2009 Phantom - Benzene Or Gasohol?

[Bearnagh]

Hi,

As a UK ex-pat I have been totally ignorant until about a week ago, of the presence of two petrol types here in Thailand, they being Benzene and Gasohol.

I have a new 2009 Honda Phantom. The sticker on the tank says that it can use either Benzene or Gasohol 91 (EC10).

I've only made three journeys to a petrol station since buying the bike and I've just had it filled up from whichever pump says "91", being completely unware that there may be more than one type of fuel sold.

Since its most recent fill-up however, the bike's been running notably poorly, needing choke to start up and for the first 5 minutes or so of running time. (It never required that previously) Additionally, there's a definite hole in the power curve (if you could call it that on a 200cc bike!) around the mid-revs. Now the thing is, I don't know if the last fill-up was with the Benzene or the Gasohol variant of 91 fuel. Clearly I want to avoid buying whatever's in it at present again.

Do any of you have experience of the differences in engine performance between the two fuels? Can anyone make an educated guess from my symptoms, which is the fuel that my bike doesn't seem to like?

I've read on other forum threads that it is possible to cause damage to an engine over a long period of using the "wrong" fuel. If that's true then I really do need to find out what is the kindest fuel for my new bike.

I hope someone can help! --- thanks

[thaicbr]

That's Gasohol causing that..... Or its just crap fuel. do you fill up at the same petrol station or do you chop and change?

Personally i would only use 91 benzine as your bike is not FI

Edited October 30, 2009 by thaicbr

[BigBikeBKK]

The newer Phantoms are designed to run fine on either Benzene or Gasohol. Most likely the reason for poor running is bad quality gasoline- it's not uncommon in Thailand for some stations to sell watered down or dirty fuel (either intentionally or due to leaking reservoirs tanks). Suggest you refill with regular Benzene from a 'reputable' station and see if that clears things up. If not you may want to have the fuel system flushed and cleaned.

Happy Trails!

[Bearnagh]

That's Gasohol causing that..... Or its just crap fuel. do you fill up at the same petrol station or do you chop and change?

Personally i would only use 91 benzine as your bike is not FI

I've been to a different petrol station each time, depending on when & where the fuel light came on. I do know that the most recent fill was at a Caltex station. Actually that sort of raises another question... some people tell me that there are brand names to be avoided in Thailand - any thoughts on this would also be welcome.

[jackcorbett]

That's Gasohol causing that..... Or its just crap fuel. do you fill up at the same petrol station or do you chop and change?

Personally i would only use 91 benzine as your bike is not FI

I've been to a different petrol station each time, depending on when & where the fuel light came on. I do know that the most recent fill was at a Caltex station. Actually that sort of raises another question... some people tell me that there are brand names to be avoided in Thailand - any thoughts on this would also be welcome.

It doesn't like H2O You have to get that H2O out of there. Back in the U.S. H2O branded fuel forced me into getting a can of alcohol based liquid that I'd add to my fuel tank in small quantities. Can't remember the name of the stuff but there are different names for it. Worked like a champ. You could also be getting other contaminants due to buying bad gasoline. I'd bet the culprit is simple H2O however. Keeping your tank as full as possible helps here. Also if you let your bike sit for very long the gas in the carb will go bad. I doubt if using 91 octang Ethanol is the culprit. I've been drinking the stuff for years without any adverse effects.

[Bearnagh]

.... I doubt if using 91 octang Ethanol is the culprit. I've been drinking the stuff for years without any adverse effects.

BRILLIANT !!

Thanks for the tip about H2O. Actually the bike has sat inactive for extended periods with a near empty tank... you may have hit the nail on the head here.

[noahvail]

Used to use a product called "DryGas" in the States to clear water out of fuel systems. Can't remember exactly, it might be made by Cristy's, I think. I'm sure there are equivalent products here.

[thaicbr]

Ethanol based fuels absorb water more than conventional fuels if you leave it sitting for more than 5 days i would recommend only using 91 benzine (red). Even in Fuel injection engines this has been known to cause a problem.

Also many bike Manufacturers here in Los put the E10 sticker on bikes because they get a Tax deduction for being able to run Gasahol. An example would be the Cbr150 and possibly the Phantom. where there has been no major physical changes to Specification for the last 5 years, BUT E10 stickers appeared last year.

Might be wrong but i do know if ya having ya bike idle for more than a few days at a time stay off Gasohol.

The post below is courtesy of 'Monsterman' over on Gt riders.

"Routine cleaning out the fuel system on my Ducati i came across some nasty yellow gluey deposits which appear to be from Gasohol also found the same stuff in my spare 25L JERRY can which has not been used much recently but has gasohol95 in it a viscous thick jelly like gloop smelling of gasoline but with a nasty chemical smell. Cleaned it up and all's well."

Allan

[Bearnagh]

Ethanol based fuels absorb water more than conventional fuels if you leave it sitting for more than 5 days i would recommend only using 91 benzine (red). Even in Fuel injection engines this has been known to cause a problem.

-----

Allan

Allan,

Thank you for this reply. I'm fairly sure now that this is the source of my problem. I'm also interested to hear that 91 Benzine is red. That should make it dead easy for me to identify what is in my tank right now...

Thanks!

[Bobr]

Yes, it's the gasohol. My 3 year old CBR-150 will run on gasohol but it idles poorly and feels sluggish on it.

[Bearnagh]

If Benzene is red, does Gasohol have a coloured dye as well? What colour might it be?

[thaicbr]

yellow. By the way Bearnagh are you coming to the DragonsMc/Thaivisa charity biker weekend 21st November Kanchanaburi. Ther is a ride out planned for CM.

Allan

[Bearnagh]

yellow. By the way Bearnagh are you coming to the DragonsMc/Thaivisa charity biker weekend 21st November Kanchanaburi. Ther is a ride out planned for CM.

Allan

Thank you for the invite... I didn't know about that. Would a Phantom be big enough to take part? Where does the rideout go?

[soundman]

If the manufacturer's sticker on the bike says E10(91), it should run fine on either Benzene 91 (Red) or Gasohol 91 (Green).

The culprit for poor performance would most likely be dirty and/or dodgy fuel. Unfortunatly, some of the many franchise owned service stations, and independants, in Thailand, do cut their fuels with whatever hydrocarbon they can find at a good price to increase their profits.

Coming from a service station owner, if you find that was dirty and/or dodgy fuel that is the culprit, I would encourage you to report the occurance to Caltex's head office.

................................

This may be an unlikely scenario, however, I would also check the cleanliness and gap setting of your spark plug. Maybe, as happened to me once, the spark plug was fouled by some dirty fuel and the symptoms were similar.

[loong]

My Phantom is nearly 5 years old and runs on Gasahol no problem except does not idle well when cold. A kilometre or 2 to warm up and it is great. Often sits for a week unused and I have never had any problems.

When you fill up at the pumps, green 91 is Gasahol, Red 91 is benzene.

[Bearnagh]

Thank you all for your very helpful responses. I've learnt quite a bit from you and I do appreciate the help.

[Bearnagh]

Just to update those who have been so helpful here... I took a sample from the tank and it was red. So at least I now know that the problem I'm getting is not due to Gasohol. I guess either it's poor quality fuel, or water content in the system. I will flush out the system and re-fill from a different petrol station and see where that gets me!

Thanks again for your combined help.