reserve petrol...

[illvibetip]

This is going to sound like a really stupid question. But sometimes, you’ve known someone for so long, its embarrassing asking them what their name is because you forgot. Well it’s a bit like that…

I’ve never used the emergency reserve on a bike – ever.

How does it work and what setting should it be left on?

And one more stupid question please, I heard that changing gears causes higher consumption of fuel.

Does that still apply if you keep the revs at an almost constant? Or skip a gear or two?

Would it make a difference?

Ta

[Guest]

The reserve is really just a convenience for bikes which have no fuel gauge. If you run out, you can switch the tap to reserve and go straight to a filling station - remembering to swap the tap back again afterwards. If you fill up sooner than that, you'll always have a bit more fuel sloshing around in the tank than you'll ever use, but that's no bad thing really.

The act of actually changing gear doesn't burn fuel, but you'll generally find the bike more economical if you tend to ride in a higher gear. Conversely, riding in a lower gear will give you better stability and control, so the choice of trade-off is really down to you.

[Donnie Brasco]

My reserve tap dosen't work, so what I did in the early days was filling the bike to the brim,reseting the milometer and keep riding until it ran out of fuel(hitting reserve which dosen't work),made a note of what mileage it covered then knocked 10miles off that figure.so for example when I hit 190/200miles I know I've got probably a litre of fuel before it hits reserve,just have to make sure you reset the clock to zero everytime you fill up.

[Ingah]

The act of changing gears doesn't "consume" petrol literally, but by using the clutch to separate the engine from the primary drive any throttle (more throttle = more air let in, therefore more petrol mixed with it and being burned) you've got on during those few seconds will be making the engine spin round faster, burning petrol, but not doing anything useful as its ultimately not connected to the wheels, therefore wasting it. But shutting the throttle of completely and then letting the clutch lever out is very bad for stability, so best avoided. However, on the flipside, by disconnecting the engine, the resistance it causes (engine braking) will also be eliminated and so you'll be saving wasting energy/petrol by reducing drag (it's called coasting).

We're talking absolutely negligible amounts of petrol here. Duck down a little bit, you'll save far more petrol that way (and you won't save much even then) than trying to economise your use of gear changes

Riding around in a higher gear will save you far more noticeable amount of petrol, but it's less 'safe' for responsiveness etc. Avoidable crashes are far more expensive than petrol.

Also avoid leaving the fuel tap on reserve setting when possible, as all the crap/rust over the years accumulates at the bottom of the fuel tank (gravity, heaviest item sinks), and this is right where the reserve outlet is (i.e. at the very bottom of the tank), and that stuff will soon clog up your fuelling system (the older the bike the more likely there is crap in the tank to be sucked in). In normal (non-reserve) mode, the petrol is taken from higher up, avoiding sucking the worst of the debris in.

[Vic_Cambridge]

my bike has a reserve light that comes on opposed to turning a tap, but whatever way your's does it...I always want to know how far I can get on reserve in case im caught short, so when i get a new bike I let it run down to reserve and then I fill a one litre bottle with petrol and put it in my rucksac. I then ride the bike until it runs out and see how much I get! Pretty much every bike ive had does a min of 30 miles on reserve, most do more depending on how much throttle you give it. depending on what speed your doing it is better to stay in a higher gear to keep the revs down so you dont use as much fuel. Hope that helps

[XmisterIS]

1) The reserve tap is to be opened when you come to a spluttering halt.

2) The family member with a car and a jerry can is there for when you come to a spluttering halt after you've opened the reserve tap.

Source: Experience. (A person should only ever get to point 2 once, unless they're really stupid!)

[salsarider79]

As above: When filled up, don't leave it on reserve.

You only do no.2 once, and when you do and it's a mile uphill to the petrol station, you best hope someone will help you push the sodding beast.......

Especially a nice biker who knows what it's like, and won't take anything in payment

[Colin the Bear]

Every time you touch the throttle or brakes it costs fuel. The faster you change speed, the more it costs. Smooth riding with a light touch is the economic way. Revs don't really matter if the throttle position is light. More economic to have high revs in a low gear when climbing than low revs with the throttle wide open and labouring the engine. If you need to skip two gears you were either in the wrong gear to start with or didn't read the road properly.

[Stu]

hmmm this thread isnt far off been a year old

[Colin the Bear]

Never noticed op. Who bumped it? Blame Donnie