The shape of fuel things to come?

Panhead Boris

Panhead Boris

Club Member
I needed fill my '77 FXS in Llangollen for return ride home, so went to Texaco on A5....their Premium was E10, so reluctantly filled, in the assumption I'd burn it straight away , then use E5 at next stop. Not happy

The next stop was M6 Corley Services, all E5 pumps had plastic covers on and were out of service. Once again I was forced to use E10 as I didn't have sufficient fuel to get to end of m'way.

I managed to fill with E5 eventually, and totally drained tanks when I got home.

This may not be news to you guys, but did freak me out
 
Round here in Leicester E5 is available but not at every station. I do wonder whether it will eventually disappear.
 
I carry small vials of petrol conditioner with me and just top up with whatever i come across,i aint had any probs so far.
Those little piss sample bottles work perfect 😁
 
Odin said:
I carry small vials of petrol conditioner with me and just top up with whatever i come across,i aint had any probs so far.
Those little piss sample bottles work perfect 😁
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Out of interest, what product are you using please?
 
My pre rally planning now includes using Google to find Esso petrol stations at convenient distances so as to avoid the crap. I 've also been told that BP super duper has no ethanol but they do not advertise it as such because it's delivered in tankers used for fuel containing ethanol and there could be a bit of carry over which might show up if it was analysed.

Some times I need to stop a bit early but a stretch is always welcome.

Ron.
 
Oops! Forgot I had used E10 on the return. I'll drain it off, not much left in there. There's loads of E5 in London.
 
Even if the fuel have zero ethanol, it legally has to be labelled as E5 on the pump....so even the Esso super is labelled as E5.

I put some E10 in a large jar last year with the intention of seeing it separate or change in some way....but so far nothing to report despite what I've seen and heard. I might do a bit of comparison between fresh and old E10 with my petrol stove at some point just out of interest.

The concern on older bikes is the ethanol mainly attacking non compatible fuel lines, carbs and floats....plus associated gumming up if left in storage for a long time.

This is quite interesting and annoying at the same time....hope the link works
 
Experience on the Shovel UK page ranges from 'my bike runs better on it' to 'my bike runs shite on it'.

Probably the new oil weight debate.
 
i try and put E5, 95RON, super-unleaded, whatever it is in my shovel if i can.
but, i don't sweat it, if not, never had any ill effects?
i've left no-frills unleaded fuel in tanks/carb for months, maybe a year+? while away with work and off-road reworking stuff.
come the time, just start the fucker, run it, top it up.

saying that, i came across tetrabooste e-guard a bit back and curios to get a can and try it.
the spiel is that it isn't an additive, but the actual chemicals required to 'make' 4/5 star, 100+ octane leaded fuel?
anyone with any experience of this?
 
Have a look at " The Windrush Guide to E5, E10 and Ethanol-free fuel ", found at www. windrushcarstorage.co.uk

This is a simple guide to why E10 is bad news for older motors.

In the, I saw it with my own eyes, section my local indy had a Evo Sportster in to get running after a five year layup. I don't know the year but it was injected not carb. It had been left with fuel in which must have been E5 then and would not start because the fuel pump in the tank had been partly rotted / dissolved away.

When it was E5 I used it without problems. The E10 I'll avoid if possible at the cost of extra route planning and about 2£ more for every 100 miles or so.

Ron.

Hi Boris, who wouldn't like another oil debate;).
 
the weekend i did around 550mls on the Pan started with E5 but had to use E10 as couldn't get E5
the bilked didn't seen any different so on the way home the last fill was E5 just to make sure .
the Pan doesnt have rubber petrol hoses and has a modern float in the carb ,
so not to worried about the odd fill up with E10 ,,, got to keep rolling !!!!
 
yeah, i reckon just a more 'frequent' check/replacement of parts, hoses, seals whatever?
my SU has a grosse jet, metal + glass ball. The float i changed to a burlen ethenol resistant item.
the main jet, has a plastic body - time will tell. the float-lid has a rubber-ring-seal, again time will tell?
keep an eye on things, thats all.

mmm, maybe i should modify the float-lid to have a drain-valve like the keihin-cv has?
 
I filled up with E5 on the way back from Llangollen, thereby making a jolly E5/ E10 mix. The evo hated it, almost conked out a mile or so from the filling station. Then the carb got whatever it needed and the bike ran fine.
I've seen this before, same scenario, same outcome. Owning and knowing a bike for 20 years means even the smell can be picked up on. My 96 evo does not like a mix.
 
I'm gradually replacing all my fuel hoses with more modern stuff. For what it costs, worth doing anyway. Both my Beemers had old fuel hose which was starting to crack so it would have needed to be done sometime. I did have an issue with one of the floats on the R100RS getting "sodden" (see comment about 45 floats below) but since it could well have been original I'm not complaining after 45 years and the new one has not caused issues.

General consensus seems to be that really old motors, like my 45 for example, don't give a toss about ethanol added fuel because they were designed to run on a brew which was nowhere near as good as we use now. Having said that, it's also known that modern fuel eats the Shellac coating on old 45 cork floats, but mine's brass anyway.

Tricky mentioned on another thread about potential issues with cast iron exhaust valve guides wearing. I've long adopted the technique mentioned in the 45 rider's manual of snapping the throttle shut to bring oil up the bores, which i believe not only aids cooling but also helps keep those guides lubricated. It is also a given that side valves burn oil pretty much by design so perhaps that helps too.
 
kevscrivener said:
Tricky mentioned on another thread about potential issues with cast iron exhaust valve guides wearing.
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To save any confusion, the thread mentioned by Kev relates to unleaded fuel not ethanol content, and the particular issue I mentioned in that thread referred to is exhaust valve seats erosion, not guides. As far as I'm aware Ethanol content will not impact valve seat wear.

However as mentioned earlier in this thread.... ethanol is not compatible with soft metals such as zinc, brass, copper, lead, and aluminum, so your brass float isn't immune, or indeed the aluminium float bowl and brass main jet (amongst other things) unless coated accordingly....quite how badly and over what period we have yet to find out.
 
tricky said:
To save any confusion, the thread mentioned by Kev relates to unleaded fuel not ethanol content, and the particular issue I mentioned in that thread referred to is exhaust valve seats erosion, not guides. As far as I'm aware Ethanol content will not impact valve seat wear.

However as mentioned earlier in this thread.... ethanol is not compatible with soft metals such as zinc, brass, copper, lead, and aluminum, so your brass float isn't immune, or indeed the aluminium float bowl and brass main jet (amongst other things) unless coated accordingly....quite how badly and over what period we have yet to find out.
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Cheers mate. Teach me to re-read a thread and not rely on my failing memory!
 
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