How Does A Reserve Fuel Tank On A Motorcycle Work

In cars and most modern motorcycles this quantity the reserve is automatically available.

How does a reserve fuel tank on a motorcycle work. On off and reserve. Older motorcycles have a manual fuel tap or petcock. The rider turns the petcock to RESERVE when the reserve area of the gas tank is reached.

Several quarts at least. In motorcycles and cars fuel reserve uses remaining fuel in tank and its indicates fuel level is less in the tank. Now to my question.

Its one tank but the petcock has two intakes. A common misconception among new riders is that there is a reserve tank on a motorcycle which is actually a separate tank from the main tank. So when the main starts sucking air youve got the safety net of the reserve with a few more liters to go.

The one that sits higher is the main and the intake that sits at the very bottom is the reserve. I had earlier put a gallon plus into the tank. The yellow arrow points to the petcock intakes or straws in the following discussion.

If you look at the diagram you will see the petcock and it has two feeds at different levels. Some motorcycles dont have petcocks and instead have gas gauges indicating remaining fuel. In motorcycles and cars fuel reserve uses less fuel by using a smaller opening in the fuel valve.

Reserve Fuel Tank - YouTube. Reserve fuel tank. P4s use the same idea but some had a snazzy electric fuel change over solenoid which eventually gives up the ghost and the pipes start to develop holes which suck in air.