Bad gas

[oldGSfan]

I had a case of bad gas. No get up and go, lots of backfiring. It was nasty. But seriously folks, my '79 GS1000 mysteriously wouldn't take any throttle and would only run on choke, and my '73 CB750 would bog above 5K. I had been twiddling with a couple things on each and so with the old adage 'what did you screw up last', I chased a couple issues down a dead end.

Fist the Honda. I had just set the float level with a clear tube and thought hmm, I set it right, why would it be fuel starved? It's exactly 3mm down from the carb body. Check a few things, do a plug chop, nothing showing up, just a clean plug. Scratch head. I don't want to yank those carbs. Then the light bulb went off in my head. I had gone to the Shell station and filled up my gas can and put fuel in each bike, then both went south.

I got some Heet and tried the Honda first - after 2 blocks to clear the bowls, it hit redline easily like usual.

On the GS it wouldn't take any throttle at all, would only run on full choke. Jeez this is killing me! I had just worked on figuring out why my battery was draining and traced it to the Dyna S which was wired hot off the battery, not switched (but fused). It was pulling .4A just sitting there, draining the new battery. I rigged it to run with ignition on, fired it up and though OK, all good, at least until I twisted the throttle, then it bogged and died. Ran the Heet through it and it's good again, but I can tell it needs a drink of some good stuff still.

The local Shell station isn't getting my business anymore.

[Rob S.]

What exactly, is this Heet? I've got "Ethanol Shield" and one more bottle of some other Ethanol treatment. Bikes been sitting twenty months, I'm sure I gave it at least one treatment a year or more ago?.

Doesn't really matter, since I'm no longer able to launch all alone by pushing and the startler's dead, so I'll bring it to my mechanic late spring if I want to 'test' ride it for possible summer of '22 use.

[oldGSfan]

It's gas line antifreeze and water remover. I use to remove water after de-rusting a tank as well. It's not stabilizer. How water got in the Shell station's tank I don't know, seems odd as it's more common in colder climates with a bigger temp swing. Possibly a crack in the tank and ground water getting in I suppose.

What exactly, is this Heet? I've got "Ethanol Shield" and one more bottle of some other Ethanol treatment. Bikes been sitting twenty months, I'm sure I gave it at least one treatment a year or more ago?.

Doesn't really matter, since I'm no longer able to launch all alone by pushing and the startler's dead, so I'll bring it to my mechanic late spring if I want to 'test' ride it for possible summer of '22 use.

[steve murdoch]

Read on another motorcycle website about bad gas causing poor running but it turned out to be a bad/too much ethanol ratio.

[Grimly]

What exactly, is this Heet?

Methanol.
It's water-binding and runs the water through the fuel system with it, therebye getting rid of it.

[Cipher]

What exactly, is this Heet? I've got "Ethanol Shield" and one more bottle of some other Ethanol treatment. Bikes been sitting twenty months, I'm sure I gave it at least one treatment a year or more ago?.

Doesn't really matter, since I'm no longer able to launch all alone by pushing and the startler's dead, so I'll bring it to my mechanic late spring if I want to 'test' ride it for possible summer of '22 use.

just so triggering! Heat is not just a fuel additive it also hellfire in a bottle.

[oldGSfan]

After yanking carbs for the umpteenth time I need that stuff!

Finally with this cheap fix I have 3 of my 5 bikes running well, with only a couple of tasks to do - fix the gear shift indicator on the GS1100E, which always reads zero. Heck I know what gear I'm in but I like stuff to work right. I have a spare bike to look at and pirate parts from, if needed.

The riding experiences are so different. CB750 feels good but is a bit small for me and feels antiquated. I have the front brake set up as well as it can be, it's acceptable but I plan ahead. GS1100E is a bit too loud and scary fast, I ride it least but enjoy it. How do I get BOTM for that bad motor scooter?

GS1000E is Godilocks' middle sized bear, fits great, has plenty of power, braking and handling is good. I sort of knew it would be the one, and I absolutely love it. I'm still fiddling with idle circuit settings to get it perfect, but it's pretty close and has no flat spots, fouling plugs or hanging idle etc.

Now I'm getting deep into the '66 Norton N15CS, it's going to be an awesome bike with a front disc transplant and some other nice goodies.

just so triggering! Heat is not just a fuel additive it also hellfire in a bottle.

[gustovh]

Picked up a bad load of gas in Sacramento when I was bringing my 1100L home. Finally dumped the entire tank and found half of it to be water. Managed to make 65 for the rest of the trip to Gresham, any faster it would die. Pulled an cleaned the carbs and replaced the tank and started ripping up the roads.

V

[hank2]

It used to be common quite some years ago for unscrupulous gas station owners to pump water into their underground tanks. They did so when they were out or nearly so. Evidently it would float some small amount of gasoline left in there that the pickup wasn't getting. At some point a customer started getting water. Repeat this a number of times over some years and the water started getting higher. At least I have been told that several times. I did indeed once witness an operator doing just that. Of course, on an auto tank, just the condensation accumulating in the tank would result in a lot of water over time. Perhaps some phase separation from Ethanol dosed fuel to add to the problem. Gas line freeze ups in Winter were common in the Northeast US at one time. Heet and many other brands "dry gas" Methanol were popular. I would think that the common E10 Ethanol dosed fuel would do the same thing. A gallon of Ethanol in 10 gallons of fuel. Maybe Methanol is better at clearing water?

Personally, I wouldn't put Methanol in any tank. I believe it beats even Ethanol at eating things.

[zed1015]

Glad to hear you got your carb issues solved without having to pull everything apart again.
Bad fuel is usually the last item on the list of suspects if at all when troubleshooting these problems but sadly it's becoming more common with all the "eco" measures the govenments are shoving on us.

[Brendan W]

Are we going to see brass dipsticks with water seeking paste and glass bowls with sampler taps?

[red1100]

My buddy and I both have a few old cars and he uses ethanol free in all including his lawnmower.No issues. Me however,I go with the cheapest Arco in everything. He has never had an issue and neither have I.I use premium once in a while mixed with 104 octane booster if I expect heavy loads. He's adamant about no ethanol and it works for him but I give him a ribbing about it when I tell him I mix in lighter fluid with the Arco to make it last longer. Im the 90s I was racing Super gas with a 480 inch Hemi,4speed,5.13 Dana in a 71 Duster.15 to 1 compression.That combo used avgas and 104+ booster. since you can't hear detonation in that car I had to read plugs. Not sure what they have in avgas nowadays but doubt there's ethanol in it and its still available.

[grcamna2]

just so triggering! Heat is not just a fuel additive it also hellfire in a bottle.

Not enough roughage in your diet? That'll do it

Nah,lol.I've bought low-priced fuel before from cut-rate fuel stations.. I learned to purchase top-tier gasoline.