Gloopy petrol - what would you do?

[Tigerrrr.......]

My wife has a Honda CBR125R. Bought brand new on 1.3.05. Owing to children, it's kept in the garage and done just over 360 miles. Yes 360 miles.

It's had its first MOT & proper service where the carbs were cleaned out owing to gloopy petrol. I'm trying to keep it ticking over now to keep the oil flowing, etc, etc.

Now, the question is this. The tank is still approx 2/3rds full of petrol. Do I:

(a) drain the tank and refill with fresh petrol?
(b) top the tank up with fresh petrol?
(c) keep running the bike on the petrol already in it until it's used up?

I had the bike out yesterday and it ran fine, so I'm tempted to go for option (c).

Cheers.

I think it depends on if you're going to leave it unused. IIRC 'they' say to fill the tank to the brim before storing, or that might be the wrong way round. . If you're going to start using it I'd take it for a good straight run and if it goes ok fill it up with the good stuff. If petrol's properly gone off it loses it's smell. You may have condensation in the tank also which wouldn't be a very good thing.

I'm sure someone will be along soon to correct me.

Either use the bike until the fuel is almost empty before topping off with fresh fuel or drain and re-fill.

Do not store the bike again with this petrol, it will only foul the carbs again.

[TEC]

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

IIRC 'they' say to fill the tank to the brim before storing,

Correct

Do not store the bike again with this petrol, it will only foul the carbs again.

What he said

Either store the bike fully or use it, just running it for short periods and then not doing anything with it for months will cause the carbs to gum up, battery to go bad quicker, condensation* in fuel tank - tank rusts inside out, * this could also happen to silencers

Aha. I remember being told to put an oily rag (no not a cigarette) into an exhaust before storage. Now I know why!

SO how old is the fuel in there???

if it is <1yr then just ride the bike until it is pretty much dry. Then drain the fuel out of the carb bowl (there is a drain screw/bolt at the bottom - might be a bit of a sod to get to mind ... ).

Then lift the petrol cap, spray plenty of WD40 in there and all over any metal external part (perhaps with exception of brake discs ) take the battery out so you can keep that charged up and then just lave it ..

When you want to use it next, just throw in some nice fresh fuel, a fully charged battery and away you go!!

[Tigerrrr.......]

The fuel is < a year old.

The bike is kept in a perfectly dry garage with the battery linked up to an Optimate.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Tigerrrr.......

The fuel is < a year old.

The bike is kept in a perfectly dry garage with the battery linked up to an Optimate.

Cheers.

Yep in that case, just run it out. Don't over-rev the bike to much mind as the octane will be a bit low now.

Then as I said, run the carbs dry. Does it have a fuel tap? If so an alternative is just to turn the fuel off and keep the bike running until it knonks out!