[Shag]

I just bought my bike a couple weeks ago, and after my last fuel fill, I decided I wanted to find out how far I could go on my primary tank, before needing to switch to reserve - seemed like good information to know.

Last night, I'm driving home around 1am, and the engine just dies - I figure I've emptied the primary tank. I flip the petcock to reserve, and try to start it up - no dice. Tried flipping it back and forth, rocking the bike, etc, but nothing seemed to make a difference.

The odometer was sitting at almost 169 miles - does that seem right for a full fill on an 1100 Spirit?

How can I determine if my petcock is not working properly, outside of what happened last night? Is there any way to confirm?

 

[Old Dad]

Sounds like it was set on reserve already when you ran out of gas,,hmm

 

[-AJ]

either you had it on reserve already... or the reserve stem has broken off.

 

[Shag]

It definitely wasn't on reserve - I confirmed that at fill, and as the miles were racking up on the tank.

I'm not sure whether to think the reserve setting is broken, or if the ON setting drained the entire tank. Would 169 miles generally constitute a full tank, or just the primary tank?

 

[thunderglass]

If you rocked the bike back and forth and didn't hear any gas sloshing around then you were out of gas. 169 miles. Can't make that call as it depends on how you ride as to what fuel range you'll get. I'm sure it could be a problem in the tank but it's much more likely that you had it on reserve.

 

[Shag]

Stupidly, I didn't really pay attention to the sound - I was too busy being pissed off, lol.

I'm positive it wasn't on reserve already.

 

[thunderglass]

Then time to test it. Put in a gallon of gas and pull the fuel line so it dumps into the gas can. Turn on gas and when it stops switch to reserve and see if the flow restarts.

 

[Shag]

Then time to test it. Put in a gallon of gas and pull the fuel line so it dumps into the gas can. Turn on gas and when it stops switch to reserve and see if the flow restarts.

Is that fairly straightforward to do? I would assume so, but I haven't delved into bike maintenance stuff yet...

 

[jpr1968]

I can think of 2 things that can be wrong. 1 is that the petcock tube for the normal postion is gone or cut down and 2 you misidentified the positions of the petcock-normal is straight down-off is in middle and reserve is pointing up.

 

[Shag]

I can think of 2 things that can be wrong. 1 is that the petcock tube for the normal postion is gone or cut down and 2 you misidentified the positions of the petcock-normal is straight down-off is in middle and reserve is pointing up.

The petcock was definitely pointed down. Is there any way to get a look at the tubes?

 

[verdeva]

Sure, drain the tank and unscrew the petcock. The tube will stick into the tank and be covered with a mesh screen. If this screen is clogged, that is your problem.

 

[MarineCorpsFlorist]

Is it possible the previous owner replaced the petcock with something aftermarket?

 

[Shag]

Is it possible the previous owner replaced the petcock with something aftermarket?

It's possible. He said the tank was dented by a ladder this spring, so it was replaced - I have an email out to him asking if he knows anything about this...

 

[MarineCorpsFlorist]

It's possible. He said the tank was dented by a ladder this spring, so it was replaced - I have an email out to him asking if he knows anything about this...

Try the middle position... see if the reserve kicks in.

If not you may be pulling the tank to get it fixed.

 

[MarineCorpsFlorist]

Here's a schematic of the tank and petcock valve... may help...

2004 Honda VT1100C SHADOW SPIRIT Parts, 2004 Honda VT1100C SHADOW SPIRIT OEM Parts - BikeBandit.com

your other other is to try looking into the tank with a small inspection mirror, like dentist use, otherwise filler neck is in the way. See if he put te tube back in.

 

[jzambito]

I have the same bike and I go on reserve between 135 and 145 miles. I ran out once at 185 miles.