to the next gas station before I implemented my "lock system" trip odometer
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Re: Gas tank capacity?
Reply #26 - 03/11/08 at 18:49:15

Savage Chick wrote on 03/10/08 at 21:51:07:

Since I posted the above message I went ahead and moved the manual file to my laptop and was reading it. Ran out the door, and moved the switch. It's been sitting like that for about 5 hours though. :'( Will I have problems??

Provided that the float, needle, and seat is functioning properly on your carb, you will not have any problems at all. When I bought my '82 suzy, the petcock was malfunctioning and had been left on prime. The needle seat was bad as well, and I ended up with a crankcase full of gas. Fortunately, I got a whiff of gas when I opened the oil cap and knew to change the oil. You should be just fine, but if you are really paranoid, you might want to take a sniff at your oil fill hole. If you smell gas, change the oil and filter and plan on replacing your needle and seat in your carb .

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