Out of gas at 120km 94 Honda magna | GTAMotorcycle.com

Out of gas at 120km 94 Honda magna

adrisen

adrisen

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Hi all. Well I have had my 94 magna for about a week. I can’t down load the manual so if someone can access it and would print and mail I would be happy to compensate you.

Tonight I was out and all of a sudden my oil light came on and lost all power. I moved off to the side and had a quick panic and searched for the valve for the reserve tank. It was showing down and to the front was off. It’s hard to see but I assume I switched it as I turned it back on and oil light went off and power returned. I got to a gas station filled it up and then turned the valve back to its original position assuming I am all filled again. I went about 4 km on the reserve potentially. Does this sound about right for running out of gas. I really had no sign and was expecting to get 200-220 km a tank. I am so noticed a breeze when I flipped that switch until I returned it to the position It started.

Is 120km standard for a 94. How do I know if I actually filled the tank and reserve all at once.

I just want to make sure I understand how the reserve tank works as I have no gas gage and now guessing. Is there away to increase fuel efficiency.

Pic needs to be flipped and it points down and not to the side.IMG_1639.JPG


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Reserve is just a lower outlet on the tank, it's not a separate tank. You don't need to worry about refilling reserve.

How many litres did you put in? I think the tank takes 11 litres if it was completely empty.

Your oil light most likely lit because the engine died and then you lost oil pressure. Normally you get some stumbling before it completely dies so you know to flip the switch. Practice flipping it while you are riding in safe locations until it becomes second nature.

So are you saying the switch was off when you were riding? Normally you only get a few km that way (just the fuel in the float bowls essentially).
 
I am sorry. The little arrow was pointing down. I can’t see what it says as it’s very discoloured. I can only make out the off. I took at almost 12$ in fuel at 121.9L. I expects to get 200km before I had to be concerned. If that’s the case do you have any suggestions to increase the fuel efficiency.
 
So you put in about 10 litres. Did the tank start full? Don't get too concerned until you run a few tanks of gas through it to see how it does on average.

There's no magic to improving fuel economy other than not giving it the beans. There are many things that can be investigated/tried, but they aren't worth the effort until you have confirmed excessive fuel consumption. Trying them could make things worse and without a solid baseline it's hard to know if the changes are making a difference.

So I may have been wrong before and you have a 13L fuel tank including 3.3L of reserve. That makes sense with your 10L going in. What is the actual model of your bike? VF750C?
 
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I don't have any hands-on experience with that exact bike. Full tank should be 14L (11L is for a VT250C, which for now I'm assuming is not what you have), reserve might be 4L? (that could be for an older version, not sure). Your bike may have a mechanical issue that is harming your fuel economy, 120km is low. The list of things it could be caused by is long, however.

Examples:
-Worn out chain
-Underinflated tires
-Dragging brakes
-Badly clogged air filter
-Carbs have been adjusted to run richer, or have a fault (e.g. stuck floats)
-Incorrect oil, or extremely overdue for an oil change (unlikely but possible)
-Pretty much anything wrong inside the motor if it still runs
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I don't have any hands-on experience with that exact bike. Full tank should be 14L (11L is for a VT250C, which for now I'm assuming is not what you have), reserve might be 4L? (that could be for an older version, not sure). Your bike may have a mechanical issue that is harming your fuel economy, 120km is low. The list of things it could be caused by is long, however.

Examples:
-Worn out chain
-Underinflated tires
-Dragging brakes
-Badly clogged air filter
-Carbs have been adjusted to run richer, or have a fault (e.g. stuck floats)
-Incorrect oil, or extremely overdue for an oil change (unlikely but possible)
-Pretty much anything wrong inside the motor if it still runs
Click to expand...


I have the 750. I had no issues having it safety. I will take it into the shop and have it investigated.

I would have figured that all would have been checked.
 
