View Full Version : Bikes run better with petrol!
Bikes run better with petrol, as I found out in the middle of the bloody Limehouse Link last night! Stupid low fuel light is supposed to flash and then go solid before you run out right. Mine suddenly came on and stayed on as I went into the tunnel and just as I thought thats strange it started running on one cylinder and then no cylinders! Every cloud has a silver lining though as I serviced the calipers the other night so it was very easy to push!
Whoops!
We've all been there
yorkie_chris
15-01-10, 11:25 AM
Heh. That's what the trip meter's for.
plowsie
15-01-10, 11:48 AM
NEVER trust the fuel light, it is bad.
Spiderman
15-01-10, 11:49 AM
Trip counter FTW! I've had to push mine on a cold rainy day so be glad you were in a tunnel and dry ;)
Trip counter FTW! I've had to push mine on a cold rainy day so be glad you were in a tunnel and dry ;)
But the only way out is up hill :(
phi-dan
15-01-10, 12:31 PM
Same here (still had a good 10-20 miles on my usual range tho) although for me the light came on after I had already coughed, spluttered etc to a standstill and was sat there wondering why. Fortunately I was at the top of a hill, and I had 2 people stop and ask if I needed a hand pushing (both cagers) which was nice.
This weekend I ar mostly looking at fuel senders then
Nick_69
15-01-10, 01:18 PM
It happens to the best of us
u lucky u can get out on bike dave, we have had bad snow for 4 weeks...havnt seen bike for last 5 weeks, still 2ft deep here!!
I normally know how far I've got left but had been messing about trying to repair the tank and had drained it etc. Lights never played up before either? I assume I broke it whilst messing around trying to repair the leak? Oh well i need the excercise anyway!:D
davepreston
15-01-10, 02:10 PM
Bikes run better with petrol, as I found out in the middle of the bloody Limehouse Link last night! Stupid low fuel light is supposed to flash and then go solid before you run out right. Mine suddenly came on and stayed on as I went into the tunnel and just as I thought thats strange it started running on one cylinder and then no cylinders! Every cloud has a silver lining though as I serviced the calipers the other night so it was very easy to push!
ha ha in best simpsons impersonation
should have been like me and got the pillion to go to petrol station :)
SV650Racer
15-01-10, 06:03 PM
LOL. Steve has run my Ford Focus out of diesel 3 times now!. I know the fuel light doesnt work..he just forgets until it stops.
fastdruid
15-01-10, 06:55 PM
My most annoying one was running out opposite a petrol station.
Which was the other side of a dual carriage way with a barrier in the middle so no way to even push the bike over other than pushing it about a mile to the nearest roundabout against the traffic with no footpath including down the on ramp and back up the off ramp!
Druid
yorkie_chris
15-01-10, 07:00 PM
Could you not jump over and get a can? Or did rush hour make that a bad idea lol
sunshine
15-01-10, 07:15 PM
i havent run out of petrol since i had my scooter, i had a drill with at the time and some fat guy left his harley at the side of the road so it was easy to take a few drop to get to a petrol station (dont tell anyone i did that). other than that i trust my fuel light. im going to get my bike fixed leave my house and run out of petrol now arent i?
fastdruid
15-01-10, 07:17 PM
Could you not jump over and get a can? Or did rush hour make that a bad idea lol
Yep but I had to buy a fscking can which I then had to leave behind as I had no way to carry it afterwards!
Druid
sunshine
15-01-10, 07:19 PM
ask the petrol station to borrow the can to cross the road?
fastdruid
15-01-10, 07:20 PM
other than that i trust my fuel light.
Ha! I have a fuel gauge *and* a reserve tap on the VFR and I've *still* managed to run out (I thought I had enough and ran out ~300yrds short).
ask the petrol station to borrow the can to cross the road?
Nope, fscker wouldn't lend me one, had to buy it.
Druid
yorkie_chris
15-01-10, 07:21 PM
im going to get my bike fixed leave my house and run out of petrol now arent i?
Then someone will nick your tyres while you walk to the petrol station. Ain't karma a biatch?
sunshine
15-01-10, 07:25 PM
in some parts of this city they will do that while your sat at a set of lights so it wouldnt surprise me!
Nope, fscker wouldn't lend me one, had to buy it.
