I used to always put my Reserve petcock on the Left so in the event I ran low on gas (petrol) I could turn it on without letting go of the throatle but it's been so long I can't remember what my Real reaction would be. It also makes sense to pull in the clutch, let go of the throatle and reach down with the Right hand to turn on the reserve.. Anyone have a compelling view on this??? Just thinking.
Reserve petcock preference Port or Stern?
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ashman
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In 39 years of owning my Norton the reserve has always been on the right hand side, last time I pulled the taps out to clean the mesh, unknown to me I put the reserve on the left side and while riding I had the left tap on as usaual and ran out of fuel, went to turn on reserve, WTF no fuel, so reserve was already on, didn't know what was happening and because both fuel taps look the same, it wasn't till I pulled the taps out again that I found out why, back to nomal now with the reserve tap on the right, lucky it was running out as I was coming up the hill to my place and made it home on a roll.
A simple mistake but could have been bad for me if out on a quiet road and miles from a fuel stop
.
Ashley
A simple mistake but could have been bad for me if out on a quiet road and miles from a fuel stop
.Ashley
DogT
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As I remember there was a decal on the early bikes that said 'Reserve'. I think it was on the left side, but I get confused a lot. But the early bikes didn't matter, either side would work as reserve unless you had the 'reserve petcock' with the stand pipe on the 'not' reserve side.
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DogT said:
The control layout drawings in the riders manuals up to 1973 shows reserve on the right, not sure about for '74, still on the right I believe, but the 850 MkIII riders manual shows reserve on the left.
DogT said:
The main tap is the one with the standpipe, and there's no main or reserve side to the tank, so unless two reserve taps are fitted a small amount of fuel remains trapped on the main side of the frame tunnel, and in a situation where the reserve supply has been completely emptied, then the bike can be leant over far enough for the remaining fuel to slosh over to the reserve side which will get the bike and rider a few extra miles.
I still do not get the purpose of the two petcock types. Presumably the normal 'on' petcock is the one with the standpipe and the 'reserve' is without. This would seem reasonable to me if the fuel tank had a flat bottomed but as it is there is a good size necessary division in them to accommodate the frame backbone. I just run two petcocks without standpipes and the couple of times I did push it a bit close I still got 4 or 5 miles from what was left on the 'reserve' side of the tank, the gas trapped, if you will, by that division in the tank.
The benefits, to me, are I can access all the gas in the tank without going through such nonsense as leaning the bike over and shaking it in a lame attempt to coax the trapped gas from the empty 'on' side to the other side.
I look at it this way. Reserve is a reminder that you f'd up and didn't gas up when you should have and to get you a little bit further, hopefully far enough for a gas station. It is not EXTRA gas.
The benefits, to me, are I can access all the gas in the tank without going through such nonsense as leaning the bike over and shaking it in a lame attempt to coax the trapped gas from the empty 'on' side to the other side.
I look at it this way. Reserve is a reminder that you f'd up and didn't gas up when you should have and to get you a little bit further, hopefully far enough for a gas station. It is not EXTRA gas.
All good thoughts & agreed about the top tube separating the tank but my real quandary is, hypothetically if you were running out of gas would you rather let go of the throttle to turn it on or give up the chance of using the clutch to turn it on??? I'm thinking I'll put mine on the right. If I'm in traffic, on a slowish road or twisties I'll need the clutch.
If the reserve tap is on the left then a visual inspection of fuel level through the cap will suggest that there is plenty of fuel...but as mentioned by Biscuit, due to the pipe on the main tap, it can't be utilised. I therefore keep my reserve on the right which means that all the fuel I can see can be used.
The advantage of having reserve on the left is that in some circumstances, there is more chance of keeping the bike running if the throttle can be kept open and reserve turned on with the left hand - the alternative is an 'over the tank' operation that isn't always easy.
The advantage of having reserve on the left is that in some circumstances, there is more chance of keeping the bike running if the throttle can be kept open and reserve turned on with the left hand - the alternative is an 'over the tank' operation that isn't always easy.
Onder
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Reserve on left, want to keep hand on the throttle.
May I mention the usefulness of the "main" with the tall standpipe
allows for intake to be above any low sediment in the tank?
But I will allow for the idea of two taps both no standpipe to access
all possible fuel.
May I mention the usefulness of the "main" with the tall standpipe
allows for intake to be above any low sediment in the tank?
But I will allow for the idea of two taps both no standpipe to access
all possible fuel.
The right side petcock is the one I use as the main. I'd never tell anyone how to ride their bike but consider this. If you catch that first sputter of low fuel and immediately open the left petcock while still on the throttle, in a second or two you'll be running smoothly again, but if at that point you have to take you hand off the throttle to open the right one the engine will likely die and you'll be essentially jumpstarting it as you wait for fuel to flow.
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I have always turned my "starboard" tap on. Don't know why. Now I have the Ball valve in the oil line just below it, it seems like a good idea. I also start the bike while on the main stand, so possibly another reason to use the starboard tap. BTW, I only get 5 miles on "reserve", so if I am running in an area of unknown fuel supply, I take a 1l paint tin full of fuel with me. Have used that once that I know of but generally don't ride past service stations now..
Dereck
Dereck
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Deets55 said:
I found these reasonably quickly, for sale on your side of the water, so I expect there will be others.
Although described as "BPT" and "British Pipe Thread" :? they are probably BSP.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/some-Norton-Tri ... 2598a4bf34
http://www.ebay.com/itm/some-Norton-Tri ... 54138be646
Those in the link below are not 1/4" BSP but an adaptor (Triumph part 83-7970) is available to connect 16 x 1mm taps to 1/4" BSP tank threads.
http://www.bevelheaven.com/stuff-for-sale-fuel-taps.htm
cNw
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Deets55 said:
Pete,
I got them. Both sides have a off/main/reserve. This way you will get full use of the fuel in the tank with out having to lean you bike over to one side to get whats trapped in the 'main' side over the 'reserve' side
Thing about the ones I have is that they have a 90 degree built in spigot (perfect for single Mikuni and Dual Keihins). This for a 1/4 fuel line fit as opposed to the threaded version for those using Amals.
Matt / Colorado Norton Works
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Seems like there are reasonable reasons for either side but what I like about my reserve on the right side is it allows me to turn on and off both fuel and ignition on the same side in a couple of seconds with my left hand before starting and shutting down.
Maybe minor benefit but I like it.
Maybe minor benefit but I like it.
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Just used my reserve lever on Saturday. It surprised me when the motor just started to go dead. Then my feeble brain kicked in and I switched on the left side reserve. A second or so later she is back on song. I prefer left side for the very reasons stated. No need to have to stop and restart the motor. I sort of recall all my Nortons having reserve on the left. Despite the fact that I was warned of low fuel, I thought I could make it home. Wrong! Almost there and the tank went completely dry. Coasted into an abandoned auto repair, walked across the street to the liquor store, borrowed the phone inside and called the wife to the rescue. Forgot to buy a lottery ticket.
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