December 15, 2002
I'm Outa Gas !!
The yellow reserve light comes on, but there should still be plenty of fuel. Either that or the light comes on, and there's no reserve fuel available. These suckers are just wayyyyyyyy too heavy to push. So what's the deal ??
The reserve light is controlled by a float located in the bottom of the tank. It's like the flapper in your toilet - who knows how it gets out of adjustment? In my case, it got bumped some when I got my custom paint, and ain't been the same since. In an ideal world, the light should come on just before your primary fuel runs out. You'll need to remove the tank if the float needs to be adjusted, and you'll have to play around with it some to get it right.
OK - so your reserve light comes on, you switch over to reserve (which by the way is UP ... amazing how many people get that wrong. Your petcock lever should be pointing down during normal driving), and immediately if not sooner run out of fuel.
Problem is likely a defective petcock. The petcock has a standpipe that sticks up about an inch and a half. When the fuel level gets down to the top of the pipe, or below, is when you'd feel like the bike sputter due to lack of fuel, and you would then turn the petcock to reserve. What happened to you ( and I know this from experience ) is the standpipe fell out of the petcock and is laying in the bottom of your tank, allowing the fuel to drain completely to the bottom. You're out of luck and pushing an 800 pound motorcycle. Not a good thing.
 | Only way to tell for sure is to remove the petcock and take a look. You'll need to remove the tank - either drain the fuel, or run it almost empty to tip the tank enough to do the job without spilling. If the pipe is missing your only remedy is to replace the petcock. The pingle petcock used on the Ventures and Roadies is HIGHLY recommended as a replacement and is an exact match to the original mount without modification and is an all around improvement in durability and performance. Photo courtesy of Scoop (SCOOP47501) |