Yamaha Virago Low Fuel Level Check

Out for a drive, testing the low fuel level system. I repaired the low fuel sensor (previous video) and I wanted to make sure everything was working as it should. I've been driving it harder during testing than I would normally had I just been riding around enjoying it, so I'm sure it's capable of better mileage, especially at moderate highway speeds.
Since the last fill up, I drove 150kms before the low fuel light finally came on and at 160kms, the bike began to hesitate when I accelerated. Switching the fuel switch from ON to RES set the fuel pumps back to normal. Based on the location of the low fuel sensor and shape of the main tank, I would estimate there was about 15% fuel remaining.
After fuelling, I noted 10.7 litres to go 165kms and that worked out to about 6.5l/100kms or about 36mpg (US). That's a good baseline for now and my next test is to have someone follow me around for a few hours with a gas can until I completely run out of fuel. That way I'll know for sure what my true range is as well as give me a pretty solid understanding of how far I can go once it gets into the reserve after the low fuel light comes on.
The Haynes service manual states the total is 14.5 litres (3.8 US gal) and the reserve is 3.0 litres (0.79 US gal), but it's not clear to me if the total is 14.5 litres or 17.5 litres. Worst case shows the range to be about 220kms before it runs dry.
Run dry test TBD...

[@hyperbiker613]

This was a video I was looking for exactly. Just hopped on a virago 1100 myself!!

[@murraykriner9425]

Glad the low-level indicator works as it's intended to. The one on mine looked really gritty when I pulled it out of the tank. Even the isolator was gold in tone with corroded terminals. Just praying I don't have to replace it since factory parts are a bit scarcer than they once were. Great that your keeping a running tag on mileage to monitor any diminishing performance or efficiency. Super video.

[@KensWorldRestorations]

Finding parts has been a bit of an Easter egg hunt but when I find the goodies (OEM or like part for low $$$) then it's worth it. I've found a lot of great suppliers for consumable like o-rings, gaskets, filters and hardware. It's the refinishing of the chrome that nearly gave me a heart attack. I turns out that the low fuel thermistors are very generic and are found everywhere - they are a 1K NTC thermistor and you can buy them in the can for about $5 US straight from China.

[@kevinruddy448]

Is there a reserve on my 535cc Yamaha virago motorcycle 🏍️🤔? 🇬🇧

[@seniorrider9337]

I have a 1997 1100 and I generally get an average of 45 just normal riding. When your light comes on, remember the gas is being fed to the fuel pump from the aux tank, not the gas tank and going down hill or up will make no difference. The winter of 2020/2021 when storing the bike for the winter, I filled the tank, pinched off the gas line to the carbs, and drained the float bowls. Spring of 2021 I changed the oil, lubed the cables, adjusted the valves, and took the bike for a ride. The bike started with no choke and settled into a nice idle right off. Hummm? During the ride I noticed some hesitation when rolling on the throttle. Went straight home. Pulled the plugs and they were BLACK! Pulled the carbs and there was white corrosion around the float valves and elsewhere. Disassembled and sonic cleaned the carbs, got kits and rebuilt the carbs. Back on bike and adjusted synch and it ran great. Took out for a ride and ran great and ran great all summer. Found out about the effects of using ethanol gas in bikes with carbs. Now I only use non-ethanol fuel especially for storage over the winter. Haven't got it out this spring to see how the non-ethanol fuel with Blue Sta-bil added did over the winter. I have done a few mods to mine: Stainless steel braided brake lines, super bike style handlebars, new master cylinder from Amazon that normally goes on a Honda Foreman 4 wheeler ( smaller piston in MC giving more lever travel and stronger brakes and it was need for the bar change), bug eye covers delete with new air cleaner ( 5" round with paper element ). This is my third Virago. First was in 1981 when they first came out. Love them! Ride safe and come home.

[@KensWorldRestorations]

The low fuel sensor is midway up the main fuel tank so yes, the angle (nose up or nose down) or decelerating or accelerating will make the light come on and go off. In fact, when my low fuel light first comes on, I can make it go out by stopping on the side of the road and tilting the bike to the right and waiting a few seconds as the fuel makes its way back over the sensor. The sensor is slow to react and is not a 'switch' per se, so noticing the change isn't obvious. The bike is always running off the fuel pump in it's default state and since the sub tank is gravity fed from the main tank, the fuel pump doesn't care. It's only when the fuel level is below the sensor will it turn the light on and turn off the relay in the fuel control circuit. With the fuel pump disabled by the low fuel circuit, the ON/RES switch being moved to RES simply re-energizes the relay and turns the fuel pump back on. If you drove around with the ON/RES switch on RES all the time (from fill up to empty) you'll still get the low fuel light but you won't get the loss of fuel to the carbs indicating that you're getting low on fuel. I've found a local resource that shows all the gas stations that sell non-ethanol fuel - Costco is one. I'm doing the same thing - filling up a larger tank for home and making sure the bike is full all the time. FortNine has some great videos on the subject of ethanol fuel and the problems with carbs. The Virago was notorious for running rich - even the slightest bit of gunk in the fuel system, float bowls, jets, or like will cause serious problems. People have called them maintenance hogs, but pretty much all bikes with carbs are going to be problematic with ethanol based fuels if not ridden constantly.

