Didn't hit reserve until 171 Miles....then filled up with 5.445 gallons... WTF??

[gordorad]

Something is amiss.  Last Sunday I was cruising along nice ride, and noticed I had not hit reserve at  140..(Usually I will need to switch around 130).....Wow, I thought.....Good Gas, this Startron is really working!!  Kept riding, and still, at 161 miles when I hit the gas station, I did not need to go to reserve.    At that fillup it took 4.49 Gallons.  Ok, that is right on the threshold, but in reality I should have needed to turn the knob!!

Ran with that tank all week.  Last night I picked up a one gallon tank to keep for emergency use, and for a test.  I wanted to see how far I could go before reserve again.  And ultimately run it out....Passed 161 and did not need to switch until 171.   Of course now I know something is wrong.....Went to fill up, now at 174 and it took 5.445 gallons.  So it was basically empty.

Ok tech superstars, what could be going on???  As I understand the function, there are two tubes in the tank, a "high" and "low"   When the level drops below the high, that is when the "low" tube (reserve) starts feeding the fuel??  

My first guess is that the High tube somehow has moved down and it is almost equal to the lower tube????  

[F6BANGER]

Im guessing your on/off/reserve lever is screwed on incorrectly.

[BonS]

Hi Gordo, I'd have to say that your petcock is bad. But I guess you probably figured that out already. If you have the OEM petcock you can rebuild it and be good to go. Many here will simply tell you to get rid of it and go with something else such as a Pingel as I have. Others have never had a problem with the OEM petcock or had to rebuild it once and simply don't want to or feel the need to abandon it. Recently someone had a similar problem with their Pingel so it can happen with any of them I guess.

[wild6]

Sounds like the ball in the valve is not seating properly when in the normal position.
It then lets gas through the reserve port.

When turning the knob, it should feel loose and click into each position.  If there's any side pressure, it may not let the internal ball seat properly.  This happens when the plastic knob and the petcock aren't aligned.  

Loosening the petcock retaining ring slightly and giving the petcock a small twist to align it should fix it.

If it doesn't, you might need a new one.  The diaphragm kits only fix the vacuum cutoff.

Naturally, I'm assuming you have the OEM petcock.

[gordorad]

Yes, it is the OEM petcock.....(that is a funny name)...

It is not screwed on incorrectly, as it has functioned fine for the 6000 miles I've had the bike.

I guess when they go, they go??

Thanks for the tips......

Here is a question......Should I just leave it in the "on" position?  Not worry about?  Just keep more aware of my fuel level???  Or will it get worse?  What is worse??

[BonS]

You should search on "hydrolock" or "hydro lock" if you haven't already. The combination of a defective petcock, a leaky carb float needle and an open intake valve can be expensive. If I had a questionable petcock I'd fix it. OEM replacement, rebuild or aftermarket are your choices. Meanwhile, knowing the signs of hydrolock and not pressing the starter button twice when it happens is valuable knowledge.

[Rio Wil]

If you have an IS that is about right, 175-200 miles  and about 5.8 gallons if you fill up almost immediately upon going to reserve.

[JetDriver]

Agree that the petcock is the problem, and that a cover set rebuild will not fix that particular problem.

[wild6]

Here's a thread that shows pictures of the ball chamber.
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,26910.msg244359.html#msg244359

Hole 'J' is the reserve port that your ball is not seating-into properly (or maybe the o-ring is bad).

The chamber is riveted together (intended to be not serviceable), but the rivets can be drilled out and replaced with screws and nuts (with lockwashers of course).

Something to play-with after you've replaced the petcock.

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Sounds like the ball in the valve is not seating properly when in the normal position.
It then lets gas through the reserve port.

When turning the knob, it should feel loose and click into each position.  If there's any side pressure, it may not let the internal ball seat properly.  This happens when the plastic knob and the petcock aren't aligned.  

Loosening the petcock retaining ring slightly and giving the petcock a small twist to align it should fix it.

If it doesn't, you might need a new one.  The diaphragm kits only fix the vacuum cutoff.

Naturally, I'm assuming you have the OEM petcock.

Ditto to all of this as I had mine off and back on again after some wrenching and got same symptoms as you. Lossened and reinstalled and haven't had a problem since. If that doesn't solve it rebuild or replace.  

[salty1]

It's that new air cleaner! 

[gordorad]

Darn cleaner........I would have thought something changed due to the recent work, but the issue happened also BEFORE any work was done. 

Ok, I see the price is about the same for an OEM replacement or a pingle......So, any advantage to one over the other???  Is this like asking about oil?

[Pete]

When you remove the petcock to check it!

Check the stand tubes for cracks, I have seen them develop a crack that allowed exactly what you are seeing. The crack was in the longer tube toward the bottom.

Good luck.

[John Schmidt]

And for the record, there is only one pickup tube. In the "on" position the fuel is drawn through the top of the tube. When in "reserve" it opens a passage internally that allows fuel to be drawn from the base of the tube.

[gordorad]

Ok, this adds to the confusion....With just one tube, I guess it is drawing from the bottom all the time??  (In my new situation?)...

[wild6]

Ok, this adds to the confusion....With just one tube, I guess it is drawing from the bottom all the time??  (In my new situation?)...

Yes - In that link I posted above, you can see the hole next to the tube in the base.  That's the reserve inlet.  The end of the tube is the normal inlet.

Try jiggling the knob back and forth when in the normal position.  This helped the ball seat when I had this problem (until I changed the petcock).

[salty1]

You can rebuild your present petcock and buy a screen set for about $40 from HDL parts.

[gordorad]

Sounds like the rebuild is the way to go....Thanks for all the suggestions....

G.

[wild6]

Again, the rebuild kit (cover kit) only fixes a faulty vacuum-actuated fuel cutoff - not the problem you're experiencing.  If you've eliminated knob alignment,  you can drill the rivets and try to see what's wrong or just buy a new petcock (what I did).

BTW: A new petcock includes a new in-tank screen and what's included in the cover kit and costs $70 more than those 2 items.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Mine has done that a time or two over the years. With my bike the valve had not seated properly when it was last switched. Best way to find this is when you are riding and your trip odometer is telling you you should have already hit reserve, reach down and run the petcock through all three positions then put it back to run. If it wasn't seated correctly you'll know because you will soon hit reserve after cycling it.

My son's valk has a chrome cover over the petcock. When he got the bike reserve operation was very erratic. We found it was caused by the chrome cover dragging on the petcock handle making it difficult to feel when it dropped into the correct position and making it easy for it to hang in the wrong position.

Fixing the drag fixed the problem.

[sugerbear]

recheck the knob position. we had it off friday. could have put it on wrong.

[gordorad]

Yep, it is on correct.  Same thing happened one week prior so I know it's nothing we did!!!

[sugerbear]

WHEW  

when we get a new time to meet, be sure the tank is mostly empty. we'll take a look at it.

[Hoser]

I have to ask, were you by chance, riding an Interstate?   Hoser
Seriously though.  The pump could have been off, you can bet your a$$ they won't fix it if it's in thier favor.

[gordorad]

Uh, no, I wasn't riding an interstate.  And I don't think the pump was off.   Could it have been?  Anything is possible but highly unlikely. 

[Hoser]

I've heard storys that station pumps can be off, most states check them for accuracy, but not very often.  Wish I had an IS tank, that extra gallon and a half would be handy.  Hoser