Winter plans for your bike?

[MikeHorton]

1 minute ago, DuRavary said:

I’m commenting on the negative feedback I’ve had on a couple of forums after sharing my experience of using E10 since 2009. Mind you I’ve noticed negativity about just about everything that’s a bit different to the norm. 

All you can do is give your views and  not get hung up on others. Theres always negativity in  life and others you won't get on with, just rise above it and be happy. A good sense of humour helps especially on this forum. I've seen some positive comments to your posts too on here! 

[DuRavary]

On 13/12/2021 at 19:32, MikeHorton said:

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by DuRavary

[Pie man]

@DuRavary Are you aware of, or come across anyone who has had issues with E10 over the years. I have noticed I'm not getting as good MPG on both bikes. Also noted KTM don't recommend Super Unleaded 98 RON.    

[MikeHorton]

Ahh well their loss. As for the winter riding I liked your pic on your recent camping trip. I love seeing photos puts things in prospective. As for the E10 thing don't worry it will be old news next year just bypass it. As for polishing stuff and cleaning etc I'm in that bracket at the minute not feeling that well and restricted to what I can do at the moment. Broad range of people on here some ride all year some don't we all have different views bit like people you meet in general. Like you I ride a Honda I'm sure some people find us Honda people a bit odd, I'd like to say I'm strange not odd and certainly not sinister

[S-Westerly]

Well my bike is a Ducati so not exactly famous for year round biking.  That said I do and have found it not too bad in snow apart from scaring the crap out of me. Obviously I'm cautious when it all goes to poo. As to E10 I'm happy to admit that it seems to be working well enough - I can't tell the difference. When I go back to sea though I'll leave it with E5 in the tank. It won't do any harm and may do good.

Edited December 13, 2021 by S-Westerly

[DuRavary]

8 minutes ago, Pie man said:

@DuRavary Are you aware of, or come across anyone who has had issues with E10 over the years. I have noticed I'm not getting as good MPG on both bikes. Also noted KTM don't recommend Super Unleaded 98 RON.    

Yes. There have been huge problems with some older bikes, the worst I can remember being certain Ducati’s with plastic fuel tanks that actually started to melt. Other older plastics in the fuel systems were also vulnerable. As I’ve written before it’s very easy to find out if your post 2000 bike is ready for E10 and if I had an older classic I’d be tempted to ask questions on a forum with German members not just in the U.K. where it’s new for everyone. MPG is a difficult one. I’m an anorak and have recorded every fill up in my vehicles for years using an App. With my Pan European the average mpg varied very little whether it was run on E10, E5, used on motorways or in mountains. The higher averages between fill ups were no more than 4-5mpg better than the worst. With my cars I have never seen any difference that can be put down to the fuel type. With one car however using even an empty roof rack, having a mountain bike on a rear mounted rack or towing a small trailer can cause havoc. The mpg figures I get these days using E10 are far more impressive than when I often used 98 or even 102 octane fuel in Germany. That however has nothing to do with the fuel is the different sorts of roads that I use these days, lots of French D road kilometres and fewer on the Autobahn. My CB500X has shown a huge range of average mpg between fill ups, anything between 72mpg and just over 100 according to the use. So different to the pattern from the Pan European. 

[DuRavary]

16 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Well my bike is a Ducati so not exactly famous for year round biking.  That said I do and have found it not too bad in snow apart from scaring the crap out of me. Obviously I'm cautious when it all goes to poo. As to E10 I'm happy to admit that it seems to be working well enough - I can't tell the difference. When I go back to sea though I'll leave it with E5 in the tank. It won't do any harm and may do good.

Talking of the sea… I have a boat with an auxiliary Honda outboard. Every Spring I fill the 12 litre tank with E10. The tank usually lasts all year and when I take it home in November it’s normally about half full. I use the remaining fuel in my lawnmowers during the winter. I’ve never had any trouble with the outboard or mowers. I was concerned to start with as I thought that being hydrophilic the E10 might suffer in the marine environment. It’s been fine. 

[S-Westerly]

2 hours ago, DuRavary said:

Talking of the sea… I have a boat with an auxiliary Honda outboard. Every Spring I fill the 12 litre tank with E10. The tank usually lasts all year and when I take it home in November it’s normally about half full. I use the remaining fuel in my lawnmowers during the winter. I’ve never had any trouble with the outboard or mowers. I was concerned to start with as I thought that being hydrophilic the E10 might suffer in the marine environment. It’s been fine. 

Interesting to know. At least you're using your stuff. I'm slightly co corned about leaving E10 in a tank for 5 months or so. So I'll just use E5 fir the last week or so. As to "my" boat it uses 380 cst HFO otherwise known as thick black shit and about 50 tonnes per day.

[DuRavary]

7 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Interesting to know. At least you're using your stuff. I'm slightly co corned about leaving E10 in a tank for 5 months or so. So I'll just use E5 fir the last week or so. As to "my" boat it uses 380 cst HFO otherwise known as thick black shit and about 50 tonnes per day.

A tank full of non E10 for when the bike is laid up is hardly going to break the bank so would be a good choice for a bit more piece of mind. 