[@seniorrider9337]

@@KensWorldRestorations Yes, you are right about the light. I must have misunderstood what you were saying as you were going down the road. I must thank you for the great videos which someday will be so important for someone restoring one of these wonderful bikes. I had gotten away from riding in 1995 when I sold my last Virago, a 750. In 2019, I brought this 8500 mile 1100 and took the classes to get my endorsement back. I never had run into the issue with none of the bike shops wanting to support these older bikes or the ethanol issues with the carbs. I remember very well losing the rear cylinder about 40 miles from home and still making enough power to get home back in 1982. The rear carb had a pin hole in the diaphragm. A new one was under $10.00 from the Yamaha shop. This was in 1982. I dropped the engine out and painted it black, sanded the cylinder fins, had all the removable parts chromed, and put Jardine slash pipes on it. Looked great with low superbike bars and when the tires wore down, I replaced them with Dunlop Elites. Soon the Jardine pipes had to come off due to dragging in corners. Stock pipes didn't drag. I really like the power delivery of these bikes. I do find the seat a little tiring after a couple of hours. Ride safe and ride home. Tom

[@KensWorldRestorations]

@@seniorrider9337 Really appreciate all the great comments. The Viragos have definitely left a mark on a lot of people. The Gen1 bikes had a few cranky bits and left some people turned off but most of the problems were sorted out by the time 1984 came around. There seems to be two distinct crowds - those who love them to chop them and turn them in to cafe racers and those who want to restore to original. Like you, I have lots of fond memories of the days riding these things when they were new. The FJ's, Magnas, RZs, Interceptors, Ninjas, VMaxs and so many others that were all destined to become classics. We didn't know that these bikes were going to leave such a legacy, were too busy out having fun on them. As always, enjoy the ride. I'll be painting all day today and hopefully posting another video soon. Take care for now. K

[@yarekk]

The purpose IS to rock on and have fun! Ditto!

[@philipbell3187]

I have the 750 virago here in England Norfolk , I have the petcock on reserve all the time and I get about 120 miles before the red light coms on ,then I chicken out and fill here up at next petrol station, I love my virago ,it is just right for my disability, it had 7;800 when I bought it back in 2017 , it’s done just short of 20;000 at moment , I have put a black widow exhaust on it, with stock jets in carburettors, I have just started to notice a backfire from deceleration , so I have taken out the air filter and found it to be dirty, so just replaced it,hopefully it will stop the backfire.

[@KensWorldRestorations]

When it comes to running out of fuel, chickening out is a good thing. I'm the same way - I calculate range before going anywhere and topping up whenever the opportunity arises. The 750 is a great bike. Backfiring is almost always tied to mixture so hopefully you caught the problem. If not, then make sure all the vacuum lines are clear and the connection from the pressure sensor to the igniter unit are good. Cheers!

[@Laizurelylife]

good work with the nd filter can GoPro settings

[@KensWorldRestorations]

Thanks!! Still experimenting...

[@wegfdfhz]

Getting colder? 16 degrees? I'm basking in temperatures like that here in good old Blighty!!

[@KensWorldRestorations]

Ha!! Yeah, I guess it’s all relative, eh? At least it’s dry in Alberta and if the sun is shining and it’s not windy, it’s a riding day.

[@yarekk]

When I go really easy I get 40mpg on my 1100. When I slam it, I get 25

[@ThatBikerDad]

I recently managed to get 142 miles on a tank til it quit, strange thing is the light never came on and when i chacked there was still fuel in the reserve tank. I wonder why the light didnt come on and yet the pump didnt pick up the reserve tanks fuel?

[@KensWorldRestorations]

@@ThatBikerDad That’s a strange one for sure. At 40mpg (estimated average) you burned about 3.5 gallons of gas when the bike quit. That should have left about a gallon in the system. Gravity pulls the fuel to the side tank (I’m guessing you’re not driving a 700/750) and the pump pushes it up to the carbs. The RES/ON switch on the handlebar enables/disables the fuel pump when its’ in the ON position and the fuel drops below the sensor in the main fuel tank. If your red fuel lightbulb in the tach is working, then something in the circuit isn’t. When you ran out of fuel, you should have been able to turn the switch to RES and the fuel pump should have turned back on and pressurized the system. If that doesn’t work properly, have a look at your ON/RES switch and the fuel control relay and make sure it’s all working. Leave your switch in RES and see if you get the same result and make sure your low fuel light is working too.

[@ThatBikerDad]

@KensWorldRestorations yeah it's a 96 xv1100, it's very odd as I could hear the fuel pump clicking trying to pressurize the system but it wasn't drawing anything. The light works but it didn't come on.

[@KensWorldRestorations]

@@ThatBikerDad That’s really strange. Have a look at the two fuel lines coming down from the main tank to the lower tank and make sure there’s no kink in the smaller of the two lines. They both take two really sharp bends and if anyone has had the tank off besides you, they may have kinked the smaller one. That’s a bit of a long shot but other than a bad fuel pump, I’m at a bit of a loss.

[@kevinruddy448]

I wonder if my 535cc Yamaha virago motorcycle has a petrol reserve?

[@KensWorldRestorations]

I don't think it does. I believe that only the Viragos with a fuel pump (1000/1100) have the reserve done this way.

[@БайуйДавигоНатряскам]

🙂👍🏻