Need some help-so what else is new?

[Kilroy]

Hi All, need a little help.  '03 Standard, 22K on the clock, stock for the most part, desmog done.  Every so often I will experience what feels like "running out of gas" going to reserve, but well before I should.  Yesterday there was 67 miles on the odometer when this happened.  I turn the petcock to reserve for a few seconds, let it run, then back to regular and all is well till I really go to reserve.

This could be crud in the tank clogging up the screen, the petcock going bad.  Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to fix it.

Thanks
Kilroy

[SANDMAN5]

Yep, it could be crud or the petcock. Might also be a kinked vent hose. If the
gas tank has been off, I'd check that. Also be a good time to clean the tank
and replace/rebuild the petcock. Personally, I'd replace it (petcock)  with a Pingle.
I did on both my Valks and never had a bit of trouble. Might be something else
causing your problem, but I'll let the "tech wizards" handle that.

[BonS]

I'm pretty sure that others will point you to your petcock and to a rebuild or Pingle and they may be right. For me, my experience has been crud getting into a slow speed jet which clears itself within a few miles. During the interval though, it feels exactly like I should switch to reserve. The difference though, is that I can goose the engine, forcing it to run on the main jets, and the engine smoothes out until I back off and she goes back to running on the slow speed jets. A fuel filter and perhaps a good cleaning out of the tank can help.

[Robert]

I like the response that BonS gave you and I agree with what he said. I will also add that the same thing happened to me and it was the petcock.

[3W-lonerider]

yep..had the same identical symptoms a few years ago..found 2 tears in the petcock diaphram.

[BonS]

I'm wondering if the tearing of the diaphragm is causing fuel starvation or if it's rubber fragments from the diaphragm that's working their way down to the slow speed jets and clogging them. The biggest crud is captured by the petcock screen but the rubber diaphragm is after all that. Even with (small) tears the engine may produce enough vacuum to hold the valve sufficiently open. Of course, the #6 cylinder is getting a rich slug of fuel through the tear(s) and this may also upset an otherwise smooth running engine. Either way, the diaphragm has to be fixed if it's torn.

[Sharkey]

yep..had the same identical symptoms a few years ago..found 2 tears in the petcock diaphram.

Yep happened to me at Izane. BigBF rebuilt it for me. It would not hold a vacuum. He also replaced the screen in the tank, but it looked ok.

[Tundra]

Hi Dave,
Start your bike and see how it idles, blip the throttle a few times, see if it idle rough. Does it start ok, or need choke to start and idle? Does it run rough, like starving for fuel only at slower speeds (under 2500 rpm) although when you give it gas it seems to run better?
 If you answered yes to all of these questions, I believe it's clogged slow jets. That's ok, easy fix. Lot's of guys on this board rave about "Seafoam", however I think it's garbage. Get "B-12" from any Automotive or even Wal-Mart Automotive, double the dose, can't hurt. Then run the bike on a beach ride from Clearwater beach to the Don Cesar and back, speed limit is 35 mph, don't exceed this speed and you will be running on your low jets for two hours. When you get back put a bottle of "lucas" fuel treatment in and run as usual. It should clear itself out, probably the result of the Ethanol fuel catching up to you.
 If the above is not your symptom and it runs poorly all the time, then I believe it might be your petcock. Again many on the board are "Pingle" fans. I am not, get yourself the petcock rebuild kit (cheaper) and will last 10 years. from "Honda Direct Line Parts" Part #16953-MBZ-B51  Note: be carefull taking this apart and lay each piece out so you can see how it goes back together. I will attach some helpfull links for you to research. If you need help shoot me an e-mail.
Sent you a PM, good luck Mike, call me if you need me.

Good read from From Shop-Talk:  

  Servicing the Petcock  

[Farther]

I would guess it is one or more of the following:
clogged tank vent line
torn petcock diaphram
leaking petcock vaacum line
clogged fuel filter

As long as you have the tank off you might as well do all four.

[Larry]

Hi Dave,
Start your bike and see how it idles, blip the throttle a few times, see if it idle rough. Does it start ok, or need choke to start and idle? Does it run rough, like starving for fuel only at slower speeds (under 2500 rpm) although when you give it gas it seems to run better?
 If you answered yes to all of these questions, I believe it's clogged slow jets. That's ok, easy fix. Lot's of guys on this board rave about "Seafoam", however I think it's garbage. Get "B-12" from any Automotive or even Wal-Mart Automotive, double the dose, can't hurt. Then run the bike on a beach ride from Clearwater beach to the Don Cesar and back, speed limit is 35 mph, don't exceed this speed and you will be running on your low jets for two hours. When you get back put a bottle of "lucas" fuel treatment in and run as usual. It should clear itself out, probably the result of the Ethanol fuel catching up to you.
 If the above is not your symptom and it runs poorly all the time, then I believe it might be your petcock. Again many on the board are "Pingle" fans. I am not, get yourself the petcock rebuild kit (cheaper) and will last 10 years. from "Honda Direct Line Parts" Part #16953-MBZ-B51  Note: be carefull taking this apart and lay each piece out so you can see how it goes back together. I will attach some helpfull links for you to research. If you need help shoot me an e-mail.
Sent you a PM, good luck Mike, call me if you need me.

Hey Tundra, my IS has been idling a bit rough and at low speed so I tried this proceedure tonight and I must say it is running much smoother. Good tip. Thanks and safe riding.