E10 Fuel in Older Bikes

General Discussion
,
1

A silly question from a friend with an original Le Mans about using E10 fuel.
I can only find much more recent lists although they do confirm that whilst EFI engines should be OK, carburettor models will not.
Is there a list anywhere I can use to prove the point?
Thanks
P.

2

what’s to prove? let him bang a tankful of the rubbish in and see for himself how it runs. if it’s anything like my T3 engine, from the same era, that will be pretty much like the choke’s stuck on. but the over-whelming advice from seasoned Guzzisti is (for bikes of that era) drain the carbs after use, and don’t leave it sat in the tank for too long (or replace with ‘better’ fuel, as available) - one tankful won’t break it. probably.

if you’ve got access to the MGCGB Facebook group, the search facility will reveal a rake of discussion, opinion and controversy on the matter.

to the best of my knowledge, there is no “list” that will tell your mate whether or not to put E10 (or greater ethanol-content fuel) in his Le Mans.

3

Thanks Barry, just what I wanted to here!

1 Like
4

I use Esso Supreme Unleaded in all of my older Guzzis (1938-1974》The pumps say E5 but in some parts of the country it actually is E0.
However they will transition the E0 to E5 from September 2023

5

I have read that Ireland is removing all E5, so anyone not living near the border who can drive to the north to buy it is going to be stuck.

It’s going to reduce visitors using their own older vehicles too. Seems like a bad decision.

6

Well I’m glad my 4 wheeler runs on diesel! Thanks for your thoughts.

7

I think my friend’s got the message! Thank you. My Bellagio Custom gets E5 although Honda did a good job of confirming E10 compatibility for its bikes over quite a few decades. My VFR1200 runs nicely of E10 thankfully.

8
9

I have to say, my Le Mans doesn’t even run properly well on E5/0. It’s very unwell on Regular. This is not surprising; they were designed to run on 5 Star, 100RON. Even the ‘high octane’ stuff we get now has a lot of combustion time variation which means some firing cycles burn late. This leads to vibration, more heat in the exhaust port and consequently the head. On a warm day this can lead to overheated carbs. Even Premium rattles a bit and goes off after about 2 weeks in the tank.
Bottom line is, just get the best you can find and freshen it up when you can.

1 Like
10

I’ve been confused and worried about the fuel thing for some time, so just spent forty minutes with a cup of tea and looked at options with my friend g oogle.

I found an additive claiming to counteract ethanol in petrol and decided to take the plunge and ordered a couple of bottles.

Don’t know how long i’ll have to use it before considering it successful.

11

Just stick to E5. A few pence per litre extra won’t break the bank and will pay dividends in the long run. Also as Barry_Conway says, drain the carbs if you’re not using it for a while but best of all, just keep using it!!!

1 Like