Druid
I just bought a bottle of drink. drunk it & filled that up.
meant i had to buy less petrol as well :thumbsup: ;)
I just bought a bottle of drink. drunk it & filled that up.
meant i had to buy less petrol as well :thumbsup: ;)
sort of illegal that
My most annoying one was running out opposite a petrol station.
Which was the other side of a dual carriage way with a barrier in the middle so no way to even push the bike over other than pushing it about a mile to the nearest roundabout against the traffic with no footpath including down the on ramp and back up the off ramp!
Druid
Years agao I ran out on my FS1e. I was half way between two garages so pushed it to one of them. As I came round the corner I saw it was shut. The Police pulled up and asked why I was pushing the bike etc. When I told them he said you should have pushed it to the other one its a 24 hour.http://www.therevcounter.com/images/smilies/doh.gif
phi-dan
17-01-10, 08:21 PM
Okay, had the sender out of the tank and carried the diagnostics as per Suzuki manual, and it looks like the A (top) thermistor is broken and the B (bottom) thermistor may not be telling the truth :confused:.
I've got a replacement on order, but does anyone know the value of the thermistor used? Otherwise it's a case of heating the replacement to 25c and comparing what the multimeter says againt all the spec sheets I can find :D.
MattCollins
20-01-10, 02:46 AM
Bikes run better with petrol!
That made me think of the old pumps at the local where the 95RON is on the same pump as diesel. My missus managed to put $400 of 95 into the diesel Landcruiser - total bill went something like $1500 by the time I got it back. Just once I tried to fill the GS up with diesel, but the console operator was sharp and didn't start the pump and made a gesture for me to have a look. One of those Doh! moments. Apparently it is really common.
Can't say that I have ever run a bike out of fuel when I wasn't carrying extra.
BanditPat
20-01-10, 02:54 AM
Ran out of petrol coming home from work last summer after i had said to the lads i work with "I'm going to be home by the time your on the bus leaving main gate" ran out pushed it to the petrol station to find out that the one day I needed it I had taken my bank card out of my pocket. which meant I had to wait for my gran to bring me my bank card and when i was waiting for her what went passed? the busses with the people I work with on. I was not impressed. They caught me up even though they had to sit on a bust at B111 til it decided to leave there and make the 2 mile trip through sellafield traffic to main gate then from maingate to egremont through the traffic. The traffic between there and whitehaven is bad it can take upto an hour and a half to travel 10 miles some days.
Okay, had the sender out of the tank and carried the diagnostics as per Suzuki manual, and it looks like the A (top) thermistor is broken and the B (bottom) thermistor may not be telling the truth :confused:.
I've got a replacement on order, but does anyone know the value of the thermistor used? Otherwise it's a case of heating the replacement to 25c and comparing what the multimeter says againt all the spec sheets I can find :D.
Out of interest how much was a new one?
phi-dan
20-01-10, 12:49 PM
change from £20 from a breaker on ebay (listed as working)
I've been reading up on the whole thermistor issue, and from what I can gather they do either degrade or break (inside the little can thing). I've managed to find a part number for a replacement thermistor (which isn't made anyway - typical) with a view to repairing mine. Just got to find an equivalent spec that is available and will do the job.
trumpet
21-01-10, 04:16 PM
Heh. That's what the trip meter's for.
I Allways top up at 180 if I don't know where thye next petrol station is.
DON'T talk about running out of fuel .... thanks to me leaving my wallet at work, and the GF running off to work this morning, I've done about 35 miles with the fuel light on, and a total of about 180 miles on this tank .... got to try and get myself to the nearest petrol station sharpish this evening ....
I've never ran out of fuel in 15 years on the road (which is amazing given I always run everything well in to the reserve) .... and don't intend to tonight !!!
yorkie_chris
22-01-10, 12:34 PM
I Allways top up at 180 if I don't know where thye next petrol station is.
180? That would include me pushing for about 30 miles.
Filled mine up last night after a long way on the red .... took 15 ltrs ... how big is the tank ??
17.5
Try harder next time
17.5
Try harder next time
lol ... :)
Blimey .... got another 20 miles in the tank then .... so, thats another day on the red then :o
Dave20046
22-01-10, 03:01 PM
17.5
Try harder next time
Thankyou, thought it was 16. I've never hit 15l.
fastdruid
22-01-10, 03:03 PM
Thankyou, thought it was 16. I've never hit 15l.
I presume the pointy has a bigger tank, the curvy is 16l.
