DR650 - Safari Tank - Starved of fuel, why?
 

Howdy. Right so yesterday my bike spluttered cut out on the highway, clearly sounds like it just ran out of fuel. I stop, check my fuel taps are on (which they are), it starts and i ride about 10km and fill up with my riding mates. I have a 30L safari tank, with inline fuel filters, taps on reserve (I always run it on reserve out of habit), at this point the fuel height is AT LEAST an inch above the height of the fuel hose where it turns and goes into the carby.

Next day it happens again, then again 5km down the road, and again, until i make it to a petrol station, fuel up and ride another 100+km with no problem, again it happened when the fuel is about an inch above the hose to the carby. I pulled the hose off the carby and checked each tap was sending fuel. that was fine, maybe SLIGHTLY less when the hose is held at the height of the carby intake.

Now when I first got the tank I wasnt aware of the carby intake/fuel hose height stopping the last bit of fuel from getting in, so on my way back from a trip I ran out of fuel (in my drive way luckily) with not much more than 1-2 inches in each side. On this day I had my girl friend on the back, so was taking it pretty easy. In the last 2 days it has happened at roughly 100km/ph on HWY.

So why now is my fuel running out when I have more in the tank than I used to? Could it be that cruising slower with my GF on the back translates to less fuel flow needed and in that case I was lucky?

I also have a locking cap, which I thought might be the problem as I know they have been known to block air. I took it off and left it only half a turn on after the first time it happened. Still didnt fix my problem as the next day it happened 3 times with the cap only half a turn on.

those who have Safari tanks, how low does your fuel get before you run out?
the bike doesnt have any other issues, like choking or running rough, goes like new, just for some reason I'm not getting fuel in there when it gets low, but not as low as it used to.

Carb inlet filter?
 

Have you checked the little plastic filter in the carb inlet? I've known similar filters slime up with transparent gunk that's not immediately visible.

Not sure about the Safari, but to get my Acerbis tank to work I had to rotate the carb inlet about 80 degrees anti-clockwise to avoid airlocks. I also run a non-lockable fuel cap with a one-way breather to help maintain fuel pressure when low (blowing up the tank like a balloon via the breather can also help).

Good luck!

Vacuum? Check the breather of your fuel cap isn't blocked/ covered (tank bag?)

Vapour lock in fuel line?

Spark plug needs replacing?

Air filter blocked?

I had exactly the same issue on my DR650 with a Safari tank. It turned out to be nothing to do with the fuel supply. It was a skinny little breather pipe that comes out the back of the carb. Mine got pinched and trapped in my swing arm mount after I gave my wife a lift on the back of the bike.
The bike could do about 5-10 mins max of running and then die like fuel starvation. I just leant on the seat with my chest to compress the rear end and freed the pipe from the suspension. Done.

Tell me I'm wrong!!

@ Chris. The tank/petcock setup is not vacuum operated. Spark plugs do not need replacing or the air filter - The bike goes like a bat out of hades for 100's of KM before I get about an inch from the fuel line/carby intake height. I'm starting to think that this is just the lowest it can go before pressurization is needed, and maybe the first time I ran it lower I was just really lucky.

Actually the first time I ran it low (lower than last this week) I was using the normal Safari tank cap. Now I use the lockable version with tank filter (which I know doesnt create a seal on the top of the tank). So maybe the change in tank cap has made the difference?

Turn the carb inlet counter clockwise to about 90 degrees that will let use most of the gas.
Another thing you can do when the gas gets that low. Put the bike on the side stand and the gas will all run to the left side. Close the right petcock and trap the fuel on left side.

Yes done all those tricks (except moving the inlet pipe) What my issue is - is that before I could run the bike lower on fuel than I now can. I used to get an 1.5 inches from the bottom before it was all over. Now im over 3 inches from the bottom before im out. Im starting to think the change tank cap, as well as the addition of a tank filter has made the difference, as the new filter means the top doesn't seal (its a bad fit).

You've misunderstood what I said.

Good luck with sorting your situation.

DR650Bandit,

The intermittent symptoms you describe are similar to what happens when you have water in your gas tank - are there any blobs down by the petcocks?

if so drain and clean the tank, drain the float, clean out the fuel hoses and filters

If not:

How close does your right side fuel hose get to the exhaust, any chance of a vapour lock from the manifold ?

The BST40 inlet when vertical can cause a vapour lock too with the curve of the hose getting heated up - if you can turn inlet as Bigdon mentions and make sure the fuel hose is straight from the petcock to the inlet with no loop and keep it as cool as possible this might cure the issue. Remember too that as you get to the bottom of the tank the fuel is prone to being warmer - especially if you run slowly in traffic and with high ambient air temperatures - this can also contribute to vapour locks

Just to check, did you remove the small carb inlet fuel filter as AndyBev mentioned - when partially blocked (it blocks up very quickly as it has a small surface area) can cause fuel flow to reduce and this in turn can cause a vapour lock in hand with any of the other factors.

Are you using inline filters, are they clean ? - back flush them, maybe also remove the petcocks and clean them.


The last thing I can think of is the petcock(s) not flowing properly, do you use fuel with ethanol ? this can degrade the petcock o rings and make them stick
The OEM petcocks that come with the Safari tank are not very good and I have had one stick closed in the open position before - avoid using ethanol if possible or use a fuel stabiliser (Sea Foam etc.)

post photos of each side of the bike if possible and lets have a look at the setup.

Fuel flows freely on both taps and through the in line filters. The plumbing is pretty similar to the instructions given, only I have shortened the length to the inlet, raising the T closer to the inlet in the process. The fuel pipe is also not close enough for the fuel to be getting too hot.

I did however just check the inlet filter and there was s### in it. I cleaned it out, so hopefully this might be the end of my problem. Agreed about the safari petcocks. I had mine only 3 months before I replaced the rubbers :thumbdown: but they are fine now.

If you are running good in line filters, junk the carb inlet filter.

I got the wrong name for the Safari tank petcocks - its OMG - which must stand for 'Oh My God' these are crap :cool4:

How did you go with the cleaned out filter?

People have previously reported that additional inline fuel filters prevent fuel flow when it gets low if there is any air inside the filter. Is your filter clear so you can see if there is any air in it?

I have found the Safari supplied petcocks to be OK so far. I think they used to supply plastic type ones but they are now metal ones. Interested to hear from you guys who have petcocks that went bad, what year did you buy the tank from Safari? Maybe it has changed? Mine was mid last year.

Good luck with it.

mines was bought new in 2010 -the petcock body is metal, the lever is plastic

Bought my tank this year. The petcocks are metal, with metal tap. the rubber seals leaked like a sieve after 3 months, like running out, not drips. Safari told me the petcocks are made in europe where the fuel is better quality and doesn't perish the rubber. Anyway long story short they sent me new petcocks with new rubbers, which were apparently made of a different rubber and wouldn't leak. That was 6 months ago and they have been faultless since.

Yes I have had air bubbles in my inline filters, which I also thought may be a problem as the line would suck the air instead of fuel and then trap it in the bend near the inlet. I cleaned the inlet filter and put it all back together. I have not had a chance to run it as I'm prepping the bike for shipment and have drained the tank. I'm not really worried about it. my riding mate has a 20L tank so ill just fill up every time he fills up and we will be fine. However I'll post later if id do find out if my problem is fixed or not.

btw ill be shattered if any s### ends up in my carby since I have a
tank cap filter
petcock filter
inline fuel hose filter
and a carby inlet filter!
Surely thats enough to stop any grit :thumbup1: