Well folks I think I found the problem with my RK. As I said after a long run in 27-35 degree temps she would spit and sputter after rolling off on the throttle, sputtering when I tried to accelerate, backfiring etc. This week she did it again and I think I found a common thread. Low on gas and it had been raining. Water in the tank! he next time I stopped at the next available station and filled up and added some gas treatment. The RK started right up and idled fine. (She quit when we got there.)[] I think the water is from condensation and the fact that I try to gas up before I hit my reserve means that the water could be in that last gallon or so ( since it burns at a different rate than gas So far so good.

 

The physics of water and gas is that water is heavier than gas and with that being said.....the water will or should leave the tank first and leave just the gas behind. You might need to watch the water buildup in your tank as the went system might not be working correctly. There is a vent check valve that should be keeping the pressure on the system and not letting the condensation build up in the tank. If that's bad, then air is going back into your tank when it should not be.

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Keep your tank full of gas, less air space less condensation.

Steve

 

I am not sure how the fuel valve is set up on the carb models (FLHR) but I suspect that the selector set to "main" would keep the the gas and water at the bottom of the tank in the reserve area due to the physics you mentioned. I hadn't thought about the vent, I'll check that.
Thanks

 

What is happening is that the water settles to the bottom of the tank, and if the reserve is never used, it just sits there and builds up as there is about .8 of a gallon left for reserve. What I do is put in some Gas Guard or other drying agent then run the bike with the petcock in the reserve position. This will suck gas from the bottom of the tank instead of above bottom, which is what happens when the petcock is in the normal run position. After you have gotten rid of all the moisture in the tank by running in the reserve position, be sure and run in the reserve position for 20 or so miles about every third fill-up. This will insure that you don't get water build up again.

Regards,

Bill

 

Thanks Bill, That's what I thought too. I am running in the reserve position with gas treatment until it is cleared up. So far, no more problems. Thats a nice ride you have there.