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Petrol in a bike how long is it good for?

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McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
I recently had an issue with old petrol (SUL) causing a misfire in our Merc - it had half a tank of fuel that was left over from October 2020 when I last filled it up to the brim. Luckily I have managed to save the old petrol after adding some Octane reviver from Halfords- once I am close to reserve I will put new fuel in the tank - (the misfire then went within a mile or so of driving).

I did a bit of internet research where advice varies for petrol stored in a vehicle quoting an optimum shelf life of between 3 weeks -
6months.

This got me thinking about winter storage & what do folk here do if their bikes are only ridden in the summer months - my worry would be that if the tank is drained over winter then there is a risk of tank rusting?

Any comments / advice / observations welcome.

Nurse Julie:
Drain tank and swill round inside with diesel, this stops the rust by leaving an oily coating. Before that, run bike, whilst running turn fuel tap off, bike will eventually stop running, carbs are now empty. If you want to be super sure, put some Redex in the tank with the existing fuel, do as above, the carb internals will also be very protected. Fill tank with fresh fuel in the spring and away you go.

SumpMagnet:
Modern petrol is awful stuff for keeping.

The ethanol evaporates off, whilst also attracting moisture from the air....so it basically ruins itself, then goes to work on your tank to rust it out.

If a bike is in daily use, it'll be fine, but if you are laying it up for winter, you don;t want any fuel anywhere. Plus, of course, you'll want to buy some fresh in the spring.

ka-ja:
For a long storage, I use the drain plugs to empty the carbs. rather than just run them dry, I have seen the "rot" that long term that modern petrol residues can cause, even to alloy and brass in some cases.

K2-K6:
Ted, I don't routinely fill up cars if not intending need for journey, also happy to run them right down to zero-ish to use fuel and refresh as convenient to general use with family travelling.
We've local filling stations/supermarkets with very high turnover which may help with fuel dating and their tank storage for condition etc, don't use anything special in the way of grades to avoid E either.

We've a 1991 V8 petrol with injection system that I'm running with 1% castor oil continuously since E10 has been around, no problem experienced with that and perception of no water attraction with this (I've static samples sitting in jars to assess mix effects and dropout)  also don't mind carrying a can to run tank out to clear or run risky range with contingency.  This one is plastic tank but system is clean as a whistle (I can get into top of tank for inspection to see if there's anything in there) but generally all good.  Cap is sealed on this one with carbon filter and air/emmisions containment fitted.

Perception, I'll emphasize that, is that E fuel is more stable with oil added in low ratio, castor smells nice too.

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