Using the Reserve tank (?)

[AmyF]

I have never used the Reserve on any of my bikes. Is this something to be concerned about? Should I occasionally use the reserve and go back to the main tank? What are your thoughts? I've never run out of gas.

[NevadaWolf]

AFAIK there is no need to use the reserve if its not required. Reserve just opens up the bottom of the tank to use the last gallon to get you to a gas station.

Course I know very little of the fuel system so take anything I say on that with a grain of salt.

[AmyF]

I found some more info that states the same. It's just one tank so I won't use it unless it's needed.

[Rifleman]

It's all the same tank/gas, the petcock has a suction from about 3 inches off the bottom of the tank, and then about 0.5 inches from the bottom...

the "reserve" is just to let you know, it's time to find some petrol.

this comes from back in the day when bikes had no fuel level indication. Run it until it started to lose power, flip to reserve and find the next place to fuel up.

I like using my trip odometer (and all that fancy reserve tank / level indication as a back up)

I know my main should get me between 110 - 130 miles... Reserve will get me another 20. At 155 miles... I'd better be coasting into a gas station. Mind you this is on the TLR so double or triple those numbers for the 250

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by AmyF

I have never used the Reserve on any of my bikes. Is this something to be concerned about? Should I occasionally use the reserve and go back to the main tank? What are your thoughts? I've never run out of gas.

If you have not opened the reserve in long time, water may have been accumulated at the bottom of the tank.
It would be wise, just to drain at least a portion of the reserve into a glass container and observe if there is water at the bottom.

Otherwise, that water will flow down into the bowls when you are forced to do the switch in the worst place and moment, stopping your engine dead, ........... as it has happened to me.

Water in the gas can come from rain that leaked into the tank, from humidity condensation (especially if your tank has low level during drastic changes in temperature) or from contaminated gas station's tanks

[momoru]

I always switch to Reserve right after filling up with a new tank, and then back to regular 20 miles into the tank. Just to ensure when I need reserve it's not going to be completely gunked up...

[AmyF]

If there is only one tank, when you fill up doesn't that gas fill the tank from the bottom up?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by AmyF

If there is only one tank, when you fill up doesn't that gas fill the tank from the bottom up?

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_doe...e_tank_work%3F

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_far..._%22reserve%22

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Draining_the_carbs

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by AmyF

If there is only one tank, when you fill up doesn't that gas fill the tank from the bottom up?

Yes, but any water stays at the bottom regardless.

[gitoy]

now i am getting confused...amy, you just top up...meaning you just add over what is already there...

everybody is giving you great advice.. but i'd like to put my own 2 cts...

amy, when you fill up reset the tripmeter to zero...make sure you have the petcock on ON and when you reach 240 miles, the bike will start stuttering like you are running out of gas which you are, reach down and move the petcock to reserve which will give another 30 miles or so...start looking for a gas station...

that is how i use the reserve...i do this in case i forget how many miles i have ridden...

[AmyF]

Ok. I only asked because to me if it's one tank I shouldn't have to worry about running it on reserve and switching back.. does everyone use the reserve regularly like that? I can certainly do that I just wasn't thinking it was necessary

[CZroe]

If you never switch then you will never be drawing fuel from the bottom of the tank.

Yes, it's all the same tank, but that doesn't mean that what sits at the bottom mixes every time you fill up. If the fuel there is good (still blended) and the blended fuel you add is the same it will mix fine, but if there has been water contamination causing the ethanol to separate, then the water and ethanol will sit at the bottom ("bad gas") even when you fill up with fresh fuel. What sits at the bottom will only get older and worse from there as it will not simply mix with the new fuel. It will actually trigger the new blended fuel to separate!

The fuel below the reserve cut-off is probably fine but there's a chance it isn't. The advice to switch to reserve for a while after filling up sounds good because you can switch back to the normal position if it turns out to be bad gas. If you wait until you need reserve to use reserve then you will lose the option to switch back if it turns out to be bad. I would add that you should switch momentarily at first so that, if it is bad, you won't risk filling your carbs with water and bad gas and then killing the engine.

[Alex]

Using it from time to time isn't a bad idea. Just makes it more likely that it will be usable if you ever find yourself in a situation where you really do require it. It also means you will be more adept at getting to that switch quickly while you are still riding, to switch seamlessly without losing power or speed, at the first sign of the engine burbling on low fuel.

[AmyF]

Ok thanks. I'll probably run it a tad if weather permits a ride this evening

[InvisiBill]

I think it's a good idea to use the reserve pickup occasionally. This ensures that the petcock itself is working properly, and that there's nothing wrong with the bottom of the tank, either of which could interfere with proper operation of the reserve system. I'd rather find out about a problem with a full tank of gas, rather than when I'm on the freeway and need the reserve because I'm sputtering out of gas.

As others have said, due to chemical composition, ethanol and the water it attracts will eventually separate out of the gasoline. Water will settle to the bottom, then the ethanol, then the pure gas on top. It shouldn't be a major problem, but if a little bit of water settles to bottom in every tank of gas, it could eventually build up to the point where the entire reserve capacity is just water rather than gas. Using the reserve pickup will suck out the stuff at the very bottom of the tank, burning the water when it's a small percentage of the fuel you're drawing. Burning a little fuel with 1% water in it may cause it to run less than optimally, but I guarantee it will work a whole lot better than 95% water. Refueling should help mix up the bad stuff at the bottom so that some of it gets drawn out through the main pickup, but the rest will eventually settle back down the bottom again.

Assuming the bike is used regularly and gets decent fuel, it's probably not going to be an issue. But just as an extra precaution, using the reserve occasionally will help remove the impurities as they arrive, rather than letting them build up forever until they cause the reserve to not work at all.

[misfitsailor]

[gitoy]

sometimes people have it on reserve instead of ON and when they ran out of gas they have used up their reserve...so keep an eye on that tripmeter... and don't forget to reset it every fill up...

[nickjpass]

I can't find the reserve on my bike anyway



I found myself using it a lot on my 140...the gas tank is too small for trail riding. started carrying bottles of gas.

[misfitsailor]

Most bikes with fuel gauges do not have a reserve setting on the petcock.

[curiousrat]

I definitely think that it's a good idea to use the reserve switch occasionally after filling up. If it's done regularly, anything that settled from the bottom of the tank will get trapped by the fuel filter. If it has never been used and there are debris that settled at the bottom of the tank (not likely), that is a like a double disaster waiting when there is a need to use the reserve switch.

Using the reserve switch occasionally gives me the confidence knowing that it will work if I ever need it. I'd rather know if there is a problem now than when I need to use the reserve later on. I've only seen a piece of lint trapped by the in-line fuel filter for my bike. With the recommendation from this and another forum, I added an aftermarket fuel filter.

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by Motofool

If you have not opened the reserve in long time, water may have been accumulated at the bottom of the tank.
It would be wise, just to drain at least a portion of the reserve into a glass container and observe if there is water at the bottom.

Otherwise, that water will flow down into the bowls when you are forced to do the switch in the worst place and moment, stopping your engine dead, ........... as it has happened to me.

Water in the gas can come from rain that leaked into the tank, from humidity condensation (especially if your tank has low level during drastic changes in temperature) or from contaminated gas station's tanks

This...is an excellent suggestion. We do this as a standard part of pre-flight on aircraft. Of course, if your engine quits at 5k feet, it's a bit more of a concern....