New owner

[XJOK2PLAY]

Drake,
One of the first things I learned early on about my bike was it's fuel range... how far I could go on a fill up before she began to stall...

Now, true enough, I have an XJ which comes w/ a low fuel warning light. Fortunately, it's very accurate... I might get 10 or 15 more miles when it comes on before it begins to stall.

There's been plenty of times I've been riding... and stretching those miles between gas stations... when it would begin to run out & stall, and all I did was reach down and switch BOTH petcocks to reserve... after a few seconds... everything was fine again. At least on the XJ, reserve gives you about 1 gallon to completely empty. If you've figured out your gas mileage you get, then that tells you how soon a station better appear on the horizon before you're walking / pushing that 650# bike...

But, you don't have to stop to switch, and I wouldn't recommend switching before you run out... especially if it's a long ways to the next station!

Some bike models will vary a bit, according to how much fuel a particular model's tank holds in relation to overall mileage per tank... (XJ's are 5.1 gl. total.) So, around 4 gals. (@38 MPG mine usually gets...) or 152 miles before she sputters and I switch to reserve.

YMMV. (Your Model May Vary.)

The "Choke" is an enrichment circuit, that adds a little more fuel, unlike a standard type choke on a traditional carb that closes a butterfly valve to reduce air / increase fuel.
HTH's ya.
Bob

[latexeses]

One thing I noticed on my petcocks when I took them out of the tank was the screens had "Laquered up". You couldn't see it on the screen but a good shot of Gumout and you could see it clear the screen.

If there was old gas in the tank from before the previous previous owner had the bike it may have sealed off most of the screen, thus kept most of the tank full of gas from getting to your carbs.

I may be way off but it was a surprise to me.

[draketrumpet]

Drake,
There's been plenty of times I've been riding... and stretching those miles between gas stations... when it would begin to run out & stall, and all I did was reach down and switch BOTH petcocks to reserve... after a few seconds... everything was fine again.

That's what I tried to do, but being new I was a little unsure of how to attack the right one (let go of accelerator with the right hand or reach across with the left hand) and I figured I'd be safe and pull over so I didn't accidentally kill myself in the process. The engine never completely stopped while doing this, but it did completely stall later.

Have any other standard tank guys had this issue before?

Thanks again

[draketrumpet]

One thing I noticed on my petcocks when I took them out of the tank was the screens had "Laquered up". You couldn't see it on the screen but a good shot of Gumout and you could see it clear the screen.

If there was old gas in the tank from before the previous previous owner had the bike it may have sealed off most of the screen, thus kept most of the tank full of gas from getting to your carbs.

I may be way off but it was a surprise to me.

That will be a good thing to check when I go through those in the next few months. However, I'm having trouble envisioning how that would affect it when the tank is low/on reserve and not when it is full.

I just put some seafoam in this last tank to help keep the carbs clean (PO went through them twice while he had it for his 40 miles, and replaced the fuel lines and cleaned the tank too). If I understand how that works, it only helps with buildup from the carbs down to the chamber and not in the tank/petcocks/fuel lines though.

[CatatonicBug]

That's what I tried to do, but being new I was a little unsure of how to attack the right one (let go of accelerator with the right hand or reach across with the left hand) and I figured I'd be safe and pull over so I didn't accidentally kill myself in the process. The engine never completely stopped while doing this, but it did completely stall later.

Have any other standard tank guys had this issue before?

Thanks again

I have to agree, switching the right side petcock while moving is a bit nerve-racking. However, you can usually pull the clutch lever and coast for long enough to reach down and turn the knob. If you don't know where the knob is by feel though, that can be a little difficult. Better safe than sorry, and pulling over was probably a smart thing to do this time.

There is no suction to get the fuel to flow in the line. It's all gravity, with a little siphoning effect along with it. The pressure of the fuel in the tank should be more than enough to get fuel flowing, unless you have a clog somewhere along the path.

You might try taking the petcocks out and checking on the screens, and the vacuum valve. The petcocks on the Standards are vacuum-operated, so unless it's in the Prime position, the engine has to be turning for fuel to flow. If the diaphragm operated by the engine's vacuum is not opening the flow enough, along with the possibilty of the screens being clogged, you will have a noticable restriciton in the fuel flow.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey Drake...

I cheat.... I use my throttle lock.... LOL