Arrow down is on, up is reserve , and level is off

 

You may want to make sure the petcock (fuel shut off valve) is not leaking internally. it can cause gas to get into your oil and possibly give you a false oil leak over time. put the valve in the "off" position , then pull the fuel line off that connects to the valve. let it sit there for a few minutes and check to see if fuel is still pouring out from the valve when the valve is in the "off" position.
I was told to do this when I first got my project F3. and come to find out, my valve is leaking internally ha ha.

 

+1

 

Just because I don't know, when do you use the reserve?

 

Different people do different things. For me, I reset the Trip odometer every time I fill up. I know I have about 4.5 gallons of fuel. I ride with the petcock in the on position until my engine starts to cut out. At that point I switch the Reserve position. At the point I have 0.8 gallons of fuel left. Considering I usually get somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 mpg, I can go about 36 miles on that 0.8 gallons of gas. Basically when I hit reserve, I start looking for a gas station.

On my F3 it turns out that I can only put in 4.4 gallons of fuel and I run completely out of gas after 34 miles .

 

On the subject of reserve.. Do you have to top off tank for fuel to replenish reserve portion? And is it wise to always try to use reserve so gas will not sit . Just curious how it works. Thanks!!

 

Nah, the "reserve" is just the lower bit of fuel in the tank. The "on" pickup tube is extended further into the tank while the "reserve" pickup tube is quite low in the tank.

Basically, the reserve position is just there to remind you that you're about to run out of fuel. If you ride around on the reserve position, you'll drain the tank completely and will be walking when the engine cuts out.

 

I dont mean to hijack this thread, but i am a newbie, bought a project 97 CBR600 yesterday and put it in my garage. Today the smell of gas in the garage is unbearable, i don't know if this is normal but i might have to keep the bike outside until i can resolve this issue. Any help will be appreciated.

 

On an older bike like ours and one that has sat for a long time, leaking hoses would not be unusual to see. Also, stuck floats in the carburetors. Turn off the fuel at the petcock, and drain the bowls of the carburetors until you've checked them.