Having to switch to reserve with plenty fuel

[thegoochking]

My max speed is about 50-55 and i stay under 4k or just bellow 5k when i ride.

[roboto65]

Well you should have no problem with hitting 100 before reserve. What I would do is run it till you get to reserve and then switch and run some more to get it low on fuel unless you have a gas can to hold it then check the petcock filter and the petcock itself. Also you asked about running on reserve it will not hurt anything except when you are out of gas you are OUT 

[thegoochking]

Yea that wouldnt be very fun to run out with no warning. Has anyone ever tried using the gas tank from a bike that has a gas meter and moding it to fit the magna? I think that would be the most useful mod to us magna owners. Wheres the petcock filter located? im brand new to this bike. My previous bike is a 73 honda cb500 which i still have but havent been able to do carb work on it due to a striped screw and not having an easy out to remove it.

[roboto65]

If you look where the petcock is you should see a nut holding it on of course you want to have the fuel out.  Loosen the nut and take the petcock out and check it out and clean the screen you will see what I am talking about when you get to it not hard at all just keep an eye on the oring in there as that seals it to the tank!

[thegoochking]

Im wondering if it is dirty or blocked up then why does it only stop working when the fuel gets to a certain level? when its full it gives no problem just when it gets to about half full is when it makes me switch over.

[roboto65]

How much gas gal wise do you add when you hit reserve. I would pull the petcock not hard to do just a pain because of the gas left. Not sure have not been in there in a while but what may be happening is the filter

Here are pics took me 5 minutes tank is half full when you take it off tilt it forward and pull the petcock be careful my filter was kind stuck had to wiggle it but this is what it looks like. Reserve is the half moon shape at the bottom!!!







There ya go thats what yours will look like except maybe dirtier LOL Maybe it might not be that but it should be your first thing to check ..

[Smoked U]

I've been watching this thread and I believe the seafoam additions are breaking all the junk loose in your fuel system from the tank to the carbs.

Soooooooo...

The screen on the petcock almost has to be loaded with crap. Take the tank off the bike, remove the petcock, clean the screen, petcock and tubes thoroughly. Flush the tank until nothing foreign comes out of it before you put it back on the bike. Find a clear in line fuel filter like the one I get at O'Rileys Auto Parts and install it in place between the petcock and the carbs so you can monitor trash that is getting through the fuel system. Change it everytime it visibly has junk in it. Plan on replacing all of the fuel lines to eliminate any residual trash that might be laying around in them.

Welcome to the NFL rookie 

Again, the Seafoam is going to break loose deposits everywhere in the system and it's going to take some time and effort to clean this up.

[roboto65]

The more I think about it and after confering with Greg I think you need to check for a fuel leak the only time you would see it if the bike is running because other than that the fuel is cut off so next time you start it up check for fuel under the carbs there are a couple of orings between them and you may have a leak there!!

[thegoochking]

I havent seen any leaks, just hit reserve at 61 miles last night but the fuel is actualy low this time. I dont know how its eating thru fuel so fast as i just cruise i dont get on the throttle hard and i accelerate nice and smooth. Ive come to the decision that for some reason im getting terrible mileage and hitting reserve at 50 to 60 miles. Its storming here now so when it clears up im gonna run out another tank and see if i get 60 miles again to reserve, if i do i dont know whats wrong as i have looked and never saw any fuel leeking.

[roboto65]

If the bike is off you may not see any it would have to be running as the fuel shutoff is vacuum operated but something is not right how do you fill your tank do you fill it all the way to the top or with the nozzle in the tank till it shuts off. I would start the bike and get a flash light and check under the carbs while she is running and see if you notice any leaks. Also where are you located don,t think you have said maybe if you are close one of us could check it out !!!

[TLRam1]

Is your Air Filter dirty?

You will need to start going thru and eliminating some of these to better analysis what might be the problem. Maybe this weekend you can do some of this.

Keep us posted.

[thegoochking]

You know i think the airfilter might need replacing, it hasnt been replaced anytime recently that i know of and if i remember correctly the last time i removed the tank it looked dirty to me when i looked at it. Everyone around here only selld k&h air filters though and i think those require rejeting dont they?

[Greg Cothern]

Can ya pull a spark plug and take a PIC of the electrode and post it here so we can see how its running??

I seriously think it would not be running well if it were consuming almost twice the amount of fuel on average most Magna's do.

What is your regime for filling up the bike?  IE, do you fill it up till the pump pops off then slowing continue to fill until it is completely topped off?

Air filter being dirty will certain effect things, not sure it would drop economy in half though.......

[Magnum Magna]

how do you fill your tank do you fill it all the way to the top or with the nozzle in the tank till it shuts off.

I got gas a few days ago and the pump nozzle had a vapor recovery so you had to have it all the way in the tank with the recover hose pressed against the tank for the gas to flow.  In turn filling it to the neck with a vapor recovery nozzle is impossible. 

Unless you hold the recover hose with your other hand pressing the hose against the tank creating the vacuum it needs to let the filler pump work.  I will try that if I stop there again.

[roboto65]

I have had a couple of those and the trick to those is just lift the vapor recovery part you do not have to create a seal it just needs to be pushed back and it will pump. Guess they did not have Motorcycles in mind when they designed that HMMMMMMMM