ran out of gas

Hey guys, last week I was riding to work, and started sputtering. So I switched tap to reserve and still ran out of gas right away. So I found out that my "run" tube fell off. I had to fish it out once before when cleaning tank. Any tips to fix it to tap securely? TIA

 

I'd wrap a couple of turns of Teflon on the tube and put it back in, but I'm not sure if Teflon is fuel resistant...

 

Use a center punch to dimple the screen bore of the petcock (four dimples, evenly spaced around the oval). It then will be a light press fit and will not come out on it's own.

 

I had this same issue
I opted to cut the length of both tubes down
this gives me a longer fuel time before I have to switch
I then had to sand the shorter tube into a smaller
diameter to fit into the hole
I have saddlebags and carry 2 fuel canisters in them
know your mileage.. average 42 mpg and you can figure out
how long you have

 

i like to use the shake method at stop lights lol. i never like getting to a quarter tank actually. i see it as a full bike is like a full stomach.

 

Thanks guys. Cool tip kmoe. I have a new issue now wich I believe is related. I ended up putting in gas with "10%" ethanol in to get back home. Right away I was not able to get above 60mph in 6th gear. Originally I blamed the crap gas I put in albeit high test. However, even with pure gas, I can only get 65 or 70 if I'm going downhill with a tailwind and I reach over and hold on to the tractor trailer. Acceleration bad too. I got outrun by a beat up maroon 1983 honda civic with a dummy tire. Made his day I'm sure, but kind of pissed me off. So, my new hypothesis is I got some tank junk in my carbs. They're off the bike right now and I've cleaned 2 of them, but they really don't seem too bad so far. Am I on the right track? Thanks for any help guys.

 

If your tube fell off in to the tank I take it that you don't have a fuel screen over said tube. If you don't, you may have sucked trash into your fuel filter or carbs if you don't have a filter. My $.02

 

could be a bad flow. i know i had an issue with mine where the line wasnt pure fuel and had some air in it and made her run rough. little adjusting of my line and wahlah.

 

I found my local service station had included ethanol in their fuel when my XJ650 was starving for fuel. I got stuck beside the road and tried to pull out the plastic fuel filter and it stretched like chewing gum to over a foot long. The inside diameter was the size of a needle. I suggest you check any plastic components the fuel may have touched. I assume anything IN the carbs like nylon needle and seat will be okay but I don't know.

 

Take a break and read a couple loooong carb rebuild threads on this site.
Somewhere you have problems and they need to be fixed now, while the bike is apart, rather than just poking around in the carbs and re-assembling. Don't skip any steps, and step #1 is "check valve lash".

 

Ok guys. Cleaned the carbs, installed back on bike and took for a ride. I never saw anything in the carbs except a little residue on the bottom of the float bowls, but it was there somewhere, cause it almost threw me off the bike from the difference in acceleration. 65 is now easily attainable!! ;D Anyway, thanks again guys.


......PS. this is my first bike owned or ridden, and a 550 scares the hell out of me. Just thought I'd let you know all you people are nuts with those 750's 900's 1100's......... Take it easy guys.

 

I love my 750! I would love to try the bigger ones some day.

 

Add an external fuel filter for peice of mind. Don't worry about using E10. XJ's were made to run perfectly well on E10.

 

You could still have "more on the table" that you don't know about, but will find when you get the bike REALLY tuned-up.

*valve adjustment done
*running sync with water manometer or profesional tool
*Color-Tune or plug-chops - - multiple tuning sessions.

Then you can race, and beat any Harley!!

 

But if you get the external fuel filter, I suggest you get the metal version instead of plastic after it melted mine.