How do you know when it is time to hit the reserve tank? I've heard most people say 150, but I have rode 175 before without so much as a hickup, I'd go to reserve just as a saftey measure.

Its only a 328lb bike...its carbed, and its only a 600.

there zippy, fun, and decent on gas...but I'd like to know the run-dry mileage of the bike...lets me knwo what my mileage is....


Id guestimate ~ 55-60mpg?

 

do a search there are about 3 post with the same topic

 

Honestly I wait for that initial "chug" and begin to loose power, then I flip the switch. I know its probably not good to do that since you get any sedimate in the tank but I also think that sedimate is probably in the reserve, not the main.

 

With the reserve pickup in the bottom of the tank, you're gonna get crap in it one way or the other.

 

just wait for the sputtering to switch. That's been the case on my f2 for 25000 miles. As for the gas mileage, I have gotten 60 mpg or 40mpg depending on how I drive and the weather

 

The whole point of the reserve tank is to "reserve" enough fuel in the tank so that you can make it to a gas station without running out of gas. You should never try to guess when to switch over to reserve. Spencer's right, when you first start to notice the bike struggling (i.e. running out of fuel), only then should you switch to reserve. However, the pickup has a mesh screen that is designed to keep sediment out of the carburetors. But to end any confusion, the reserve and main pickup are both in the same place. There is a brass tube that comes out of the petcock. This is the "main" pickup. Once the fuel level drops below the brass tube, no more fuel enters the carburetors until you switch it to reserve. The reserve pickup is actually just a hole in the top of the petcock so that all the rest of the fuel can be used once it is switched to reserve.

 

RE: Crap at the bottom of the tank - that's a good reason to use reserve every tank... when I had a reserve (up until a month ago) position on the petcock I'd ensure each tank of gas I ended on reserve. If I filled up early, I'd flip it to reserve as soon as I decided I was getting gas. That way there are no surprises the day you hit reserve in the middle of no where... it happens.

IF I was planning on running the tank nearly dry - which I did everywhere I toured - then I'd wait for it to splutter. Take a metal note of when that happens. If it is earlier than normal subtract a bit from your range (and/or ease up on the throttle) if it is a bit later than normal add a bit to your range (if you dare). This will give you the best estimate of "can I make it to the next town or should I stop now".

 

Woot, when you did your touring ride were you with other riders and other types (i.e. not sport bikes) of bikes? What were they getting as far as mileage per tank vs what you got?

 

On the maxim - just over 100 miles. On the F4 - I got up to 51mpg (just over 300km/h tank without going into reserve). Doing the math roughly I think I could get 200 miles out of the F4 tank.

Other bikes were getting to about 150 miles. The touring bikes I road with would get up to 300 miles (when modified with aux fuel tanks). If you ride with a VTR - maybe 100

The other thing to note - if you could get 100 miles out of a tank you need to look for gas sometimes as early as 70 miles - or just one hour after topping up the previous time. Some areas haven't got gas stops every 10-20 miles but rather every 40-70 miles!!!

It really depends who you ride with, how hard they ride... I don't like stopping any more frequently than 100 miles - 150 isn't bad... 200 is better. Stopping kills average speeds and average speed is what you need for covering a lot of distance. You don't need to ride fast (that just tires you more, burns more fuel and means more stops) you need to maintain a good safe speed and keep going.