Hitchcocks Forum

This afternoon I finally cleared enough of the rubbish tip I call a garage to get at the Infamous Enfield ...... Let the sump drain (about an egg cupful) while the battery was getting a charge......
The last time that engine ran was to a Norfolk camp at the beginning of October last year ......
So when the battery was replaced did it start? .......
Of course it did but it did take 3 swings...
I wonder was that because of the 6 month old petrol in the tank?

-------- depends how old the knee joints are that's swinging the engine over I find !! LoL)------- are you using LES H's patent starting method ?? I do and it works a treat ! Just WHERE HAVE YOU GOT TO , LES ?????

I've left petrol in the tanks of both my bikes for several months over winter for the last few years. One has injectors and one has carbs. Both start pretty much on the button and run sweet with no problems. It may be different if you leave fuel for years, but for a few months it's fine.

The petrol in one of my Bullets is over 12 months old, and was fine when I put the bike back on the road. (Being a low compression single may have helped.) I think that you get problems with stale fuel when the fuel tank is not well sealed and the volatile components evaporate. Stale petrol is not a myth though and things like lawn mowers frequently suffer from it. Stale petrol has quite a distinctive smell when compared to fresh petrol.

While rumaging around in the workshop last week I came across one of my 3 waterproof kitbags I use for camping. This was my sidecar heavy duty camping kit which includes my Coleman Northstar petrol lamp. I decided to test it and found the starter battery to be flat (easy fix) and there seemed to be plenty fuel. But when I started it, it burned very sooty and pulsed alot. It wasnt till later that I remembered the petrol was from june 05, - which makes it 7 yrs 8 mnths old! - So , yes, it does go "off" a bit.

Hi guys-------- yes, JOHN M has got it spot on !! It's those highly volatile components that---given the chance ---- will evaporate-off over time..... Have a look at this }------------- http://autos.aol.com/article/does-gas-go-bad/ ----------------- If you're going to leave petrol in your tank over the winter then fill it up to full, thus leaving little or no air space for evaporation to take place, PLUS now there is also the Ethanol content to consider then this filling up will also deny the chance of it absorbing any moisture as well...

I always leave the tank full to the brim on both the Bullet and lawn mower. If I get home after a run and haven`t topped up the tank, I fill it from the lawn mower fuel tin. Never had trouble starting either of them, although the Bullet can be a pig to start even with fresh petrol.

This thread heading is not very PC, I think... Shouldn't it read}--- Stale petrol syndrome- is it a Ms ??

Doubly so Alan R, we must also consider our friends with speech impediments....

Hi Alan as folks who know me will testify, I am so Politically Correct it is untrue ,,,,, I was going to add the seaside postcard thixteen joke, but as you all know it I will not bother ....... I had intended giving both bikes an outing this morning but it is (insert obscenity) snowing, again.