Petcocks ?

On my stock Special petcock I once went about 20 mi. on reserve. And the current prob with my bike is definitely not plogged carbs :) Don't know how much farther I could have gone, but you can figure it out from the factory manual. On long distance rides I gas up every 100 mi. Nice round number easy to remember and easy to make. Strap on a can if it's like 500 mi. to the next gas station.
 
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Myself, I only use reserve in dire emergencies.
All the junk is down there, at the bottom.
If used, the bowls at least get drained.

My gas cap gauge is calibrated to show the reserve is in the red zone.

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Dayum..I like that..great idea!
You have some neat gauges..What are you monitoring with the PSI gauges?
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In my experience, these bikes don't have any major issues transitioning from "On" to "Reserve". It works just fine running down the road, you don't have to pull over and wait for it. That being said, I don't use it often, I just gas up when the trip meter gets in the 100 to 120 range. Every tankful will vary slightly depending on the type of riding you've subjected it to.
 
Interesting..things on my bike are not stock..as they might appear from 10 ft away..I will use the "off" position when parked..but i will ride with them in the "Res" position and just watch my odo...

YIKES - I'm just catching up on this and in all sincereity, I would never ride in the RESERVE position. That's just asking for a long walk pushing a 450 lb shopping cart.

NOTE
: this normally occurs in the rain or on a hot day or at night in the middle of nowhere - with a young lady along....DAMHIK.

As a result, I <nearly - see below> always turn them OFF when parked, ON when riding and set to RESERVE when I forget to take my anti-stupid meds and fail to fill up.

As the Anglicans say..."It is meet and right so to do".

On the matter of watching the odometer / trip meter - I have noted that my fuel economy varies enormously between 40-55 MPH back road riding and 70+ MPH freeway dashes. I ran Lucille ('76 Standard) flat out of gas on a major freeway while blasting along at...well, really danged fast...and I was having so much fun that I hardly noticed reaching down to go on RESERVE and then screwed it down tight on the throttle again.

Unfortunately, my calculations, based on prior experience, had told me that I had at least another 15-20 miles (like 1-2 litres) of fuel still in the tank - when it ran totally dry....

Well, I didn't.

Pete
 
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In my experience, these bikes don't have any major issues transitioning from "On" to "Reserve". It works just fine running down the road, you don't have to pull over and wait for it. That being said, I don't use it often, I just gas up when the trip meter gets in the 100 to 120 range. Every tankful will vary slightly depending on the type of riding you've subjected it to.
This...prolly the most logical course to take...I have run with the petcocks on RES many times...in the past...never had an issue...
On my XS1100s they were very cold blooded when transitioning and I had 2 petcocks to turn...MY 82 XJ1100 maxim was very smooth transitioning and i never had any issues with that bike...
 
You've never run out of gas ..... yet, lol. As Pete related, and as I mentioned too, miles per tankful can vary widely depending on the type of riding you've done. I think I've managed to push my Standard (slightly larger tank) to near 150 before hitting reserve, but I know that won't happen for every tankful. I think somewhere in the 130's is more the norm for that bike. So, I've learned from experience and err on the side of caution, filling up by about 120 usually.
 
Didn’t those 1100’s have fuel gauges ?
I seem to recall a XS1100 Standard did ?
:umm:
Yes they did ...On my last XS1100 the gas gauge was dead nuts accurate...so that helped me as well..A real gauge kinda eliminates the need for petcocks IMO Yet there they are anyway...
 
Yes, your habits of petcock use would benefit a change now.
There is no need to carry extra fuel unless you know you are going too far to be certain of fuel stops.
Trust your odometer and YourSelf !
-R
By the way , I absolutely like your Special II ! I think it will prove very trustworthy .
I wish very much I had one as good to commute on :thumbsup:
 
All opinions are appreciated and I will at first comform to the majority opinion..but eventually i will return to what it is i know best for myself..Y'alls mileage will vary...LOL pun intended...
 
Yes, your habits of petcock use would benefit a change now.
There is no need to carry extra fuel unless you know you are going too far to be certain of fuel stops.
Trust your odometer and YourSelf !
-R
By the way , I absolutely like your Special II ! I think it will prove very trustworthy .
I wish very much I had one as good to commute on :thumbsup:
Thankyou..i will love it when i get it in 2 months time...FWIW I only ride with extra fuel when determining total miles to empty from a full tank..otherwise i do nt normally carry it on daytrips..If i was out west and distances between gas stations was further..then i would carry extra gas....
Even though I do not know these bikes from first hand seat of the pants experience.. I will trust the XS650 cognoscenti as y'all have been there done that. I may not be new to riding but i am new to the XS650...and I would be dumb not to heed the advice given here...I may be stubborn but i'm not stupid...
 
I think that the key point is that XS650 fuel consumption seems to vary A LOT between normal moderate speed riding and high speed freeway riding. So, simply counting on the odometer will only work if your riding is either fast or slow, but a mixture could get you into trouble.

My past experience with big multi-cylinder bikes (eg. Suzuki GS850G) was that the fuel consumption didn't really vary all that much with changes in speed.

Pete
 
I may not be new to riding but i am new to the XS650...and I would be dumb not to heed the advice given here...I may be stubborn but i'm not stupid...
Well Ben, you are patient, and tolerant of being poked at Lol :poke:
And an active contributor on this XS site !
Very much looking forward to more XS experiences when you get that bike !
-RT
 
I think that the key point is that XS650 fuel consumption seems to vary A LOT between normal moderate speed riding and high speed freeway riding. So, simply counting on the odometer will only work if your riding is either fast or slow, but a mixture could get you into trouble.

My past experience with big multi-cylinder bikes (eg. Suzuki GS850G) was that the fuel consumption didn't really vary all that much with changes in speed.

Pete
There wont be any high speed freeways on this bike.. my 1995 ST1100 got 50 mpg regardless of speeds up to 80mph..I could easily go 300 miles before having to stop for gas and a break...
 
The big thing here is, you'll have to train yourself to shut those manual petcocks off whenever you park the bike. If you don't, you may open the garage one day and find a giant puddle of gas under the bike. I've had other manual petcock bikes for many years so it's sort of ingrained into me. I usually switch them to off before I even dismount from the bike.
 
The big thing here is, you'll have to train yourself to shut those manual petcocks off whenever you park the bike. If you don't, you may open the garage one day and find a giant puddle of gas under the bike. I've had other manual petcock bikes for many years so it's sort of ingrained into me. I usually switch them to off before I even dismount from the bike.
Yes..i agree..having to get my brain ingrained...LOL...on my XS/XJ1100s i could leave it "on" and it didnt leak...so i was never in the habit of turning them to "off" position..now i will have to be more careful about that...
 
Yes..i agree..having to get my brain ingrained...LOL...on my XS/XJ1100s i could leave it "on" and it didnt leak...so i was never in the habit of turning them to "off" position..now i will have to be more careful about that...

Indeed, and like many Forum members, I had an XS650 back when these were new bikes (mine was a 1975 B-model and I bought it in 1977) and I don't recall ever turning the petcocks off. The only real problem I had with that bike was that it gobbled-up alternator brushes like they were going out of style (like a set every 6=8,000 miles).

...but that is entirely another story.
 
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