Ran Out of Gas (aka went full retard)

[iloveboobs]

So, I bought a 96 zx6r a week ago. Old bike, so no fuel gage. Seller told me he resets odometer every 100 miles per refuel. I forgot that when he told me this, he reset the odometer (even though he was already about 70 mi into the refuel).

So I take the bike (for my first time on two wheels on a highway ever) on 95 North from 9 West. After about a 1/2 mile, I shift into 6th at ~ 75mph, and throttle is mush. I remember reading about old carbed bikes shitting the bed in higher gears, so I shift down to 5th. Still mush. Down to 4th - nada. I'm a lucky SOB, and see an exit coming up, so I coast (at about 40mph) onto the offramp. I bump onto the grassy median and try to figure out WTF just happened.

Long story short, an awesome guy driving by gives me a lift to a gas station, I buy a container and a gallon of gas, put it in the bike, it starts right up and I rode off (btw, I tried the reserve, but no go - honestly, I'm not even sure how to fill it).

I'm going to send the guy a gift card to the nicest restaurant in the area.

Also, I saw about 8 - 10 sportbikes roll by, so if you saw a red oldschool ninja on the median of exit 21 or 22 North on I95, that was me.

Anyways, stupid mistake, could have been really ugly, glad to learn w/o paying a higher price.

[MikeyZ]

Did you try cranking it when it was on reserve? You need to give it time to fill the carbs with fuel.

[iloveboobs]

Yea - I probably cranked 10 ~ 15 times, but I started worrying about killing the battery or screwing up something internal, so I stopped after that. I also tried a few conbinations of choke and throttle while trying to start it on reserve.

The odd part it, I opened the tank and saw about 1/2 inch of gas in there, so I though that was the reserve. Apparently not

I downloaded the service manual tonight, btw. Try to avoid stuff like this in the future.

Also, the bike passed inspection yesterday, so I was really confused as to WTF wad going on (not that inspection mean bike is mint, but still...)

[gadget]

You don't fill the reserve. It is a tube that pulls gas from lower in the gas tank than the normal fuel drain..
Like MikeyZ mentioned if you run it dry you need to crank the engine long enough to get the gas back into the carbs.

If you switch to reserve before the bike dies and it still fails to keep running it is possible that the reserve feed is clogged.
This happens on much older bikes as sediment and/or rust settles to the bottom of the tank and clog up the reserve fuel feed.

[idratherberidin]

I can tell you that you didn't see 8 to 10 nesr members

[Evadd]

something else i learned...er, i mean i heard happen to others who ran out of gas...is if you let it sit for a minute or two, you can usually crank it back up and get another minute or so down the road. repeat that a few times and get another mile or so out of an empty tank. it's at least enough to get you out of a bad spot that you coasted to.

[maxim_X]

Glad to hear your alright. Like others have said the petcocks on old bikes are very easily gummed up. It shouldn't be too hard to take off the tank and pull the petcock. You can clean it out with some brake cleaner. On an old bike of mine the petcock was fucked up so it was always running reserve regardless of position. Yours may be like that.

[DaveZX6r]

I have a 95 that I have had apart more times than I case to think about if you have any questions about it pm me. Glad to hear you made it back OK.

Oh one more thing. These bikes will not prime the pump unless you have it cranking, stupidest design ever. And if you do run the carbs dry they take a long time to fill back up. Deffinately switch to reserve while you are still rolling in the future.

[nhbubba]

I've been there.

I used to ride until she sputtered on the mains, then switch to reserve and start hunting for gas. If you do this, be damned sure you don't forget to flip the petcock back to main when you fill 'er up. I made this mistake once. I was headed home from work one day and left civilization headed through the country home. Something made me turn around, I don't even remember what. Just as I'm pulling back up to the highway junction near where I worked the bike died. I went to flip the switch and found it on reserve already. By pure dumb luck I was ~200 yards from a gas station. I pushed the bike up to the pumps.

Pure dumb luck.

The new bike has no petcock, just some little graphics on the LCD display that flash at you. Not sure I don't miss those petcocks.

[csmutty]

I thought this was going to say I rolled into the gas station on fumes...THAT would have been a better story.

[G21forme]

I can tell you that you didn't see 8 to 10 nesr members

Yup

[Stromper]

I have on occasion observed bikes running on prime.

I believe most of those owners were un aware. Some bikes are confusing as there is no "standard"

[jwm2k3]

Dont ever go full retard. Or the next thing you know, you'll be a dude, playin a dude, disguised as another dude.

[csmutty]

I <3 my gas gauge.

[xrocket21]

Last time I ran out of gas on the RC, I pushed it almost a mile, then coasted downhill into the gas station. Guy at the gas station: "You run out of gas?"

[OreoGaborio]

I have on occasion observed bikes running on prime.

I believe most of those owners were un aware. Some bikes are confusing as there is no "standard"

"Prime" is the same as "On", except "On" typically requires vacuum pressure to turn on the flow of fuel and "Prime" does not.

Here's how the reserve works. There are two "Straws" in the bottom of the tank. "On" sips from the taller straw. "Res" sips from the lower straw.

[nhbubba]

Last time I ran out of gas on the RC, I pushed it almost a mile, then coasted downhill into the gas station. Guy at the gas station: "You run out of gas?"

"No, I've gone green. This thing is a hybrid."

[golden chicken]

That's terrible. I even stopped in my car the other day when I saw a guy on a sportbike stopped on the side of the road.

[Evadd]

Last time I ran out of gas on the RC, I pushed it almost a mile, then coasted downhill into the gas station. Guy at the gas station: "You run out of gas?"

sounds absurd, but mechanical things break down for reasons other than no gas.

[nhbubba]

Yes. And whenever a motor vehicle breaks, I fix it by pushing it in front of a gas pump.

[Evadd]

Yes. And whenever a motor vehicle breaks, I fix it by pushing it in front of a gas pump.

point taken, but in your first post you said only that you were coasting into a gas station, which is where is where many people would go if it's close by with any issue.

[NobodySpecific]

point taken, but in your first post you said only that you were coasting into a gas station, which is where is where many people would go if it's close by with any issue.

And a bike with a dead battery could look the same to somebody working at the gas station as you come rolling in.

[stoinkythepig]

I have a 95 that I have had apart more times than I case to think about if you have any questions about it pm me. Glad to hear you made it back OK.

Oh one more thing. These bikes will not prime the pump unless you have it cranking, stupidest design ever. And if you do run the carbs dry they take a long time to fill back up. Deffinately switch to reserve while you are still rolling in the future.

Try hitting the starter button with the key on but the kill switch off. That runs the fuel pump without the starter turning, on my 9R.

[DroFiveOh]

Dont ever go full retard. Or the next thing you know, you'll be a dude, playin a dude, disguised as another dude.

Wisdom.

[SRTie4k]

Everything on this board turns into an argument.