SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400

My CB400 is a cold-blooded little sucker!

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Nurse Julie:

--- Quote from: Mikep328 on October 31, 2024, 09:07:09 PM ---Never thought about it - I just grab the "regular" petrol dispenser at the station where I typically buy fuel in town and it's E10!  ;)

--- End quote ---
E10 is the kiss of death at the best of times, for a bike that is either being stored or not ridden very regularly, it will cause major problems. The Ethanol absorbs water from the air, water in fuel systems can cause rusting of the tank , Nitrile O rings in the carbs will disintigrate and clogging of all the internal passages of the carbs and jets will happen.

Nurse Julie:
Using E10 could be the problem for the bikes poor cold starting, maybe the idle jets and circuits are blocked, or partially blocked.

Alexrayz:
Hey Julie and Mike!
How big a difference would you say E5 is compared to E10?
I stick to E5 for the reasons you mentioned but I wondered how big the difference is. I don’t ride my ride so regularly these days and I’m always worried the carbs are getting pooped.

Cheers!

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
A lot of E5 was actually E0, E10 is just that 10% Ethanol, a lot of E5 is well below 5%.

Personally I have never used anything other that E5 since they started putting the Ethanol in petrol.

For quite a few years  Shell V power was Ethanol free as was Esso SUL that has changed in the last few years,  SUL in the south of England was E5, in the North it was E0 as the refinereies were older iirc, it might be that Shell is still E0 but they have to put the E5 label on the pumps by law.

Mikep328:
Thanks NJ!  I've read that E10 can cause some hard starting on old vehicles so that could be the issue.  OTOH, I've used E10 in the USA for the last 8-10 years - since it became the "normal" fuel at the pump.  Haven't had any issues with it at all as long as StaBil (or equivalent product) is added for long-term storage.  As I posted in another thread, my 2019 Kawasaki Z900RS, with E10/StaBil in the tank, sat without running for two years and it started immediately/ran perfectly.  I didn't intend for it to sit for two years but it just worked out that way!  ;)

I think carbureted engines are much more prone to ethanol issues because the fuel is exposed to fresh air via the venting for the fuel tank and the carburetors.  In FI systems there is far less exposure - essentially none when the engine's not running.    Although for winter storage, I add Stabil, my wife's 2019 Honda 750 has no issues with starting/operating on E10 during the riding season even if sitting for four or five weeks between rides but of course, it's fuel injected. 

I've decided I'm going to pull the carbs on the 400 and disassemble/see if there are any deposits/etc.  Depending on what I find, I may decide to add StaBil at every fill up since the bike can sit for several weeks at a time.  If E5 is available at the normal pumps I use here in the UK, I'll switch to that but I won't make any special effort to find it.  If I have to go out of my way, I'm too lazy to bother!  :)

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