[S-Westerly]

Exactly.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

3 hours ago, DuRavary said:

Talking of the sea… I have a boat with an auxiliary Honda outboard. Every Spring I fill the 12 litre tank with E10. The tank usually lasts all year and when I take it home in November it’s normally about half full. I use the remaining fuel in my lawnmowers during the winter. I’ve never had any trouble with the outboard or mowers. I was concerned to start with as I thought that being hydrophilic the E10 might suffer in the marine environment. It’s been fine. 

Interesting because our outboards hate the stuff. Honda's advice was helpful, buy new engines.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Mississippi Bullfrog

[DuRavary]

10 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Interesting because our outboards hate the stuff. Honda's advice was helpful, buy new engines.

It’s a 2006 Honda 5hp. Touching every bit of wood around it’s been as dependable and reliable as you would expect. As you will have seen I only use between six and twelve litres a year so running it on a more expensive fuel wouldn’t be a problem but the fact remains, it’s always been fine with E10.

[Bender]

On 12/12/2021 at 18:38, Chrissb6 said:

A Decade ago Mate? On September 1, 2021, E10 fuel became the default fuel in petrol stations across England, Scotland and Wales 

France started in 2009  

[Fozzie]

I see E10 has become the new "which oil" debate! I used to work in the industry and I've learnt to avoid getting too much into these discussions now

 

E10 has a shorter shelf life due to the oxidative nature of ethanol. In a sealed container the rating is 3 months for E10 and 6 months for E5. This is based on an ambient temperature of 20 degrees, with higher temperatures being detrimental. Keep in mind that ratings are typically built around a worst case value, and that the fuel doesn't degrade 100% once the 3/6 month period lapses, meaning many engines will run fine on fuel past this time. But as people don't know the exact point that trouble will start, it drives a lot of skepticism, as ultimately however you look at it, E10 is an inferior fuel to E5. 

 

But onto the topic at hand, I'm doing up my blackbird with the intention of selling it come spring, so it will be valve checks, replace all fluids and rebuild the combined brake system (which was beyond saving on my last one and had to be cut out for a conventional setup). I'm also setting out to buy something cheap that I can cut up and build something (maybe a scrambler), so will likely be an old cat C ER5 that I don't feel too bad welding bits to. Next year I'm also planning on picking up more bikes, however they will all be old and things I can work on as I don't much like anything remotely modern at the moment, other than things like little single cylinder bikes and big twins. 

 

[Throttled]

My local (car servicing) garage, who I trust, say they now add a fuel system cleaner as standard during services, due to E10.

[Ian Frog]

38 minutes ago, Throttled said:

My local (car servicing) garage, who I trust, say they now add a fuel system cleaner as standard during services, due to E10.

I was wondering something similar maybe using an injection cleaning additive to a virtually empty tank and running a while to ensure it`s in the lines then cutting the engine.

Anyone any idea if this would help?

Cheers

Ian

[Pie man]

On 13/12/2021 at 19:06, S-Westerly said:

Well my bike is a Ducati so not exactly famous for year round biking.  That said I do and have found it not too bad in snow apart from scaring the crap out of me. Obviously I'm cautious when it all goes to poo. As to E10 I'm happy to admit that it seems to be working well enough - I can't tell the difference. When I go back to sea though I'll leave it with E5 in the tank. It won't do any harm and may do good.

I have followed your recent events at sea and trying to get home during the pandemic, on average, how long do you normally spend at sea in a year - just curious. 

[Pie man]

As I ride all year round, the fuel gets used in both bikes. Nice pleasant ride home this evening in 10 degrees C, 

[S-Westerly]

1 hour ago, Pie man said:

I have followed your recent events at sea and trying to get home during the pandemic, on average, how long do you normally spend at sea in a year - just curious. 

In a 2 year period I'd spend around 12 months at sea. My rotation is officially 3 on/off but at the moment tending to be more like 4 on/off. Recently I did 5 months which was a pisser as I missed the entire summer but I'll only take 4 months leave and cash in the rest.

[MikeHorton]

Cruddy salty bike cleaned and chain lubed. ACF helped the crud come off easy enough thankfully. The pet drier is a handy tool to dry the bike quickly too! 

[billy sugger]

23 minutes ago, MikeHorton said:

Cruddy salty bike cleaned and chain lubed. ACF helped the crud come off easy enough thankfully. The pet drier is a handy tool to dry the bike quickly too! 

What have you got, a dog with a shaggy coat or a very tame hot air gun

[MikeHorton]

A stinky cocker spaniel. You can get the pet driers on amazon ebay etc put it on full pelt and it is v powerful cheaper than the proper bike driers about £30 turn the setting down and smelly mutt also dry again

[onesea]

53 minutes ago, MikeHorton said:

A stinky cocker spaniel. You can get the pet driers on amazon ebay etc put it on full pelt and it is v powerful cheaper than the proper bike driers about £30 turn the setting down and smelly mutt also dry again

Ohh can you do a link?  I have not the wife a Christmas present and my bike needs a clean

[DuRavary]

On 15/12/2021 at 18:34, Throttled said:

My local (car servicing) garage, who I trust, say they now add a fuel system cleaner as standard during services, due to E10.

That’s a nice earner for them. 

[MikeHorton]

10 minutes ago, onesea said:

Ohh can you do a link?  I have not the wife a Christmas present and my bike needs a clean

This is mine I've had it 3 years with no issues!