Advice on refuelling after long period.

Zephyrrider wrote: You poor buggers having to put that E10 shit in your tanks - some asshole politician wanted all service stations here to have it last year - good thing they got voted out - i add a small squirt of Lucas fuel stabilizer every time i top up anyway - inside tank is same as new,
Mick.

You're very lucky not to be stuck with E10. It hasn't caused rust in any of my stuff, but it ruined the fuel injectors in one of my older cars and ruined the fuel lines on my mower and weedwacker. Along with those problems it also results in poorer fuel economy. Our politicians don't care as long as they can fool the ignorant voters into believing E10 is a wonderful thing. Ed

One of the biggest issue's I see at work is water in the fuel
from unsealed gas cans that sit in the garage for a few month's
then it get poured in a mower.

Ed here in TX I can pour fresh fuel in an open container and watch it turn milky
as it sucks the moisture out of the air on a real humid day.
Since it'll be raining for the next few day's here I'll see if I can do a video of it happening.

Ed my boss has a 2014 F150 flex fuel and as a test he switch to E-85
for a few tanks and it losted about 4 MPG's and killed the power.

650ed wrote: For future reference - if the bike is not going to be started for more than 1 month or so draining the carbs is a good idea, BUT draining the tank is a bad idea. The reason is that a tank that is full of fuel will not rust, but an empty one will rust and can do so rather quickly. If you are concerned about the fuel in tank going bad just add some Stabil fuel stabilizer to it and it will be fine. Keep in mind that even with Stabil you should drain the carbs if the engine is not going to be stared for a long time. Ed

This info is spot on I have been doing this for years W/O issue make sure tank is full add fuel stabilizer drain carbs and you will be ready for next season don't forget getting tender for battery.

zukdave wrote: Ed my boss has a 2014 F150 flex fuel and as a test he switch to E-85
for a few tanks and it lost about 4 MPG's and killed the power.

Thanks; I always wondered how much E-85 would affect fuel economy and power. My 2006 GMC Z-71 Sierra pickup has the flex fuel engine. I have never found a gas station in my area that sells E-85 so I've never tried it, but everything I have read says E-85 will kill power and hurt fuel economy but never said by how much. Now I know to what extent. For sure I wouldn't want to lose 4 mpg! Ed

Wow thanks everyone, I was expecting so much help.

I tried filling her up and the advice given above, but the fuel wasn't getting into the carbs for some reason. I've got it booked in on thursday for the local bike mechanics to get it sorted and MOT'd as I haven't got any spare time to attack it further. Once that's done I can finally ride it!

ED - E85 would be terrible
thought E10 sounded bad enough with the 10 %
Mick.

Being in the lawn equipment repair industry I see what Ed said
about his weed eater every day.

The fuel system's in newer cars have material compatible with the ethanol
where older stuff the ethanol eat's any rubber in the system.
Years ago I had a 69 camaro big block drag car I ran on methanol
and Friday night it was drain the race gas swap the jets in the inj.system
fill it with meth. go race Sat. night then Sunday drain, rejet and run it on race gas long
enough to flush the meth. so it didn't rot the fuel system from the inside out.

Zephyrrider wrote: E85 would be terrible
Mick.

You can make a lot of power on E-85 if the motors built for it.
Ethanol is about 110 octane and will support comp,
ratio's around 14 to 1 and work's great in the high boost turbo bikes.

If you want to run non-ethanol fuel, you can check this site, to (hopefully) find a station in your area. I've found that this fuel is .05-.15/gal more, but IMPO, worth every penny. Our bikes were not made to run on WATER... :whistle:

pure-gas.org/

No good to me bud
I will just chuck in some avgas if i want 110

Yea, but you don't have to deal with the US Govt, when it comes to fuel. The highest (cost effective) fuel we can get here (WA, USA) is 91oct... then add water, well... I'll always get the best I can get for any of my rides, that need it. Usually run 89oct non-eth. My cage is a whole `nother story.