Staying on Reserve all the time?

Ok I know there are many opinions on this and when the topic has come up I have stayed out of it and not spoken up in the past.

However I've always had a question in the back of my mind. I've always been a Honda guy and just bought my Venture in April this year, so I've just followed along and read the posts on this and read through the Venture owners manual but my question has never been answered.

Here is a situation that will lead to my question.....

My practice for years was to ride with the fuel valve in the "ON" position until the engine started to cough & sputter from fuel starvation. (That was a very long time ago, now days it's wait till the low fuel light comes on, then ignore it, till the engine starts to cough & sputter. Isn't modern technology great?!)

At this point I believe the main tank is empty and it is time I switch to reserve. Now I run on reserve and manage to go say 30 miles and I'm sucking fumes when I pull up to the gas pumps.

Now both the main and the reserve of the tank are basically empty.

Honda's and this a quote from one of their owners manuals.......

"Remember to check that lhe fuel valve is in the ON position each time you refuel. If the valve is left in lhe RES position. you may run out of fuel with no reserve."

This is because you have the main part of the tank cut off from the reserve part, so the main will refill but the reserve won't.

Now the question is.......is it the same on the Venture?

Before anyone answers......this is what the Manuel says for the Venture....

"RES Turn the fuel cock lever to this position if you run out of fuel while riding. When this occurs, refuel as soon as possible and be sure to set the fuel cock lever back to ON!"

You'll notice and this was a direct quote, they capitalized "on" and added an explanation mark!.....but they give no explanation as to why it is important??!!

So if you run the Venture on reserve all the time and basically run it dry..... and then refuel with the lever left in the reserve position....are you really only running on a main tank of fuel & never a main & reserve????????

OK have at her...............

Ok I know there are many opinions on this and when the topic has come up I have stayed out of it and not spoken up in the past.

 

However I've always had a question in the back of my mind. I've always been a Honda guy and just bought my Venture in April this year, so I've just followed along and read the posts on this and read through the Venture owners manual but my question has never been answered.

 

Here is a situation that will lead to my question.....

 

My practice for years was to ride with the fuel valve in the "ON" position until the engine started to cough & sputter from fuel starvation. (That was a very long time ago, now days it's wait till the low fuel light comes on, then ignore it, till the engine starts to cough & sputter. Isn't modern technology great?!)

At this point I believe the main tank is empty and it is time I switch to reserve. Now I run on reserve and manage to go say 30 miles and I'm sucking fumes when I pull up to the gas pumps.

 

Now both the main and the reserve of the tank are basically empty.

 

Honda's and this a quote from one of their owners manuals.......

 

"Remember to check that lhe fuel valve is in the ON position each time you refuel. If the valve is left in lhe RES position. you may run out of fuel with no reserve."

 

This is because you have the main part of the tank cut off from the reserve part, so the main will refill but the reserve won't.

 

Now the question is.......is it the same on the Venture?

 

Before anyone answers......this is what the Manuel says for the Venture....

 

"RES Turn the fuel cock lever to this position if you run out of fuel while riding. When this occurs, refuel as so as possible and be sure to set the fuel cock lever back to ON!"

 

You'll notice and this was a direct quote, they capitalized "on" and added an explanation mark!.....but they give no explanation as to why it is important??!!

 

So if you run the Venture on reserve all the time and basically run it dry..... and then refuel with the lever left in the reserve position....are you really only running on a main tank of fuel & never a main & reserve????????

 

OK have at her...............

Yes, from what I understand. If you run the tank dry on reserve and then fill up while still on reserve, you will be S.O.L. when/if you run out. Personally, I would rather not find out. When the few times I did have to hit the reserve, I made sure I switched it back to "on" before I filled the tank.

I believe the main is just a longer tube in the tank.

I believe the main is just a longer tube in the tank.

Yep. I always keep mine on reserve. I don't need to be sputtering along a city street when I need to move. What if it happens as I'm accelerating from a stop light. I don't even like it when doing 70mph on the freeway when it starts sputtering, as, by the time I've reached down to turn the petcock to RES while losing speed, I've dropped below 60mph & look like an idiot putting along in the fast lane, then suddenly accelerating back up to 70. Nope. Ain't gonna let that happen. As usual, it's just a personal choice. Mechanically, it doesn't make any difference when you fill up whether the petcock is ON, OFF or RES.

Yeah I believe there is just one tube from the petcock and the reserve hole is in the bottom and the regular (ON) is higher up. At least that is how it has been on every other bike I have had.

My petcock leaks in the ON position so I always ride in Reserve position. When I stop to fuel (or anytime for that matter), I always turn the fuel off. And then right back to reserve when running again. I am cautious about running low and usually stop at around 160 miles to refill. Usually takes about 4 gallons give or take a few tenths depending on how many more miles or how few less than 160.

Thanks.

I did know all this, I just wonder why some thought that somehow it was a good idea to run on reserve all the time.......I know water, gunk, ethanol.....blah, blah! Just run your tank down once or twice a season and none of that should be an issue.

Oh & before someone else says it..........."Seafoam!" (Never used it personally.)

I have always run on reserve except for the old Harleys that had no gas gauge.

I don't turn it to on to fill up.

Mostly kind of watch the mileage.

I don't know about the new Hondas but the ones I have owned had a vacuum shut off.

BOO

There is no seperate reserve tank on the RSV or RSTD. That said there are two 'wings' to the gas tank, both of which fill when the tank is filled.

