[DarkNinja75]

I'm just wondering how big my '91's tank is. The guy I bought the bike from said it only went 150 miles a tank, filled it up at 140 and put in 2.9 gallons. If it only goes 150 then that'd be like a 3 gallon tank. I've been reading around and it seems like my tank is 4.8 gallons, assuming that's with reserve. So...it is 4.8, right?

 

[Frog]

4.8 is right

http://kawasaki.com/Products/Detail.aspx?id=160&content=specifications

 

[DarkNinja75]

They haven't changed the size of the fuel tank in 20 years? I guess that would make sense considering I've noticed very little changed from an '87 to an '07.

 

[knightslugger]

they haven't changed very much of anything on this bike for over 20 years... that's just how Kawasaki rolls. then again, if it aint broke, don't fix it.

 

[hollywood]

Cali tank is smaller I think...is yours from the left side?

 

[DarkNinja75]

Cali tank is smaller I think...is yours from the left side?

My bike is from Cali, if that's what you're asking.

 

[Mad Matt]

Maybe someone did a petcock replacement along the way and the standpipe is higher than the stock one. See how far you can go running on the reserve position (try for about 200 miles) and then see how much gas goes in. Or just siphon out the fuel and refill it. That should get you pretty close.

Your useable capacity should be a lot more than 3 gallons.

 

[Lucky#13]

I have a Cali bike , and when you switch to reserve it has .7 gal let in it . It holds 4.7 gals by the specs.

 

[hollywood]

for some reason I thought it was significantly smaller...

 

[malkore]

150miles is a little low for a full tank, unless your riding at high rpms and really hard acceleration.

you should be able to get 200miles before worrying about refilling. that's what I get on a full tank here in Nebraska, no re-jetting. and I don't putter around either....my ninja's lowest cruising speed is 45mph even in school zones.

 

[Frog]

do you ride it really hard ? I.E. getting full acceleration every stop and riding in 5th gear on the highway ?

I know I've had 150 km (93 miles) range on a certain trip done at 8500 rpm all the way... <= NOT RECOMMENDED !! :

 

[Nick D]

It also makes a big difference if all you do is ride wheelies. If your front tire is in the air your odometer isn't even turning .

 

[Frog]

It also makes a big difference if all you do is ride wheelies. If your front tire is in the air your odometer isn't even turning .

Ah, got to specify that the specified ride did not involve wheelies

Good point nontheless ;D

 

[DarkNinja75]

do you ride it really hard ? I.E. getting full acceleration every stop and riding in 5th gear on the highway ?

I haven't even ridden it yet. But the guy who sold it to me was no adrenaline junky. He used it to commute with and that was it; no wheelies or high RPM cruising. I take the safety course this weekend, so Monday I'll start riding it and I'll go 200 on the tank, then fill it up and see how much will go in. Considering it'll be my first time riding it'll probably get poor mileage, but still over 150.

 

[Nick D]

I haven't even ridden it yet. But the guy who sold it to me was no adrenaline junky. He used it to commute with and that was it; no wheelies or high RPM cruising. I take the safety course this weekend, so Monday I'll start riding it and I'll go 200 on the tank, then fill it up and see how much will go in. Considering it'll be my first time riding it'll probably get poor mileage, but still over 150.

The wheelie thing was a joke on my part. 8)

If you're going to go 200 on a tank, be forewarned that at around 170 (on my bike anyway, you may get a bit more if you're running the stock sprockets) you may have to switch to reserve. If you run with your petcock set to ON then you'll have to switch it over when it runs out of gas. Just thought I'd bring it up since you're new.

If you run it completely out of gas, switch it to reserve and don't touch the throttle while you're trying to restart it (it will have to build a vacuum and pull the fuel to the carbs). I just learned that about a week ago .

 

[ex_dsmr]

150 is pretty low. just normal commuting ill get 205 on the clock before i have to switch over to reserve. maybe around 180-190 if im just rompin on it pretty hard.

ride it till it starts to sputter and lose power (youll notice, you dont even gotta listen for it) then reach down and make it to there the little tab is pointing foward. no need to pull over, shut off, go to reserve, restart, mess with throttle and all that BS. ive never ever done it. it takes a grand total of 2 sec from the time you flip to reserve for the bike to stop sputtering and return to full power.

and just a little tip for when you have to switch. the petcock lever is gonna be RIGHT there at the end of your kneecap, or if your really tall...probably just inside of your knee.

 

[DarkNinja75]

Thanks for the advice. I'll update you guys in about a week on how far it goes.

 

[ex_dsmr]

NP dude, glad to help. and if for some reason you forget which way to turn the petcock just keep this goofy little reminder in your head.

"extend the tab foward because thats the direction you wanna go"

 

[Frog]

btw, mine also gets 200mi when commuting

 

[knightslugger]

that's just about right @ 200 miles.