FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

I've run my FZR600 our of gas twice now. The first time was during the initial ride home from purchase (when I took the word of the seller about how much gas was on board...my fault). Last night I checked my fuel level prior to riding, then went out to do some highway riding practice. Eventually the bike lost power, then sort of recovered and I got about another quarter mile before it died. I promptly opened the tank to see it was indeed fairly dry, switched it to reserve, and couldn't even start the bike again. I sloshed the tank side to side as best I could but alas, no start.

Fortunately it happened close to home and my wife was only a phone call away...but I'm becoming more convinced that my reserve doesn't actually work properly. Can anyone tell me how a properly functioning reserve system should work on the FZR600?

Thanks, and apologies for the newbie questions. It's my first motorcycle and I've only ridden it three times including last night.

When I bought my bike I had an issue with the reserve. My was a little different as I ran out of gas in the regular on position and after that I had to run in reserve. When I had a day off at work I pulled the petcock out as I figured there was dirt in the tubes or something. I found out the tubes were in upside down. The screened end was in the body of the petcock. I gently pulled the tubes out and put them in the right way and it has been great since. You may want to check this. I do not know if it may have been worked on and put back together incorrectly or it was an odd factory issue.

I had the same problem, both the tubes where missing.

Hey guys, I appreciate your feedback. I will suspect the worst, that the tubes are currently missing...yet hope for something slightly different.

I had a non working reserve. The cause was a missing tube on the "on" fuel tube. It was just rolling around on the bottom of the tank. Also, I noticed that the "off" position still provided fuel to the carbs.

I recently had to replace all the fuel hoses, so I took the petcock out while the tank was drained. I pushed the "on" tube back into the petcock body, and then I got curious and took apart the petcock. It turns out the gasket was torn allowing fuel to flow without restriction in all positions.

Since I didn't feel like buying a new petcock or gasket kit, I simply flipped the gasket around so that although the "off" position doesn't work, the carbs don't get fuel wen the "on" position runs out. That's when I switch to reserve and find a place to refuel.

In summary, I fixed my non-working reserve, and you can too!