Starting out for work today, I noticed the mileage on the Valkyrie was about to round to the next hundred. Since there's no fuel gauge on the bike, I just fill-up when an even 100 miles is passed. It's easy to see and remember. The bike's got almost 6 gallons in the tank, and gets over 30MPG, so it should be able to go almost twice as far as that.

Today, though, as I approached the turn, either left onto the highway or right into the gas station, I saw I had 298.7 miles, but was also running the risk of being late for work. I decided that I could use the buffer mileage and fill-up on the way home instead, when I've got more leisure time. A couple of miles down the freeway, though, the bike protested, and showed me who's boss as it ground nearly to a halt.

It started by just choking a little, sputtering as the carbs were running out of gas, of course. I checked the choke, thinking maybe it was just running too lean, but the choke had been closed, as I usually do when I get going. Then the oil indicator light turned on, alerting me that the RPMs the tach was displaying were due to the wheels turning the motor, instead of the other way around.

I signaled and pulled onto the shoulder. Slowing, but still cruising at 50MPH, I dropped into neutral and gave the starter a couple kicks, but no joy was received.

Thinking it ill timed, since I was a couple of miles from gas stations in either direction along the road, I mentally kicked myself for being lazy. It's the first week on the road, so it's the gas that sat all winter, and I did try to run the carbs dry by letting it idle for a long time in the fall (never did die, even with the fuel switch in the off position).

Slowing to about 40MPH, kind of hoping to make it to the crest of the hill down which I could coast most of the way to the next exit, I mentally kicked myself again for not thinking of the fuel switch immediately. Because of the way gas tanks are mounted on most bikes, the fuel tank is separated at the bottom, giving a bit of a "reserve tank" just by virtue of the frame cutting through the tank. I reached down and flipped the switch over, from "on" to "reserve."

Now about 30MPH, I tapped the starter a couple of times, and it fired back up, good as new. I kicked the shifter a couple times, and pulled back into traffic when safe. The reserve is about a gallon or so, but since the full tank had been about half of what I thought, I figured better to be safe than sorry. I pulled off and put almost five gallons of premium in the tank. I switched the fuel back to "on," not that it really matters, and continued on my way.

As I pulled onto the freeway I spotted a car pulled onto the shoulder, just past the same exit I took, the driver peeking into the gas hole, like he might see the fuel is empty. Must be that kind of day.

Made me think every vehicle needs such a reserve. Just a bump on the bottom, with a tube going to both sides, tripped by a switch. Let the vehicle sputter and then even automatically switch over, with an obnoxious "OUT OF GAS" light on the dash. Where's the patent office? Heh.