E10 fuel and us.

[Robbo87]

There's an in-depth article in this month's Bennetts 'Bike Social' blog on the UK Government's plan to up the ethanol content of our pump petrol fom 5% to 10% in 2021. Here's a short extract from said article, the full write up follows, just click on the link, it makes for pretty interesting reading IMO:

Among the problems with ethanol is the fact that it prefers to burn at a different air/fuel ratio than petrol. On a vehicle with fuel injection, a three-way catalytic converter and a lambda (oxygen) sensor in the exhaust, that’s not necessarily a problem, since the exhaust sensor can tell the fuel injection to compensate. Most cars have had such kit for the last 20 years, but on bikes emissions laws have been slower to catch up, so many didn’t adopt the same technology until around 2010. Since the average bike in the UK is 14.7 years old, a vast number come from the days before manufacturers had considered the use of ethanol fuels.

That’s not E10’s only problem, either. Ethanol is hygroscopic, which means absorbs and mixes with water, even drawing it in from the air around it. That’s one of the reasons it can cause corrosion, since it means parts of fuel systems that were never designed to be in contact with water are suddenly exposed to it. On top of that, ethanol is a solvent and that means rubber, plastic and fibreglass parts that were designed to be in contact with pure petrol can melt once exposed to E10. Since many bikes have plastic fuel tanks, that’s a worry. A few years ago, there were issues in America – where E10 has been in use much longer, with bikes including Ducati Monsters, Sport Classics and Multistradas suffering distorted plastic fuel tanks as they reacted to ethanol in the fuel.


How else can E10 fuel cause problems for my bike?

Although the water-attracting properties of E10 aren’t necessarily a massive problem if you’re constantly using a vehicle and running through tanks of fuel, they can be amplified when a vehicle is left unused with petrol in the tank.

That’s a particular issue for bikes, since many are either laid up over winter or used sporadically with long idle periods. During that time, E10 has a reputation for going stale and undergoing ‘phase separation’ when vehicles aren’t used. That means the ethanol falls out of solution with the petrol as it absorbs more water. The result could be an engine that won’t start until the fuel is replaced, and some suggest this phase separation can take place in as little as three months.

'BIKE SOCIAL' LINK: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n ... d=63083565

[Mr Tuscan]

Yea not so great for us carbed bikers!
Another nail in the coffin

[scorcher]

Most plastic tanks already swelling with the current ethanol content. My KTM 950 SM was about an inch out on the rearward most mounting point. Use to have to use a large pry bar and get the bolt in quick. A lot of Ducrapis already having the same problem

[Robbo87]

Most plastic tanks already swelling with the current ethanol content. My KTM 950 SM was about an inch out on the rearward most mounting point. Use to have to use a large pry bar and get the bolt in quick. A lot of Ducrapis already having the same problem

Yup, I can identify with the plastic tank thing. My last three bikes, '99 955 Triumph Sprint ST, 2001 Aprilia RST 1000 and 2006 Triumph Sprint ST 1050 all had plastic tanks and the last two had (and the 1050 still has) problems with tank swell; interestingly, the 955 didn't. On the 1050 I've had to elongate the rear tank mounting holes to get the through bolt to fit, I believe the 1050 Sprints went to steel tanks after 2008, so no guessing what my next mod's gonna be.

[Jug]

TBH I think that plastic tanks just swell with use anyway.
In the trail bike world it's kind of a known thing that the older an aftermarket 'large' fuel tank is, the more it holds..., and this observation pre-dates the E5 fuel. Sadly from what I've read the E5 fuel wasn't a problem but once you get to E10 you may start to have issues.

I've had "Euro fuel" that was left in my trail bike go off in just a few months. I spent hours trying to find the problem and finally in desperation tried fresh UK fuel and miraculously my bike was running fine again.
If we do actually go to E10 in 2021 then I will be draining the bikes at the end of each season.

[Blender81]

I thought E10 was already the norm in the South West, clearly not

[Robbo87]

I thought E10 was already the norm in the South West, clearly not

Nothing's normal down here, we're the land that time (and Westminster) forgot. And putting E10 in our tanks won't make it any better.

[ptolemyx]

E10 will be crap for all bikes. If you've spent money on performance and had it dyno tuned/remapped consider it money down the drain when we're forced to use pisswater as fuel. If you've ever had to get a tankful from Asda you'll know all too well....

[Streetmann]

Well that sucks for all of those tax and mot exempt vehicles out there

[jer r1]

E10 will be crap for all bikes. If you've spent money on performance and had it dyno tuned/remapped consider it money down the drain when we're forced to use pisswater as fuel. If you've ever had to get a tankful from Asda you'll know all too well....

You'll be able to fill yuor own bike then Brian.

[Jay]

Yea not so great for us carbed bikers!
Another nail in the coffin

Time to upgrade?

[Mr Tuscan]

Not finished the bike yet let alone upgrade lol

But it did cross my mind how hard a job is it to fit injection seeing as my bike is still made but in injection form?????

[Streetmann]

Screenshot_20200309-191741_Samsung Internet.jpg

Look like I missed my compatibility by 2 years that sucks

[billinom8s]

IT'S only gonna be in the supreme fuel, the red's diesel you use in yours and I use in mine will be the same as always.