Ethanol in Fuel (has anyone else reported it to VSB)

Good post, but unfortunately with these sorts of issues there seems to be a policy of a certain amount of people have to die or get maimed before the cost of an investigation is viable.

 

Just a general question about fuel. Is it not possible to buy unleaded 95 rated petrol in the UK without having any Ethanol in it?

If the answer is you can't buy 100% 95 without ethanol, then why not just buy 98? I wouldn't want that Ethanol shit anywhere near my tank.

Over here it is still quite easy to get proper unleaded 95 100% petrol, but when it's not I buy 98 - which is only a cent or two more expensive.

Why anyone would buy E10 is beyond me. The bike doesn't run so well or give the same mpg with it, plus you can get this yellow snot forming. It's only a couple of cents cheaper than full 95 so there's no real economic argument.

No sir, not for me.

 

I do believe that Ducati petrol tanks were badly affected by ethanol.
Last time I looked there was about 10p price difference per litre in the UK between 95 and 98 RON petrol.

 

I only run my Sprint on super unleaded. I dont think it runs much better but ethanol produces water somehow, lol, I am no chemist, and it causes so many problems inside the tank as well as outside. Ducati and Triumph both suffer with swelling of their tanks,many people have taken the tank of and been unable to get it back on again. They do shrink back if left empty for a few weeks

 

The tank on my Multistrada 1100 swelled to the point where it would not fit in the rear mount ☹️

 

Thanks for posting this, I had seen the "chicken pox" on a Daytona tank and just assumed that this was poor factory preparation or something. I had wondered if one day it would happen to mine and that I would have to get the tank repainted. It's clear to me now that the cause of this is the Ethanol and at least it shouldn't happen to mine as I run my bikes and classic car on full-fat petrol.

The ethanol has caused much hassle amongst classic car owners as it is just not compatible with so much of the fuel system. People are still losing their vehicles to fires caused by it - outrageous really.

It's disgusting that the oil companies can do this and make all the ill-effects (and safety) everyone else's problem. I bet the sales of "super" petrol has increased nicely on the back of this and at 10p a litre more (far more than the additional cost to produce it) they must be laughing.

Anyway, thanks for posting and sorry I can't help with your intended reason for doing so but wish you luck.

 

Amongst triumph I also run an MuZ Skorpion sport which is a cafe racer style big single and that uses a plastic PA6 made tank. I've a few that have swollen but never come totally back to spec so I only ever run 98% with a tank liner.
There is a noticeable difference in performance with higher octane as its very easy to see the difference on a single more than any other engine with more cylinders.

 

Hi new to Triumph motor cycle
I have noticed bubbling around the plastic tank
Told it's common
Can I claim a new tank from Triumph
Can any one help
Thanks
Mel

 

you can try but I bet I know the answer you'll get.

 

Alcohol is Hygroscopic as it attracts water ! So the Air Space in your fuel tank has water (,humidity) in the AIR VOLUME, this is sucked out by the Alcohol/Water bonding attraction , it happens at a molecular level the molecules bond/stick together a bit like magnetism and iron going together !
If you have periods of high humidity and low fuel volumes in your tank you get more water bonding out of the airspace and into the fuel !!

It doesn't happen with leaded fuel !

Cheers capt

 

'Plastic' tanks and ethanol do not make good bedfellows.
Super unleaded from the likes of Shell and BP does not (allegedly) have ethanol in it.
On a happier note - for the consumer but not, sadly, the employees/suppliers etc - an ethanol production plant near Hull has recently closed due to lack of orders. Perhaps fuel producers are getting the message.

 

I have a Ducati Sport Classic Biposto which I tried selling last year, every single person asking questions about it their first question was has it had any issues with tank swelling. Fortunately I am it's second owner and the original owner and myself have only ever run it on Super. I don't run any of my bikes or my car on regular unless it isn't an option for that tankful.

 

I feel a little retarded on this subject matter, but hands up... it’s not something I’ve heard much about... probably because this is the first forum I’ve been on about motorised vehicles... now I am gonna google it, and I feel pretty fortunate that I’ve been using 98 unleaded on my Legend just because I felt it was a better, cleaner fuel (without knowing too much about it), however...if there is an unbiased smart arse out there who can summarise the risks and issues, I’m sure I’m not the only person who would appreciate it.

 

Super unleaded is not necessarily ethanol free. Some brands contain up to 5% ethanol.

 

Ok, having read a few articles on the subject, I am more aware of the risks... I will certainly be asking all my local garages if they have ethanol added to their petrol.

I’ve included what appear to be a good couple of articles, the first is particularly relevant to us.

http://armchairbiker.com/ethanol-in-petrol-what-classic-bikers-need-to-know/

https://www.whatcar.com/news/new-e10-fuel-will-cost-uk-motorists/