XJ1100 reserve capacity

[IdahoXJ11]

Hey all,

I'm getting ready to take a 3day ride over to glacier National Park and was wondering how much i have in the reserve portion of the tank.
I'm getting between 142-146 miles before switching to reserve. How much more can I squeeze out of her? Montana has some long strectches.

also, because of a 4 to 1 exhaust I don't have the center stand. what is the best way to adjust the air shocks front and back? the service manual says to use the center stand and then lean forward or back to take the pressure off before adding air. any side stand tricks?

IdaoXJ11

[trbig]

If you have a luggage rack, you could strap down a boat fuel tank like Maximan does for long hauls. Maybe not the prettiest option if you're all about the looks.... but it would sure beat the &^%$ out of walking! And I would HATE to leave mine on the side of the road and head for a town.

As for the weight off the wheels... Floor jack under the belly? You wouldn't have to raise it way in the air... just barely enough to get the weight off the wheel you were adjusting. I used one yesterday to raise the motor up to get the rear mount bolt back in. I did it while it was on it's side stand, Just be careful about not letting it roll forward at all.

Tod

[trbig]

Another thing.... everybody's bikes get a little different mileage. Take a gallon of gas with you somewhere. Ride until you need reserve... then ride until you run out. Put in the gallon of gas you brought and get back to a station. I honestly have been wanting to do this one myself. I have only seen my fuel light blink one time. I try not to get it that low, but I am curious myself.

Tod

[Crazcnuk]

I don't know about the U.S., but in Canada the D.O.T. rules specify that any vehicle sold in Canada over the last several decades has to go at least 50km (30miles) on reserve, below empty, or after the warning light comes on, depending on what your vehicle has. Some will go further, but none SHOULD go less!

Fun one was the '85 VT1100 Shadow where the guage only reads the 2nd tank, so the guage actually starts at 1/2. It goes for what seems like forever before the guage moves, then it drops like a rock, but since there is no reserve on that bike, It goes 30-50 miles below the E line.

[chevy45412001]

reserve

i believe res. is .8 US gallon or just shy of 1 gal. so figure 20-27 miles this is a GUESS. Always good to refill if you pass a station anyway,esp if you know it could be awhile till you see another

[MAXIMAN]

I flip to reserve between .6 and 1 gallon. Usually around .8 when it actuallycough but that depends on the terrain. Going across Nevada as I rode through the mountains there were several times the bike did not sputter until .6 gallons.

Why?

I suppose the lean angle in the twisties would slosh fuel up over the hump and allow the float bowls to stay full longer.

However on long flat stretches I usually hit reserve around a gallon or slighty less.

[Hepcat]

I thought the reserve was just due to a standpipe in the tank. When I last took my petcocks out there were 2 tubes (or maybe just one tube and one hole) the taller one is the normal position, causing you to 'run out' of fuel before you really have run out. Once the fuel level is below that standpipe, you shouldn't be getting fuel unless the standpipe or petcock are leaking internally or you switch over to "reserve". I know some older bikes had a separate compartment inside the main tank and twisties could allow some fuel to spill out and back into the main compartment, but I'm not aware of that on the XJ. I haven't had the petcocks out of my XS yet, but I assumed they would be the same.

One thing I did notice when I had the XJ apart the first time was that one of the petcocks was missing its standpipe. I was able to find it and just push the little plastic screen/prefilter back in. If one of those net/filters (as they are described on the yamaha parts website) was not inserted all the way or leaking, would going through the twisties allow fuel to flow from one side of the tank to the other side that leaked, keeping the level on that side above the leak? It might be good to check out whether your standpipes were leaking or one day you could be left high and dry.


Just my 2 cents.
Jon

[Crazcnuk]

Essentially your correct. The taller standpipe only allows the fuel to come down so far and then you 'run out' or starver for fuel. You then reach down and turn the petcock lever(s) to res and keep going.

There is no reserve, per se, all it is is a low fuel warning. However, it is designed to warn you at a certain amount of fuel left in the tank.

What happens is that, in the twisties, or rough road a little more fuel may slosh or splash into the stand pipe than on a smooth road, so, in effect your reserve capacity would be slightly less.

In your case, with one of the standpipes off, as your bike leans from side to side, there is always slome slosh back and forth, but at some point your going to starve the side that still has it's standpipe. At that point you would assume your running low and turn both sides to reserve. Chances are you would never know that the one standpipe is gone. The bike would only run out on 2 carbs, instead of all 4, but it still serves the same purpose.

The problem would come if BOTH standpipes came off, because you would have no warning that you were out of fuel until you were completely out