Dumb newbie fuel tap question

[rustyrobot]

Last week I went for a little jaunt in the local area, probably 80kms or so, and when I got back I realised that the fuel tap had been in the off position the whole time... doh! :blink: I presume that having it in the off position is meant to restrict the flow of fuel to the engine. So what I'm wondering is... should I be worried that it didn't? Obviously I'll be using it in the intended manner from now on, but just thought it might be an early indicator of some potential trouble.

[Katman]

I doubt it was in the 'off' position if you did 80 kms.

More likely it was in the 'prime' position.

[rustyrobot]

No prime position. Read the manual and it said to leave it in the ON position all the time anyway, so that should help with the old short-term memory loss issues. Still seems like it's not a very good 'off'.

[Cayman911]

Try putting it in off again, and turn your bike on, it shouldnt last very long before it deprives off gas and turns off.

maybe it wasnt in off properly, i know my bike's off position means absolutely no petrol passes through.

it should be on ON position all the time unless you hit reserve. then you put it in reserve, OFF is usually if you're not gonna be riding the bike for a while and its just gonna be sitting there.

[The Pastor]

Try putting it in off again, and turn your bike on, it shouldnt last very long before it deprives off gas and turns off.

maybe it wasnt in off properly, i know my bike's off position means absolutely no petrol passes through.

it should be on ON position all the time unless you hit reserve. then you put it in reserve, OFF is usually if you're not gonna be riding the bike for a while and its just gonna be sitting there.

off is for when you take the tank off the bike.

[george formby]

You sure it was in the off position? I've had a few bikes where the fuel tap looks the opposite to it's position, like my current one. Their should be a tiny wee arrow on the tap indicating which way it should be facing. On mine the tap looks like it is up in the "reserve" position but the little arrow is pointing down to "on".

[rustyrobot]

Totally sure it was the OFF position. Just took the bike for a ride up and down the driveway a few times with it off and no problems. The tap works when I have to turn it on to reserve. Maybe the valve is dodgy or something?

[onearmedbandit]

Totally sure it was the OFF position. Just took the bike for a ride up and down the driveway a few times with it off and no problems. The tap works when I have to turn it on to reserve. Maybe the valve is dodgy or something?

I had one of those years ago, great little bike but it would starve itself of fuel above 120km/h in top, but only on occassion. Took the fuel tap off after exhausting most other possibilities, and while I could see nothing wrong with it the bike ran fine after reassembly. This maybe in no way related to what is happening with your bike, but if problems do arise I would definitely check out the tap.

[rustyrobot]

Hey you know what, it DOES do that. Hadn't even thought that it might be connected. Course I don't go above 120 unless I'm caught by a sudden gust of wind on a downhill slope (your honour), but good to know that a clean up worked for you. Don't suppose you ever rode around with the tap 'OFF' then. Guess I wouldn't have either if my friend hadn't told me I should turn it to off whenever I'm not riding.

[onearmedbandit]

TBH, I can't remember if I did ever ride it around in 'off', but I have a sneaking suspicion I did try it before I took the assembly to pieces. On a four stroke engine it's not necessary to turn the tap (if fitted) off, on a two stroke it's a different story as the carb may flood.

[Jonno.]

Basically if you can ride around on it for 80km on the "off position", the off position isn't working.

On my FXR it's like 400m, on my VFR it's around 1km.

[p.dath]

I suspect your "Off" and "On" position are opposite each other. Perhaps someone has taken it apart, and put the tap piece on back the front.

If you want to prove it, start the bike, turn the tap to "on", and see if it dies within 30s.

[crazyhorse]

Well, it sounds as though no harm was done at all - keep riding and enjoy your bike :)