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.

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.

@@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

@@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

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.

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

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!

Thanks!! Still experimenting...

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