Fuel - how long to go off ?

[Marcbrown46]

How long does it take before fuel in a tank starts to go off ?

[The Shaggy D.A.]

In my experience, "a bloody long time".
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[The Artist]

It depends. I have had tanks of fuel 2-3 years old that still work and tanks that have 1 year old fuel be all horrible and sticky.


Drop a lit match in the tank and see what happens

[Marcbrown46]

[map]

7 months should be nothing to worry about. Better if it's been stored in garage without too much temperature variation. Failing that better if left stood with full tank.

If you are worried and it's an easy job then take tank off and empty out old fuel and refill. When refill use something like the Putoline fuel stabilizer as this will help clean off any waxing on the carbs (that's assuming the carbs are ok-ish in the first place to get the bike started).

Suck it and see
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[cb1rocket]

i find it depends on the bike. My CB1 will be really fussy of the fuel is really old and refuse to start on stale petrol of more than 6 months, on the other hand, my H100 of 4 years standing still starts!

I do find really, that as we all know fuel goes off and starts to gum up in the carbs, its a good idea to turn the petrol off and then let the bike run out of fuel so that the float chambers are empty. Old fuel in the carbs are a no no. In the tank; ok.

If its really bad, then the fuel filter will be the first to pick up the crap, and not the carb

[andys675]

it starts after a couple of weeks, just depends how well vented it is
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[Martay]

I once ran out of fuel in the same village my friend lives in. He thought he had some petrol in a can. He did. Pouring it into the bike, it smelt like something had died, and the petrol had a strange green tinge to it, almost like algae or mold. The bike ran on it ok He doesnt remember how long that was sat, but it was more than a few years!! Ran lovely it did
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Drives: Cavalier 2.0 16v
Rides: Slightly ratted Honda City Express

[_Iain_]

Chuck it in, if the bike runs like a bag of shit then it was gone off & you should dilute it with fresh fuel/drain it out.

Oh, and 2/3 petrol to 1/3 diesel with a bit of water in it will blow up your cinquecento engine
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340