Where do I find the right Gasoline for my Moped?

[Isaanbiker]

  I've tried quite a few gas stations in the city, but it seems to be very difficult to get the needed in formation from employees at such a station.

 

      My bike's a 1100 cc cruiser that first ran in Bangkok 14 years ago. It was built in Japan 1996 and was then brought to Thailand. The problem is to find gasoline without Ethanol. As far as I know is 10 % okay, so I'm buying the 91 at Esso. They told me that it would "only have" 10 % of Ethanol, but I'm a bit skeptic. 

 

  Before I've tried 95 Benzine but the engine ran weird, a clean sign that it's not suitable for my bike. 95 is more for high powered engines, but not for mine. 

 

    Is there a chance to find gasoline without any Ethanol, or other additives that are deadly for classic bikes/ engines?

 

     What are others filling into their tanks? 

 

     

[KhunBENQ]

The major/larger gas stations still sell pure Benzene (Gasoline) without added Ethanol.

It's easy to recognize by the highest price of all fuels.

Todays price at PTT is 35.76 (or higher).

At PTT is has a label with yellow background.

 

This is a picture from June 20 this year at a major PTT on Mitrapap rd.

But also here easy to distinguish. Highest price, yellow label.

 

[stubuzz]

You could retrofit the bike if you are worried about Gasohol. New valve seats and compatible rubber gas pipe would be a start.

[Isaanbiker]

3 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

The major/larger gas stations still sell pure Benzene (Gasoline) without added Ethanol.

It's easy to recognize by the highest price of all fuels.

Todays price at PTT is 35.76 (or higher).

At PTT is has a label with yellow background.

Thanks a lot. I bought this pure 95 Benzine before, but 95 is way too high for my bike.

 

   And I haven't found pure Benzine with less Octane. 

 

  

[KhunBENQ]

Of course the Benzene is also 95 octane.

But it would surprise me if your bike has a problem with higher octane. Usually it's the other way round.

[Isaanbiker]

2 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

You could retrofit the bike if you are worried about Gasohol. New valve seats and compatible rubber gas pipe would be a start.

I'm not planning to buy new valves, seats etc and spend a lot of money on it. I've got only 19,600 km's on the clock.

 

  But thanks for your input. 

[KhunBENQ]

3 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

And I haven't found pure Benzine with less Octane. 

Does not exist and even Gasohol 91 will be phased out until next year or so.

And 91 octane is close to non existent in European countries.

Abolished since many years in Germany e.g.

 

[Isaanbiker]

1 minute ago, KhunBENQ said:

Of course the Benzene is also 95 octane.

But it would surprise me if your bike has a problem with higher octane. Usually it's the other way round.

Yamaha tells you 87 Octane is good for the bike. Unfortunately, is it not wise to run the 95 Benzine, my bike runs weird on it. 

 

   I wouldn't mind paying more for it, if it would benefit.

 

But having 95 benzine in my tank and riding thru the city is a real nightmare. 

[CGW]

Your pretty well screwed if it wont run on 95 octane "Benzine" (no idea why they call it "Benzine" it's got maybe 0.5% Benzine in it?) everything else on the market is some type of gasohol. May be worth trying a "hotter" spark plug with the 95?

[Isaanbiker]

4 minutes ago, CGW said:

Your pretty well screwed if it wont run on 95 octane "Benzine" (no idea why they call it "Benzine" it's got maybe 0.5% Benzine in it?) everything else on the market is some type of gasohol. May be worth trying a "hotter" spark plug with the 95?

Well, that might be a great idea. I'm running NGK Iridium BPR 7 ES- Hotter would be a BPR 8, right?

[IraqRon]

wow, thats a big moped, is it tuff to pedal?

[Isaanbiker]

1 minute ago, IraqRon said:

wow, thats a big moped, is it tuff to pedal?

That was one reason to get married. Got me wife to push a bit. Innit?

[thaiguzzi]

3 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Well, that might be a great idea. I'm running NGK Iridium BPR 7 ES- Hotter would be a BPR 8, right?

NGK - without checking - the higher the number the colder the plug.

Champion plug numbers - vise versa.

There is something wrong with your bike/carbs/ignition.

31 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Yamaha tells you 87 Octane is good for the bike.

Yamaha says that is the BARE MINIMUM the engine wants.

36 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

I bought this pure 95 Benzine before, but 95 is way too high for my bike.

No it's not.

IT should run better.

