Knackers, ran out of gas...

[Fatt Max]

Yes indeed my lovelies,
So there I was, minding my own business riding home the other night when all of a sudden the bike starts coughing and farting just like the mother-n-law after a pavlova...and then wallop..!! stops dead by the side of the road.

Switches to reserve, start her up and luckliy enough make it to a nearby gas station.

So, my question to any other VL250 riders out there is...how many K's are you getting out of a full tank....and to you fine KBer's out there, how many should I expect. It's a commuter bike with only 600kms on the clock so still running in a wee bit I suppose.

....Oh and my missus wants to know how can my arse be fixed so it runs out of gas.....I dropped my guts in bed last night and she had to sleep in the spare room, spent mot of today getting the mould off the bedroom walls....at least I'm not wiping my old fella on the curtains anymore, eh...!!

Feedback appreciated as always guys n gals.

Take care, ride safe and eat pies

[quickbuck]

Firstly, learn to recognise the signs it is running out. These signs will come some time before you fully drain your carb bowl.
Then, learn to turn it to reserve on the move. This is a safety thing, as you may be on a motorway, or on a road that it is unsafe to just pull over!

Your reserve tank will hold at least a couple of litres, so you will have at least 40km before you have to start pushing.

As for distance on a full tank, I have no idea, but imagine it will be at least 200km. More like 260km.....

Another thing, always reset your trip meter when you fill up, then you will know when it is getting low.

Hope this helps.

[Fatt Max]

Cheers mate,
The whole thing happened really quickly, it coughed and spluttered the stopped...no real warning as such.
Thanks for the tips mate, really appreciated..'
:2thumbsup

[varminter]

What he said. My GN gets over 200 to the tank before I need the reserve, seem to get a bit of warning as it starts to run out. I got to practice several times as I often forget to turn on the gas before I take off so I can now do it on the run:laugh:

[Nagash]

You will usually get a warning of some description, you just have to know what you're looking for to find it.

You'll start getting sluggish acceleration, the power will start to come out in lumps instead of one smooth pull, things like that. That's when you want to switch to reserve.

And as mentioned, you'll usually get about 200kms + on a full tank. Just takes getting used to, atlernatively you can always open the gas tank and swosh it round abit to get a rough feeling of how much fuel is left.


Oh, and another thing. When you hit reserve you should stop at the FIRST gas station you see. Letting it get you home and telling yourself you'll top it up when you go to work in the morning doesn't work.. that's when you get no fuel and no reserve either.. pushy pushy.

[Crisis management]

You got a tripmeter? Everyone I know resets it to zero every time they fill the tank and knows how far they get on a tank (you've already discovered how to find out when the tank is empty).

Easy really....

[The Stranger]

and to you fine KBer's out there, how many should I expect. It's a commuter bike with only 600kms on the clock so still running in a wee bit I suppose.

....Oh and my missus wants to know how can my arse be fixed so it runs out of gas.....I dropped my guts in bed last night and she had to sleep in the spare room,

Feedback appreciated as always guys n gals.



Some bikes pick up quite a lot of fuel milage and power as they run in and loosen.

As to your second point, do a gav, blame the missus.
Say it wasn't you.

[Cynic]

As an aside, don't forget to switch it back from Reserve. You might not be so lucky next time around if you dont...

[sinfull]

A hot curry once a week bro ! That'll see ya right !

[discotex]

You got a tripmeter? Everyone I know resets it to zero every time they fill the tank and knows how far they get on a tank (you've already discovered how to find out when the tank is empty).

Easy really....

I still do this on my A tripmeter even though I have a fuel gauge.


As an aside, don't forget to switch it back from Reserve. You might not be so lucky next time around if you dont...

If you're riding to your trip meter this shouldn't be too much of an issue but many people seem to ride to reserve before finding a gas station. In that case you'll be walking :doh:

[quickbuck]

I still do this on my A tripmeter even though I have a fuel gauge.

Good policy.... There is a chance your gauge will fail at some point....

[pritch]

I still do this on my A tripmeter even though I have a fuel gauge.

Me too, but then I don't have a reserve tap.

[skidMark]

Good policy.... There is a chance your gauge will fail at some point....


i thought hondas were bulletproof?

[fireball]

i am yet to test the boundaries of my VL (only had it 3 weeks) but a rule for me is fill up every 200km approx and reset the trip meter, that way all the shit that ends up in your tank doesnt end up in the engine, plus you dont run out of gas and end up walking!

[FJRider]

I still do this on my A tripmeter even though I have a fuel gauge.



If you're riding to your trip meter this shouldn't be too much of an issue but many people seem to ride to reserve before finding a gas station. In that case you'll be walking :doh:

Fuel gauges are seldom accurate, usually indication only. Don't trust them...

Fill a 10 litre container (Check 10 litres go in)... go for a ride (Starting with a FULL tank, 100 km's is good) ...Empty 10 litres into the tank... measure fuel needed to fill... calculate km's per litre ... multiply by litres the tank holds... thus approximate range...

Any excuse for a ride...:done:

[FJRider]

i thought hondas were bulletproof?

They can run out of gas, just like every other bike...

[PrincessBandit]

Hey, at least you ran out of petrol - when I first started out, I pushed my ginny home (just up the road thankfully!!!) wondering why the engine would run but it had no power and kept conking out. It didn't occur to me to switch to reserve (major duh) so I worked up a real sweat for nothing! (hubby nearly peed himself laughing when he realised what had happened, and I didn't have the heart to tell Katman what a dumbass I was).

[fireball]

Hey, at least you ran out of petrol - when I first started out, I pushed my ginny home (just up the road thankfully!!!) wondering why the engine would run but it had no power and kept conking out. It didn't occur to me to switch to reserve (major duh) so I worked up a real sweat for nothing! (hubby nearly peed himself laughing when he realised what had happened, and I didn't have the heart to tell Katman what a dumbass I was).


everyone does dumb shit when they start out, its all about learning and growing and bloody funny :laugh: (a few months later)

[howdamnhard]

The other give away that its time to change to reserve besides the already previously mentioned ones,is that the bike will start over revving when you stop at the traffic lights etc as it leans out from lack of fuel.

[FJRider]

Wouldn't mind a dollar for every time I've coasted the last few (up to a hundred) metres into a gas station...or walked into one...

[discotex]

Fuel gauges are seldom accurate, usually indication only. Don't trust them...

Fill a 10 litre container (Check 10 litres go in)... go for a ride (Starting with a FULL tank, 100 km's is good) ...Empty 10 litres into the tank... measure fuel needed to fill... calculate km's per litre ... multiply by litres the tank holds... thus approximate range...

Any excuse for a ride...:done:

I just fill to a known point inside the filler hole, ride until I hit reserve (flashing bottom bar of fuel gauge) then fill up again. Divide km/l. Usually take about 13.5l from that point at about 260km.

Apparently it's a 19l tank or something but I've never ran it dry to find out. Best I've done is 340km going down to Taupo via Te Awamutu and Mangakino. Can't remember how much it took to fill but it was lots. Forgot gas stations closed in country towns so had to prey to the biker gods until I made it to Taupo <_<

[breakaway]

Just remember to flick the fuel tap back to 'on' if you flick it to reserve, or you will get nasty surprise next time your bike starts 'surging'