Hi all, basic question coming up. Should I use reular or super unleaded when I fill up? How accurate is the fuel guage-low fuel warning light. My light came on today at 139 miles ,saying 40 miles to empty. Went to the pumps before returning home,only fitted in 9.5 ltrs? Guage now shows full, perhaps I could have got a bit more in. As an aside ,I got caught out on a high level road in 50-60 mph gusts today, to say I was glad to get home is an understatment, it was benign when I set out, but thats the Dales. I am an amateur metreologist , so I checked the max gusts at my home when I got back. This evening we had a few 70mph+ gusts, but that is not unusual.
J S Chappell. That's when we need a good stock of clean underpants. Petrol is a big question on here. I personally use super. I am now going to use ESSO as much as I can as someone on here the other day checked with them and apparently even though it says ethanol they don't include it in there super. As for fuel gauges I never look at them I just keep my bike full. Regards Joe
Don't think my T120 engine is anything special in the oomph dept, barely putting out 80hp so regular 95 octane for me, any make but usually cheapest. My son used to work at a local filling dump, it filled all the road tankers for outlets around us and it was the same fuel for all? My tank is metal so Ethanol isn't an issue
Ethanol is fairly corrosive* and can affect any part of the fuel system. That said, most modern bikes materials can cope with ethanol quite happily, it's only older bikes you have to be careful with. *Drag race bikes and cars, that use high levels of ethanol or methanol, need their fuel systems flushed after each meeting at least because of this.....
95 should suffice. The point being that unless you have a more sophisticated ignition system and sensors the ECU is incapable of chasing miserly gains. A Ford 1.0 eco boost triple benefits marginally from Premium but a 1050 Triumph? Only in your dreams. Our Regular is quite good enough to combat pre-ignition.
If your tank is metal, which most bike tanks are of course, then ethanol is an issue. This subject has been discussed elsewhere (use the Search facility). If you use your bike regularly and don't leave it sitting for weeks, half full with petrol, then it should be fine. Otherwise the water 'attracted' from the air above the petrol (by ethanol) will, over time, begin to rust the tank. It's heavier than petrol so sinks to the bottom and comes into contact with the metal of the tank. If the bike isn't going to be used over winter then some people drain their tank, while others brim it to reduce the air gap. It's good to know that Esso still send out ethanol-free petrol. One option is to have your tank lined. I've had both my 1990 Hondas done because rust was flaking off the inside of the tank and buggering up the carbs. That's the reason I prefer ethanol-free if possible and nothing to do with increased performance. Don't know how it would affect EFI systems.
Esso super is Ethanol free at present except for: "Esso super unleaded petrol (Synergy Supreme+ Unleaded 97) is ethanol free (except in Devon, Cornwall, the Teesside area and Scotland) Knew about the Ethanol swelling plastic tanks, more in the rest of world where percentage is higher, but not about water/rust issue. but as I ride all year round don't see it as an issue.
You're right, my 30 year old bikes are more likely to suffer, although for the first half of their lives there was no ethanol in petrol and the problem only seems to have appeared in more recent years. It's water that causes rust and ethanol has a high affinity for water. I've seen 10 year old bikes with rusty tanks and no doubt there are younger bikes with a rust problem. As you say, regular use of your bike means you're not likely to have this problem, it's when a bike isn't used that a problem can occur. All of this is regularly reported on in several of the bike comics and there's a small industry out there trying to overcome the rusty tank syndrome.
Not necessarily. Have a read up on ethanol. https://www.equipmentworld.com/e-10...mage-ethanol-gasoline-does-to-your-fuel-pump/ I know one guy left an ethanol mix in his bike after the race season finished, when he remembered to clean it eventually, the fuel system looked like it had been in the sea for a year or two....!
Thankfully the USA has 10% Ethanol we are 5% at present in UK but surely its up to manufacturers to meet the challenge I guess, coz it probly aint going away anytime soon or could increase to 10%!!
I'm not sure manufacturers (I assume you mean vehicle makers and not fuel producers) are that bothered. It's hardly likely to affect bike sales and with the push towards electric propulsion the problem might be gone in 10 or whatever years. In the long run it's only going to affect owners that hang onto their ICE vehicles for as long as possible. There are companies that produce ethanol-free fuel, which is available online. Don't know the cost. You can even take the ethanol out of pump-bought petrol (see Youtube). In the end I think the best answer is to use your bike as often as you can.
I usually use the octane the factory recommends. What a higher octane rating does is slow down the rate at which the fuel burns. The higher the compression ratio, the higher the octane needed. If you haven't done any changes to the engine that raises it's compression, stick with the fuel the engineers recommended for that engine. Too much BS and old wives tales around this subject. ...J.D.