The right wing does not have a tube at its lowest point connecting it to either the petcock or left wing of the tank as some bikes do. These bikes depend on 'slop-over' to get that last few ounces of gasoline from the right to the left side, where the petcock is.

 

The right wing does not have a tube at its lowest point connecting it to either the petcock or left wing of the tank as some bikes do. These bikes depend on 'slop-over' to get that last few ounces of gasoline from the right to the left side, where the petcock is.

Yes, and if you are well and truly stranded, having run out of gas 5 miles from a station, then you can lean the bike way over to the left, and bring a bit of that gas over to the left side where the petcock is, and get a few more miles of riding. This is the phantom reserve, but dont count on it always being available!

If you are worried about junk in your tank, unhook the petcock and drain it into a gas can and add fresh. I like the idea of having enough to get me to a gas station.

Okay,

All this information has made me dizzy. Will someone just please tell me definitively whether I should run all the time with it on "reserve', or with on "ON"?

And while we're at it, should I fill up with it on "Reserve", "ON", or "Off"?

Thanks so much.

LOL!

Lynn

What it all means is .... it is up to you. I've always run mine in the reserve position. Basically because it gives me a warning when I get low and am not paying attention to the gas gauge. That has happened a few times. I then just reach down and turn it to reserve and have never had it die before I got it switched.

Now I'm having to pay more attention. The new Road Glide has no reserve/shutoff valve at all.

Okay,

 

All this information has made me dizzy. Will someone just please tell me definitively whether I should run all the time with it on "reserve', or with on "ON"?

 

And while we're at it, should I fill up with it on "Reserve", "ON", or "Off"?

 

Thanks so much.

 

LOL!

 

Lynn

The only thing that one can say objectively here is that it does not matter what position the petcock is in when you fill up (and don't anyone start about having a stuck float ).

Oh, of course while you are cruising down the road you should NOT be in the 'off' position

I've always run mine in the reserve position..... I then just reach down and turn it to reserve and have never had it die before I got it switched.

 

Now I'm having to pay more attention. The new Road Glide has no reserve/shutoff valve at all.

Typo, I assume?

Yeah the fuel injected bikes almost never have a reserve. Running the FI pump dry is not helpful at all.

I will say this again as I have in another post. If you run it in the on position all the time and stop for gas when you get down to about a 1/4 tank like I use too. Then that one time when you do need the reserve you may be in for a big surprise, like I was. Water and other gunk will settle in the bottom of the tanks and guess what happens when you shift over to reserve for the fist time in like a year. You will be wishing you used that reserve more often. We were lucky there was a gas station just down the road. When we got home I drained a large amount of water out of the bottom of the tank. Now I'm on reserve all the time and stop when I hit the 1/4 mark. I always have a fresh tank of gas on board. I mean what the heck, my truck doesn't have a reserve petcock valve. And I've never run out of gas in the truck or the car....at least not yet:whistling: So what's the difference with the bike.

I have put about 133,000 miles on my 83 and it has always been on reserve and I have never run out of gas.

RandyA

Always on reserve. It has a fuel guage, a low fuel light and a low fuel mile countdown. How many warnings do you need?

I always run the scoot on Reserve as well....I zero out one of the trip odometers every time I fill the tank and use that for doing gas stops.

Boomer....who sez de pygmies rarely go more den 100 miles afore dey start yapping to make a ice cream stop,,,,

Okay,

 

All this information has made me dizzy. Will someone just please tell me definitively whether I should run all the time with it on "reserve', or with on "ON"?

 

And while we're at it, should I fill up with it on "Reserve", "ON", or "Off"?

 

 

Lynn

A very definite "MAYBE"!!!!!!

boils down to do whatever turns your crank 'cause it don't matter no how.

The petcock position doesn't matter when you fill it up.

Always on reserve. It has a fuel guage, a low fuel light and a low fuel mile countdown. How many warnings do you need?

Exactly!

After reading Steamers original post about the water and gunk , I decided to switch the petcock on reserve. I do not trust the digital read out on the tank because many times I fill it to the top and go about 2 miles and there is a bar missing. I use the odometer to gauge as well. I am not sure why the bars fluctuate when it's a full tank.

For me..+1 on the reserve

You do not have a separate reserve tank. It is all one tank. the petcock valve has a high suction and a low suction. When it is in the on position it is taking a suction on the high suction tube. When the engine starts to sputter the fuel level is below the high tube. When you shift the petcock to reserve, you are taking suction on the low tube near the bottom of the tank. this will give you about 1 gal. of gas to get you to a gas station.

Yes, and if you are well and truly stranded, having run out of gas 5 miles from a station, then you can lean the bike way over to the left, and bring a bit of that gas over to the left side where the petcock is, and get a few more miles of riding. This is the phantom reserve, but dont count on it always being available!

 

DID THIS ONCE!!! Don't intend on doing it again. I was about a mile from the station. Just barely made it there.

You do not have a separate reserve tank. It is all one tank. the petcock valve has a high suction and a low suction. When it is in the on position it is taking a suction on the high suction tube. When the engine starts to sputter the fuel level is below the high tube. When you shift the petcock to reserve, you are taking suction on the low tube near the bottom of the tank. this will give you about 1 gal. of gas to get you to a gas station.

This the best explanation so far. But I might add..... I always turn the fuel off when parking the bike. If one of the float valves sticks open it will drain the tank through the carb/float bowl into the cylinder and cause hydrostatic lock that can destroy the engine. I know it is rare but it happened to me once and that was one too many times!