how do you know on the F2 which way the reserve gas **** is suppsoed to be when not in use and when to you use it?

 

Down is on, up is reserve, horizontal is off.
As far as "when you use it"... well, when you need the bike to be on, you use on. When you need reserve to get to a station, you use reserve!
I usually run it in on till it sputters, then I switch to reserve... or if I know I'm low on fuel and there is a station nearby I just fill up before then.

edit:
If you use the "search" feature and type in "reserve", our super cool F2 moderator (Sand.Man) included this in a FAQ.....

 

When you go to the fill station, dont forget to move it back to the on position. you'll only forget it once. hehehe

 

Do you guys turn it to off when you park your bike?
I never do it and never had any problems. I was told if you leave it on and parked, your heads could fill with gas and when you start it, it could go kaboom?
i presume there is a vacuum or something that would prevent gas from filling the heads all ***** nilly when the bike is off.

 

I do turn it off every time, cuz I have removed the vacuum function so it acting like a regular on/off/res petcock

 

I never shut mine off ona regular basis. Only when I knew it would sit for a few days. If I remember correctly, the f3s are more prone to gas leaking by. But if your petcock is in good condition, it shouldn't be a issue.

 

i would go ahead and get in the habit of turning it off when you park the bike. for like more than a couple hours. better safe than sorry i guess

 

The only time i shut it off is during winter storage.
Otherwise I live the petcock on.

The petcock is vacuum controlled so as long as it is good condition
no fuel should flow to the carbs when engine is off.

 

I always have my bike on off until im ready to ride, and since I have a fuel filter in place due to a really bad rusty tank, I try to never get to reserve, seeing as it just sucks all the crap thats at the bottom of the tank right into the carbs. Even if I didnt have my tank problem, i would still want to avoid reserve just b/c of possibly taking all that junk from the bottom of your tank right into your carbs.

 

there is a filter around the fuel pickups inside your tank.... both. hence no inline filter. as for the on off dilemma, let me help you. your petcock is completely vacuum operated and will not suppl fuel to the fuel rails unless there is vacuum pressure on that smaller line (engine running). so, any time that your engine is off, the petcock stops fuel flow... unless it is leaking. p.s, it is impossible to cause the floatbowls to overfill with fuel unless the float height is bad.