*%&# I ran out of fuel on the Harbour Bridge but had a good run in with the police

[JKWNZ]

Had my first "run in" with the police on Friday afternoon when the bike ran out of fuel just before the harbour bridge at almost 5 o'clock.
A cop came up on the shoulder after I changed to reserve but something wasn't right. It wouldn't start unless the choke was on too.
The cop said to give it a go and he'd follow me over if I go off at Shelly Beach Rd...
About 100m up the bridge the shoulder finishes and the bike started to bog down ... and finally 200m from the top and the engine died ...

Flashing lights on behind and I'm pushing the damn bike over the top of the bridge.
Finally got over the crest and manged to get to 50 kph on the downhill only to slow down really quickly on the offramp... so back to pushing the bike til it was clear of the overbridge... frigg'n hot now... felt like a bloody melted Popsicle in my bike gear...

Next was to contend with the officer as I was sure they could ticket you for causing problems on the bridge... The cop got out of his car and then asked whether I needed a lift to the petrol station. Sure enough he took me to the BP and then waited and took me back to the bike with a full petrol can . He even took special care so that I could "safely" get back to my bike

Fantastic help and good to know there are some really good ones out there...

[Bren]

nice to see there are some good coppers still about...woulda been funny, but glad I was not in your boots.....(note to self...dont run outta gas on the bridge)

[xwhatsit]

Whoah, one of the worst (and best) places to run out of fuel

Poor bastard. So does your reserve not work? Worth doing some extensive testing with that; at home I'd pull the fuel hose off and drain the fuel out into a container until it hits reserve, switch over to reserve and see if the fuel flow is OK.

Weird.

[Disco Dan]

Seems a common thing on the Harbour Bridge...

I would take a look at your fuel tank and fuel filter - you may have sucked up some muck from the bottom of your tank. Give it a good clean out - next time you end up on reserve you may make it a bit further!!!

[PirateJafa]

I ran out of gas on Queen Street once - hadn't checked the tank after picking her up from the bike shop. Switched to reserve and waited five minutes to prime - moderately embarrassing to say the least!

[dino3310]

nice one bro ,fucken nice cop, as they can give you a ticket for that.

[Ixion]

There used to be a special offence of "running out of fuel on the Harbour Bridge". But that was back in the days of the AHBA. The Gypsy would come up, and give you some gas: and a ticket for some quite large sum (in the currency of the day).


I've pushed bikes over the ridge more than once, praying I'd get over before the Gypsy arrived.

[Motu]

Oooh,the Wrath of the Red Gypsy...! We ran out one night towing a car over on an A frame - we were in the towed car out of our heads watching the steering wheel turning corners for us.They weren't too impressed with some stoned hippies in 2 dead cars giggling and enjoying the view.But they took good care of their bridge in those days....always there to lend a helping hand.

[bugjuice]

Seems a common thing on the Harbour Bridge...

I would take a look at your fuel tank and fuel filter - you may have sucked up some muck from the bottom of your tank. Give it a good clean out - next time you end up on reserve you may make it a bit further!!!

+1..

and yeah, they do hand out plenty of tickets to peeps who run out of gas on the bridge. Seen it plenty of times, so you were lucky!!

Think the ticket is something bout driving without due care and attention, since you shouldn't tackle a stretch of road where stopping is a problem if you are likely to cause issues, like the bridge!
so yup, lucky!

glad there's still good cops around tho, i know they're out there

[Trudes]

Sounds like they need a petrol station at the top of the Harbour bridge!! Nice to hear a good story about the cops, for a change!

[Cache Wraith]

Had to commute across the bridge on a daily basis some time ago when I was totally skint. I couldn't afford to eat lunch let alone put some gas in the tank. I recall often going over the bridge on a whim and a prayer. Leaving home with the fuel gauge needle below the bottom mark was my only option. I used to call on the big guy to get me over that bridge without running out of gas. I figured I could handle running out on the motorway, but stopping on the bridge wasn't an option I was very keen on.

[kiwibryn]

I am SOOO glad not to live in Auckland... and I have always made sure that my reserve is available... mind you, on the older bikes you can switch while coasting... always remembering not to twist the grip too hard as the fuel comes back in...

[Nagash]

Ouch, terrible place to run out of fuel.. but I s'pose these things happen.

I hate the walk of shame of pushing your bike down the street..

One time I ran out of fuel and it was about 2am, pushed it a half hour to the nearest open petrol station and realised I had forgotten my wallet! The bastard wouldn't even give me 2 dollars of fuel to ride home and get my wallet.. I even offered him my watch!

Had to walk 2 hours home and 2 hours back... was not happy I can tell you that..

[quickbuck]

What is all this about waiting until your bike runs out completely before switching to reserve?
Well, that is the impression I get from a couple of posts here.

Thing is you should be able to tell when the bike drops in power. Whether it be a single 8 stroking, or a 4 that has dropped a cylinder.
At this time turn the tap and the fuel from the lower stack pipe will come through to feed your motor.
No need to wait for it to prime. No need to stop.

If you ride a 2 stroke, you should be especially attuned to a power loss. First reaction is to disengage the engine from the wheel. IE pull in the clutch!

Saved my skin a couple of times... and even saved the motor on one occasion, as the piston only just began to melt.

[Nagash]

Oh, when I ran out of fuel and ran out of reserve aswell, forgotton I had switched over and then went out..