[ironicnostalgia]

so i had my first lond ride. from toronto guelph to hillsburgh. i had been doing only city driving for a week. i topped up the gas tank (when on the side stand so not totally full) and at around 200km i noticed i was loosing all power. i thought oh right, gas! so i switched to reserve on the petcock. and no results. is there something i missed? do i even have a reserve or us it just a petcock with a reserve setting to confuse me?

luckily i was five mins from my destination and got a can of gas easily and went on. but whats up with the reserve on a 79 deluxe?

 

[CXPHREAK]

Remove and check out you petcock. Reserve is either blocked with crap or the tube has come off of the 'on' orifice in the petcock.

 

[ramprat06]

Are you sure you had the petcock in the right spot to start? In this pic it shows the setting for ON, and one quarter turn to the right would be OFF, and one half turn, pointing down, would be reserve.

 

[Sam I Am]

Originally, if not modified or damaged, the petcock on your bike is a common style. "ON' draws from the top of a straw that's a couple inches tall. Once your fuel level drops below that you'll have to switch to 'RESERVE' which draws from the very bottom of the tank. So there is no separate 'reserve tank', just 2 points of draw inside the same tank.



With regards to your fuel issue, you likely have one of two usual suspects.



-The little plastic straw has come adrift causing the 'ON' position to draw from the bottom of the tank, same as the reserve. With any luck, it might still be in the tank awaiting a tedious and frustrating removal.

-There should also be a little filter sleeve that slides over the plastic straw. If it's there, it could be plugged up with crud. If it's not, the crud has probably blocked the 'RESERVE' port.



-Or it could be a combination of the two.



Either way, you're going to need to drain the tank, unscrew the petcock and inspect for the causes listed. Good time also to pull the tank and give it a good flush as well. And if you don't already have one, an inline filter between the petcock and the carbs is the way to go.



Luck.



edit: must.....type.....faster.....damn.

 

[ironicnostalgia]

Originally, if not modified or damaged, the petcock on your bike is a common style. "ON' draws from the top of a straw that's a couple inches tall. Once your fuel level drops below that you'll have to switch to 'RESERVE' which draws from the very bottom of the tank. So there is no separate 'reserve tank', just 2 points of draw inside the same tank.



With regards to your fuel issue, you likely have one of two usual suspects.



-The little plastic straw has come adrift causing the 'ON' position to draw from the bottom of the tank, same as the reserve. With any luck, it might still be in the tank awaiting a tedious and frustrating removal.

-There should also be a little filter sleeve that slides over the plastic straw. If it's there, it could be plugged up with crud. If it's not, the crud has probably blocked the 'RESERVE' port.



-Or it could be a combination of the two.



Either way, you're going to need to drain the tank, unscrew the petcock and inspect for the causes listed. Good time also to pull the tank and give it a good flush as well. And if you don't already have one, an inline filter between the petcock and the carbs is the way to go.



Luck.



edit: must.....type.....faster.....damn.

Great Info Sam. That makes a lot more sense now about the "reserve tank" just being the absolute bottom of the tank you normally don't get to. i liken it to repositioning your straw in a juice box to get that last drop. not sure if many people will be on board with that analogy but oh well.

i do have an in-line filter from the tank. And i'll make sure to check out that the straw and/or sludge issue that is messing up my reserve.



Thanks All!!

 

[mkmanks]

Good basic 'first things first' check. Cheers

 

[nolimitz]

holy ZOMBIE thread. at least your digging for info!

 

[rscottp]

holy ZOMBIE thread. at least your digging for info!

I never even notice these are old threads unless someone points it out.

 

[mkmanks]

Wasn't 2011 'just a couple of years ago'.? Time flies...