Petrol/water question.

[Brett]

A nice straight answer then. I'll be sure to tell her "maybe, maybe not".
She did actually say that they changed the fuel, which sorted the problem, but obviously the problem has come back even though she hasn't been using supermarkets. I wouldn't imagine that it would cause prolonged damage, but then I don't know much.
One of the reasons I asked is cos all the bikes she has seem to go wrong constantly and I was wondering if she was cursed or was just using a crappy mechanic.

p.s. Rob will be pleased to know I recommended she tried some Redex!

[stug]

Is the bike left parked outside in the rain?
If it is , there could be water in the fuel tank. No amount of new fuel will help as the water will keep getting into the carbs and causing problems.
This is much more noticable on single cylinder bikes and can only be fixed by removing the tank, draining it and drying it out before refilling.
Best to drain the carb too.

[RedexRobB]

Brett, double check its ok for two strokes! Im not 100% certian that it is.

[crushedlizard]

RedexRob I expected you to know the answer to that!

Apparently Redex is not far off 2T oil anyway. If you do use it, make sure you measure it out right! the tank is tiny on an RS and take into account the fuel is already having lube/cleaners mixed in.

To be honest though, the engine is so simple to get to - the tank even hinges like a bonnet. blast the fuel hose, and carb with some Wynn's carb cleaner and most importantly of all do a plug chop! If it's cutting out there' a good chance it's due to mixture. If you're running lean and you don't sort it soon, you'll be doing a topend rebuild.

[Jamz]

RedexRob I expected you to know the answer to that!

Apparently Redex is not far off 2T oil anyway. If you do use it, make sure you measure it out right! the tank is tiny on an RS and take into account the fuel is already having lube/cleaners mixed in.

To be honest though, the engine is so simple to get to - the tank even hinges like a bonnet. blast the fuel hose, and carb with some Wynn's carb cleaner and most importantly of all do a plug chop! If it's cutting out there' a good chance it's due to mixture. If you're running lean and you don't sort it soon, you'll be doing a topend rebuild.

I think the basic Redexx might be ok (but do check) - almost all of the carb/fuel additives are NOT to be used in 2-strokes.

[crushedlizard]

I think the basic Redexx might be ok (but do check) - almost all of the carb/fuel additives are NOT to be used in 2-strokes.

Yeah a good quality 2T oil contains all the lubricants/cleaners you need. I think that's why adding more is not necessarily a good idea. You'll end up with more additives than fuel! lol

I used to use Castrol R2 and my powervalve never coked up. In fact when I did my top end - it was remarkably clean in there; unlike those that used cheaper oils.

[raul]

hey everyone
Courtney sport is a well known performance car tuner. they did a extensive test and dino runs (plenty) ,tested all petrols available to the public market . The best out of all was tesco99 2nd shell v power and the rest performed close to equal. The point is whether is supermarket or not if you buy 99ron is all the same if you buy 95 everywhere is the same 95. condensation happens to all underground tankers but if you use a popular by demand garage the chances are you get fresh petrol most of the time; 99for me please all the time it works

[Jamz]

hey everyone
Courtney sport is a well known performance car tuner. they did a extensive test and dino runs (plenty) ,tested all petrols available to the public market . The best out of all was tesco99 2nd shell v power and the rest performed close to equal. The point is whether is supermarket or not if you buy 99ron is all the same if you buy 95 everywhere is the same 95. condensation happens to all underground tankers but if you use a popular by demand garage the chances are you get fresh petrol most of the time; 99for me please all the time it works

That may well be true in terms of power gain from fuel. Many will dispute that higher octane fuels won't give any power gains unless the engine is able to adjust to suit the higher octane - that rules out all but a few newer bikes. I was talking about the overall quality of the fuel towards running. That Tesco 99 is the only supermarket fuel I'd be tempted by - but I bet even that is crap fuel with a boosted octane rating...

[xlr8_07]

hers a little fact i didnt know until a guy from vender-root ( petrol tech'y ) came into work a while back and gave us a huge chat about fuels, here in new zealand at least fuel tankers from most firms are not alowed to travel empty so they refill them selves with water once the fuel is drained right out, as far as water in fuel damaging your bike we have had two cases at work where the customer ran there boat souley on one type of fuel and they sustained water damage to the engine, ( pitted valves, puistons etc on volvo penta diesels ) so they contacted the fuel company and they sent a guy in to collect a sample of the fuel in the boat then agreed to pay for the entire $20k rebuild.

[Brett]

What's a "PLUG CHOP?"

[Gemini]

What's a "PLUG CHOP?"

basically you go flat out then hit the kill switch and coast to a halt, then take the top end off

when u look at the piston and plug the colouring will tell you how its fuelling,

the reason i know this is my mate raced 125s and would plug chop at the end of practice and qualy

gem

[Brett]

Thanks.
How should it look if it's fueling ok/not ok?

[crushedlizard]

You need a new plug (make sure it's one for a restricted RS too - BR8EG. Full power plug is a BR10EG - the plug runs cooler).

Warm up engine with old plug, then put in a fresh clean one.

Ride flat out in top gear and hit the kill switch at the same time as pulling in the clutch.

If you're far from your house, swap the plugs for the old so you can ride home.

Then you can either literally chop the plug (saw the thread away to see the browning of main electrode. Or just look at the tip.
I think it's accepted that you can get away with just the tip rather than wasting a plug!

If I remember correctly, you want the white to be on the bend.



I think if the bike is restricted, there's a good chance someone simply unlpugged the PV servo (to the front right under the tank I think) and called it a day.
This means it'll possibly have a larger main jet, wrong needle and/or position, and so it'll be running rich - which is better than lean, but not good.

See if you have a PV installed and which plug is in there - BR8 or BR10.

Does it start without choke? Where in the rev range does it die?

It's been a while since I've done any of this, but it's even easier than it sounds! 2T means no cams or valves etc. It's just made from mechano! lol

[Brett]

I'll get back to you with the choke question as it's not my bike. I will check her plug for her though(ooh missus!)and if it is the wrong plug I will change it for her thus looking like the hero of the hour!

[wonderpupp]

Ooh, ooh,

Does she leave the fuel tap on all the time? Floods the carbs, you know.
Also, if really fluffy revving, has she got a nice clean air filter in there - if the air filter is damp or over treated, it runs like poo too.

Probably a crap mechanic being used too.. It did surprise me when I used one place then went to another, and the second place did a much better job overall. Just in the detail...

For road use, I wouldn't recommend a plug chop. Seems a bit fiddly - tried an iridium plug? (bit more expensive...)

also use decent fully synth 2T oil, like Castrol TTS.