URGENT HELP! Bad Gas? Sputtering. I'm in the US and might not be able to ride home.

Dayao12

Dayao12

Well-known member
Hi everyone!

I desperately need an opinion!

Situation: I rode to Ohio with some friends. Made it to buffalo with no problems. My first fill up there was at some random gas station. And halfway from Buffalo to Erie, I noticed my bike started to stutter a lot. Pulled over and started back up and everything was fine. Got to Erie, filled up at Shell, and rode to Cleveland with no problem.
Now at Cleveland, I filled up at another random gas station. And 5 mins after that my bike started sputtering as if she was running out of gas. I was forced to pull over quite a few times. She was sputter for a while then run fine again. This would continue for another 10 miles. Sputter, Stall, and run fine again.
Now we're lodged in a hotel and I'm not confident with my bike. Could this issue be bad gas from these random gas stations?
I came to that conclusion because Shell gas hasn't given me any problems whereas these other lesser known gas stations have caused the issue.

What should I do?

I'm thinking of draining the tank fully and running it with 93 Shell gas. I'm hoping that works.
 
Seems likely if it ran fine on the Shell gas. See if you can find a place that sells Seafoam (Pep Boys or Napa), add the proper amount to your current tank and top it up with gas from a reputable station... and yes, stay away from random no-name gas stations.
 
Thanks for your responses friends. I've drained and refilled it with Shell gas last night. I'm hoping this is the cure to my misery.
 
Update: bike runs flawlessly now. Emptied the tank and filled it with Shell 93. Damn cheap @ss gas.
 
Glad it all worked out. Some bikes can be particular about the gas they run, usually if you stick to name brand stations it'll be fine.
 
My friends dad used to work at one of those ****** no name gas stations. He would tell us that they would gas up their cars and replace the used gas with water so the owner wouldn't know.

It also could just be that not very many people use those stations higher octane fuels, so it ends up sitting for long periods of time.
 
RandomHero said:
My friends dad used to work at one of those ****** no name gas stations. He would tell us that they would gas up their cars and replace the used gas with water so the owner wouldn't know.
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That doesn't exactly seem like a brilliant plan if they plan on filling up twice from the same shipment/tankful. Or after their buddy had filled up.
 
RandomHero said:
My friends dad used to work at one of those ****** no name gas stations. He would tell us that they would gas up their cars and replace the used gas with water so the owner wouldn't know.

It also could just be that not very many people use those stations higher octane fuels, so it ends up sitting for long periods of time.
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you've got a point about the higher octanes. Still not gonna trust 'em anymore. I felt bad for my buds have to stop all the time.

Mongrel said:
That doesn't exactly seem like a brilliant plan if they plan on filling up twice from the same shipment/tankful. Or after their buddy had filled up.
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Hagahah! I guess they get a free fill up once a week which probably fully subsidizes their fuel expenses. Although I'm told a bit of water will completely ruin the fuel.




Ed In Mississauga said:
Glad it all worked out. Some bikes can be particular about the gas they run, usually if you stick to name brand stations it'll be fine.
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I'm too paranoid to use anything else other than Shell now when I cross over. But to give me more options in case of emergency, do you think Mobile, BP, and Sonoco are all viable options?
 
Dayao12 said:
I'm too paranoid to use anything else other than Shell now when I cross over. But to give me more options in case of emergency, do you think Mobile, BP, and Sonoco are all viable options?
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BP is even bigger than Shell, and Sunoco is good too. The only difference with all that gas and Shell 91-93 is that Shell "Gold" gas has no ethanol in it, whereas pretty much all other gas stations have 10% ethanol (including Shell "Bronze").
 
ViperZ said:
BP is even bigger than Shell, and Sunoco is good too. The only difference with all that gas and Shell 91-93 is that Shell "Gold" gas has no ethanol in it, whereas pretty much all other gas stations have 10% ethanol (including Shell "Bronze").
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In the states, Shell Gold still has ethanol in it... I think pretty much all the major chain stations in most states have E-10 for all their grades of gas. Shell Canada is supplied locally so their gold grade is ethanol free... Shell also supplies the gas for Canadian Tire so you can get the premium grade from them which will be ethanol free.

I've never had any issues with BP, Mobile and Sunoco when I go to the states and I usually just get the 87 octane grades.
 
Ed In Mississauga said:
In the states, Shell Gold still has ethanol in it... I think pretty much all the major chain stations in most states have E-10 for all their grades of gas. Shell Canada is supplied locally so their gold grade is ethanol free... Shell also supplies the gas for Canadian Tire so you can get the premium grade from them which will be ethanol free.
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Ultramar 91 is also ethanol free. And they have super cheap 91 on thursdays (plus even their regular price is way cheaper than shell).
 
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