[Kwasaki]

2 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Well, that might be a great idea. I'm running NGK Iridium BPR 7 ES- Hotter would be a BPR 8, right?

When you get the bike.

What 1100cc bike is it.

If it was used in Bkk what makes you think it runs rough now, carbs go out tune and timing needs checking from time to time.

What you need to know is what fuel the previous owner used.

 Chopping and changing different fuels in an old bike will make it a bitch not your sweet lady.

[IraqRon]

5 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

That was one reason to get married. Got me wife to push a bit. Innit?

i considered getting a pedi cab for my then wife to use and earn.

[sherwood]

Benzine is the right fuel for your bike, the fuel lines and other rubber products are not designed for ethanol products for that year of construction, 95 will do it some good.

[Isaanbiker]

31 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

NGK - without checking - the higher the number the colder the plug.

Champion plug numbers - vise versa.

There is something wrong with your bike/carbs/ignition.

Yamaha says that is the BARE MINIMUM the engine wants.

No it's not.

IT should run better.

It runs well with the 91 octane, like a Swiss clock.

When i had the 95 in, it didn't run well, especially in the city.

I get your point but why should i even think of tuning the carbs when it's running so well? 

 

 But thank you very much for your answer. 

[Isaanbiker]

48 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

When you get the bike.

What 1100cc bike is it.

If it was used in Bkk what makes you think it runs rough now, carbs go out tune and timing needs checking from time to time.

What you need to know is what fuel the previous owner used.

 Chopping and changing different fuels in an old bike will make it a bitch not your sweet lady.

It's a 1100cc Virago with two carbs and a TPS Throttle Position Sensor, only a few bikes were made with one) I wrote that it was bought from a shop ( Red Baron) in Bangkok 16 years ago, not that it ran in Bangkok. 

 

I've bought the bike in September last year and have done quite a lot now. I've changed the fuel tubes from main tank to the reserve tank, including fuel filter and O-rings that were worn out.

 

A new air filter, new oil with oil filter, new sparkplus, new front brake pads, overhauled the calipers and the master cylinder by myself.

 

I've also adjusted the valves, bike has a very good compression, ( only 19,600 km on it now).

 

When I started to find the right fuel I used the 95 for a few weeks, but the engine didn't run well, especially in the city.

 

When I've tried the 91 with 10% Ethanol, the bike ran much better, which is also the reason why I'm using that now. 

 

  My point being is that I was trying to go away from anything that contains ethanol and you can't trust anybody who tells you that there's 10 % Ethanol in their gasoline.

 

I fix my bike by myself, I've just found a lot of stuff that was made wrong by the Thai mechanic from Nakhon Phanom where the bike was before. Unbelievable how they work. The front wheel had an additional washer that pulled the tire a bit to the right side, the oil filter was in the wrong way, parts at the master brake cylinder were missing. 

 

   I've read a lot that 10 % ethanol wouldn't do a damage, but who knows? I might be trying a hotter spark and the 95 again. I think I never rode the bike with the Iridium in it when I tried the 95. 

 

But good to know, should I be somewhere else, I'll buy 95 Benzine and no damage from gasoline can be done. 

 

  Thanks a lot for your great help, deeply appreciated. 

 

 

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

 I've read a lot that 10 % ethanol wouldn't do a damage, but who knows? I might be trying a hotter spark and the 95 again. I think I never rode the bike with the Iridium in it when I tried the 95. 

 

But good to know, should I be somewhere else, I'll buy 95 Benzine and no damage from gasoline can be done. 

Sounds to me you're looking for trouble ???? if it runs well on E91 then it's carbs and timing have been tuned to it, E95 shouldn't be a problem either.

Fuel with 10% ethanol will not be a problem the carbs would of have already had been kitted out with new ethanol resistant washers, gaskets etc.

The hoses and 'o' rings you fitted should be ethanol resistant too. 

Also the TPS must be OK if the engine idles and runs well. 

[Isaanbiker]

6 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Sounds to me you're looking for trouble ???? if it runs well on E91 then it's carbs and timing have been tuned to it, E95 shouldn't be a problem either.

Fuel with 10% ethanol will not be a problem the carbs would of have already had been kitted out with new ethanol resistant washers, gaskets etc.

The hoses and 'o' rings you fitted should be ethanol resistant too. 

Also the TPS must be OK if the engine idles and runs well. 

Thank you for you time. Deeply appreciated. 

[thaiguzzi]

12 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

I'll buy 95 Benzine

Not easy to find.

Most garages/fuel stops/stations do not stock it.

