Sir Francis
Displaced person
I'm not a mechanic or a bike designer, but I can think of a couple of reasons why modern bikes probably don't have fuel taps.
1. They have a fuel gauge, a fuel warning light or some other visual feature to advise the rider that they are low on fuel. This performs the same or superior function to the old style fuel tap with a reserve. Something starts flashing, you look for a petrol station.
2. Having a fuel system which causes the bike to splutter to a stop without warning while there is still fuel in the tank is creating a potentially dangerous situation where that situation need not exist.
3. EFI systems required a pressurised fuel system. I suspect that most manual fuel taps would cause leak points or weak points in the system.
1. Fuel gauge - check. Chester the Stubborn has one of them...it had been sitting on "E" for at least 60km....
2. To clarify, at speed every old skool bike I have had with a reserve tap will splutter and give enough warning so you can turn the tap before the bike cuts out....so long as you know where the tap is....
3. pressurised system means bike will run right up to the last drop....