My VFR is 20l, I've had 20.2l before. The words "running on fumes" spring to mind :)
Druid
FWIW after runnimng out I put 16.2l in. I'm sure I've got more in it before though when I hadn't run out by waiting and letting the level drop etc.
MattCollins
22-01-10, 03:16 PM
180? That would include me pushing for about 30 miles.
Must be something in the riding style. I am always on the high side of 200mi for around 15l used.
Must be something in the riding style. I am always on the high side of 200mi for around 15l used.
Or riding conditions ..... I'm very urban round here :smt085
yorkie_chris
22-01-10, 04:10 PM
Must be something in the riding style. I am always on the high side of 200mi for around 15l used.
Basically screw the 'rse off it everywhere. Though one time on the Mway I managed to get 70 miles on a fiver, that would probably give similar mileage to tank to you.
I might try that steady/smooth riding thing some time. :lol:
I might try that steady/smooth riding thing some time. :lol:
:smt043
MattCollins
23-01-10, 12:16 PM
Basically screw the 'rse off it everywhere. Though one time on the Mway I managed to get 70 miles on a fiver, that would probably give similar mileage to tank to you.
I might try that steady/smooth riding thing some time. :lol:
Nah, just don't see the need to wring its neck all of the time. :D
Must be something in the riding style. I am always on the high side of 200mi for around 15l used.
From an SV? :shock:
I might try that steady/smooth riding thing some time. :lol:
Yeah right :-k
MattCollins
23-01-10, 03:23 PM
From an SV? :shock:
Yup... stock '09 pointy with bias ply tyres at maximum pressures, 16T CS sprocket, 70-75mph on an O-ring cruise control gets a fair bit more than 200mi from 15l on the highway. In town I refuse to thrash it from one set of traffic lights to the next or start it for a cold run down to the shops so still get good mileage. It is only when I go out to play on a twisty road that range drops to around 160mi.
The bike has just been fitted with a full system and a proper cruise control and it remains to be seen how either will affect fuel consumption. Flood waters are keeping the bike in the shed for now.
S'not fair. I ride like an old woman and struggle to get 150 to tank full? Mind you it does leak when half full or above. I'm putting a new tank on tomorrow, so hopefully my economy will improve too!:)
yorkie_chris
24-01-10, 03:09 PM
Nah, just don't see the need to wring its neck all of the time. :D
Might as well get a car :p
with bias ply tyres
No wonder you have to go steady then! :smt119
MattCollins
24-01-10, 06:27 PM
Chris, if you want to beat the crap out of your bike every time you get on the thing then go for it. :)
On decent suspension (racetech cartridges and shock) the 880's do better than most people give them credit. It was a little tricky getting the suspension right - the problem was that the tyres lack compliance so the suspension, especially the forks needs to be spot on. On stock suspension they were fairly average, but the bike was not exactly confidence inspiring to begin with.
Now they stick all of the way to the edges, lift the rear under brakes and don't have any nasty habits. They don't blister and come apart when running for extended periods in high temperatures like nearly all of the other Metzelers.
Their only downside is that they can be a bit of a handful on city streets when it is wet and cold - they need to be aired down considerably to get a bit of heat into them. Fortunately, I do very little of that sort of riding.
They'd be a poor choice of tyre in your part of the world, but not here.
yorkie_chris
25-01-10, 12:10 PM
It is stress relief :-)
I am looking for that elusive 8th shade of sh**e to beat out of this GPZ I rode today. It is so dog slow you can't be gentle with it! And it's got a kawasaki badge on it, so it deserves it.
what do you think to the racetech shock? I looked at those but guy selling penske was happier to help with stuff.
MattCollins
25-01-10, 02:27 PM
Stress relief... I can understand that, although I tend not to take it out on the bike. I have a punching bag out the back for that... no, it's not the dog. :)
I really only have Ohlins to compare them to - a good product but IMO lousy support. I did it the hard way.
The plus (for me) when dealing with RT was that the guys who make them were willing to talk and offer real guidance on getting the springs and valving set up right for my bike configuration. They have done a bucket load of R&D on the SV so they have first hand knowledge of what works and what doesn't. They were also pretty good at listening. That is pure gold and worth the premium.
JMO, there are lot of good suspension products out there. The difference between good and great is the support and if that can be had, then it doesn't really matter which shock is on the bike.
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