Luckily for me, one of the four petrol stations in my local town sell it.

My bikes all appreciate the stuff and seem to run better and cooler on it than E95.

My youngest bike is an '89 950cc air cooled twin.

Even my '84 250cc two strokes prefer a real 95 Benzine in a 50:1 mix ratio with 2T oil than in E95.

[Isaanbiker]

2 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Not easy to find.

Most garages/fuel stops/stations do not stock it.

Luckily for me, one of the four petrol stations in my local town sell it.

My bikes all appreciate the stuff and seem to run better and cooler on it than E95.

My youngest bike is an '89 950cc air cooled twin.

Even my '84 250cc two strokes prefer a real 95 Benzine in a 50:1 mix ratio with 2T oil than in E95.

Thanks for your post. Considering that only one gas station has 95 Benzine, I might just stick with the 10 % Ethanol 91. 

[thaiguzzi]

I will add that my bikes happily run on E95, the Guzzi will run on E91 at a push, but prefers the real stuff, but my Triumph, with iron barrels, fixed ignition timing @ full advance only, and a moderate 8.6:1 CR, absolutely despises E91 and runs dangerously bad on the stuff, including excessively hot and pinking. Avoided at all costs.

 

 

[Isaanbiker]

11 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

I will add that my bikes happily run on E95, the Guzzi will run on E91 at a push, but prefers the real stuff, but my Triumph, with iron barrels, fixed ignition timing @ full advance only, and a moderate 8.6:1 CR, absolutely despises E91 and runs dangerously bad on the stuff, including excessively hot and pinking. Avoided at all costs.

 

 

Nice bikes!!! Did you Bobber the right one? 

[thaiguzzi]

2 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Nice bikes!!! Did you Bobber the right one? 

Cheers.

No, bobber is not what i would describe it.

Cut down, stripped down, lightened hot rod stock-ish bike maybe.

Not a bobber, not a cafe racer. Certainly not a hipster scrambler...

Triumph wheel hubs, Yamaha FZR EXUP 1000 forks and brake disc, frame is cut down at the rear and the OIF oil tank removed, stock swing arm with Fournales shocks, S/S 8 pint oil tank, stock Triumph fuel tank, very trick 830cc bored and stroked motor. Owned from new for 40 years. Thanx.

 

 

[sotsira]

37 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Thanks for your post. Considering that only one gas station has 95 Benzine, I might just stick with the 10 % Ethanol 91. 

Yes, stick with the closest octane that your engine was designed for.

 

95 is used for high compression ratio engines, your bike is a low compression engine of 8.3 - 1 making 95 unsuitable.

 

If your bike is designed to burn 87, it will not burn 95 correctly. The inability of your engine to burn the higher octane gas correctly will cause your engine to run inefficiently.

 

[Vacuum]

17 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

Thanks a lot. I bought this pure 95 Benzine before, but 95 is way too high for my bike.

 

   And I haven't found pure Benzine with less Octane. 

 

  

Pure Benzine below 95 is not available. 95  benzine is the way to go, can't harm your engine.

[Isaanbiker]

3 hours ago, sotsira said:

Yes, stick with the closest octane that your engine was designed for.

 

95 is used for high compression ratio engines, your bike is a low compression engine of 8.3 - 1 making 95 unsuitable.

 

If your bike is designed to burn 87, it will not burn 95 correctly. The inability of your engine to burn the higher octane gas correctly will cause your engine to run inefficiently.

 

 Not just inefficiently for the engine, also ineffectively for my wallet. The 95 is around 8 to 9 baht more per liter. In the long run, some money to save.

 

Thank you very much for your reply! 

 

[Isaanbiker]

34 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Pure Benzine below 95 is not available. 95  benzine is the way to go, can't harm your engine.

Nope, sorry, it's not! I've just changed the oil plus filter and rode on the highway. Spark Plugs cleaned doing 165 km/h and it runs like a Swiss clockwerk on 91 with 10 % ethanol.

 

I had only bad experiences with 95 and not only on one occasion.

 

  Thanks a lot for your reply. 

[Vacuum]

17 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

When I started to find the right fuel I used the 95 for a few weeks, but the engine didn't run well,

The reason for this could be that it was old. As it's more expensive than the 91 gasohol = few people bought it, and it got old. Hence it runs better with 91 gasohol which 99% of the population buys, and gets replenished more often.

Quote

  only one gas station has 95 Benzine

IMO there's no way 95 benzine would make your bike perform worse than 91 gasohol.