If you don't like removing your helmet at petrol stations...

...then you're going to love this!

Stolen from the ABR forum, now appearing at a Shell petrol station near you!



"Good morning, Riders.

Here's some information related to those who fill up their bikes while straddling them.......

Responses to questions is normally directed through to the customer service group. In this case, I am also an avid rider with more than three decades of riding so I thought I would respond directly to this inquiry.

While the station attendant was correct in requesting that the rider dismount their motorcycle before fuelling, his explanation of the reason for this was not entirely complete.

The reasons for asking riders to get off their bikes:

This reduces the riders exposure to breathing gasoline vapors by increasing the distance from the fill point

This reduces the possibility of the riders skin and clothing being exposed to fuel splash and overflows if they occur

Should a refueling fire start, the rider's ability to quickly separate themselves from the fire is improved if they are already off the motorcycle

If a fire forced the rider to jump off the bike, the risk of the motorcycle falling over and spreading the fire is greatly reduced

As you can well imagine, Shell being a global company also operates in many countries where motorcycles are used as the primary mode of motorized transport. This allows us to review incidents all over the world and apply best practices developed in other countries that may have more experience in a particular area. In this case the policy came about as a result of investigations into multiple incidents that were compounded by the individual remaining on the motorcycle while fuelling. In most cases the damages were relatively minor and related to fuel spills and tank overfills resulting in the customer who was straddling the motorcycle being splashed with gasoline. In more severe cases the fuel splash has reached hot engine parts resulting in fires and in a tragic case, the resulting fires caused fatalities when the rider jumped of the bike knocking it over with it's still open fuel tank and the resulting fuel splash exposed the rider, as well as other individuals in the vicinity with burning gasoline.


There is currently no provincial, state or national regulation requiring riders to dismount prior to fuelling, but Shell believes it is our corporate responsibility to ensure that we create as safe an environment as possible at our stations. We have not widely communicated to the motorcycling community our global policy, partially because we are not aware of any other major oil company adopting a similar policy. We do not wish to create the mistaken impression that Shell is not motorcycle friendly because of this policy. Our motorcycling community is still relatively small, so we have tried to manage this policy by asking station staff to reinforce this policy with customers in a respectful manner. We do have a pamphlet available at all our locations called "Shell Helps with Gasoline Safety" that does mention this subject.

I hope you find this explanation adequate and that you consider how Shell is doing this to improve rider safety when you make your choice of fuel supplier. I do understand the difficulties in topping up a fuel tank while the bike is on the side stand, but from a technical standpoint the tank should not be filled beyond 95% capacity to allow for expansion and the design of a modern Harley fuel tank is such that this limit should be able to be reached even when the motorcycle is on the side stand. The center stand is also an alternative."

[timwilky]

Obviously Shell in the US.

So I guess American bikers love BP.

Pompous arrogant git who wrote that tripe. Scared of being sued for mouldy sphericals due to exposure to petrol contamination I guess.

when in truth the danger is more likely they have been damaged due to excessive vibration on a north american agricultural implement.

hope that doesnt mean some poor fecker did a human torch impression whilst filling up. OUCH!

Dont do it as much on the drz, used to do the sv that way all the time, especially with the fast pay pumps - its brilliant!

Maybe Shell in the US implementing the policy yes, but photo was taken by an ABR forum member who is based in Kent. I'm assuming he took the photo at a UK Shell petrol station given the 0800 number.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I'm assuming he took the photo at a UK Shell petrol station given the 0800 number.

Correctly as the sign says Shell Uk Oil Products Ltd, in the US it would Inc.

I'd say the UK bit is more of a giveaway than the Ltd bit, but I'm not the sharpest tool in the box today either am I.

[DJ123]

someone should point out to them that people will stand next to their bikes propping it up so it is upright. thus creating a more unstable platform and more risk of a fire instead. i'd sit on the bike and ask for a member of staff to stand next to me with a bucket of sand and a fire extinguisher just incase.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I'd say the UK bit is more of a giveaway than the Ltd bit, but I'm not the sharpest tool in the box today either am I.

[punyXpress]

You missed the one on the left, -Ralph-
Bet everyone takes notice of that!

To me it makes sense, not that I would need special instructions or a new corporate policy for that. I had once a small splash that reached to my face and that certainly made me jump. I see no practical gain in balancing my bike on potentially slippery surface while refuelling. For me it's a good excuse to stretch my legs.