Your reserve switch is strange. Here is a typical layout.
IMG_1668.jpg
 
adrisen said:
I have the 750. I had no issues having it safety. I will take it into the shop and have it investigated.

I would have figured that all would have been checked.
Click to expand...
A vehicle safety has very little to do with actually operating correctly. Again, I'm not sure you have a problem. Don't throw money at it until you have confirmed a problem actually exists. It looks like some people got terrible mileage on these bikes (and some got what you are expecting).

"Tested my range on main and reserve last weekend. Have an aux tank, so I can run factory tank dry. Running +/- 75 mph at least 95% of these miles, I went 88.0 miles on main, then 29.2 (117.2 total) until reserve ran out. Put exactly 3.40 gallons back in it. "
 
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adrisen said:
Based on that. Mine is different. I can only see the off. So when I flipped it it only went one way and pointed up. Should I put a stock one on
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Don't change parts yet. Try to clean the sticker and see if you can see what it says.
 
I helped somebody stranded at the side of the road on one of those once, pretty sure it was that model anyway, it had a peanut fuel tank and then a secondary fuel tank where there was a fuel pump, does that sound about right? ... it was a slow drinker and needed some time for the fuel to work its way into the secondary tank, made all kinds of gurgling noises as if venting might be a challenge, had to crank it lots to finally start and be on his way.

re: Fuel economy, does it have stock exhaust and air filter system in place? Check or change your air filter!
If exhaust has been modified the PO might have installed different fuel jets in an attempt to make it run better and that can kill fuel range.
 
Thanks. I truly have no idea. I am the third owner. The girl I bought it off no longer rides. I doubt she would have changed anything. I will contact my shop and make arrangement. To have to checked over again
 
If it has that secondary fuel tank it also has a lot of plumbing to make that work, watch for leaks and fuel smells where they should not be. For sure replace the air filter if it doesn't look prefect, that can definitely make it use more fuel. If you do take it to a shop for service I would be having the compression tested and carbs balanced. If the compression is not all good the carbs can never really be balanced ... is not the easiest bike in the world to work on.
 
adrisen said:
Thanks. I truly have no idea. I am the third owner. The girl I bought it off no longer rides. I doubt she would have changed anything. I will contact my shop and make arrangement. To have to checked over again
Click to expand...
I really would run a few more tanks through before taking it to a mechanic. You can do the easy things like check tire pressure and chain adjustment now but gas is cheap, make sure you actually have a problem before getting someone to chase it.
 
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Trials said:
If it has that secondary fuel tank it also has a lot of plumbing to make that work, watch for leaks and fuel smells where they should not be. For sure replace the air filter if it doesn't look prefect, that can definitely make it use more fuel. If you do take it to a shop for service I would be having the compression tested and carbs balanced. If the compression is not all good the carbs can never really be balanced ... is not the easiest bike in the world to work on.
Click to expand...
I doubt she has a secondary tank, I think the post I copied from, he had added one. I didnt copy the whole post, just a relevant part where he got <150 before reserve.

OP, what was you riding like? Was it lots of short trips where the choke was on most of the time? Try and get out for a long ride where you use a whole tank. Start full, pick a route where gas stations are plentiful and enjoy a few hours getting to know your new bike.
 
I've seen stuck or gummy needlevalves do this. Make sure your petcock is shut off completely when you shut the bike off.. If the needles are not seating correctly of the floats are out of adjustment, fuel can dribble through the carb into the crankcase. Sometime you can smell it by opening the oil cap before you start the bike, and after it has sat overnight. The gas evaporates from the crankcase fairly quickly once the engine is warm so check it cold.
 
A choke what. Honestly this is all new to me. There is a choke. I have not needed it. Must of my trips are to and from work which is 18 km each way. I really have no idea of it’s position. I do think it in pushed in. It I played with it I think and when I got Moving again I could feel a new breeze on my calve rather the. The heat. On the left side. Once I filled up that it stopped. I can’t really explain it. I just spoke to the shop and he will check it out.
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