Adventure Bike Rider Forum

knobbly wrote:I also have a KLR 650 76K on the clock last turned off in 2009. Started first stab of the button 3 weeks ago with the same fuel from 2009. In 76K the only thing that went wrong was the side stand switch.
My mates F800GS wouldn't start cos it had dropped 1.5 Volts.

I know what bike my money is going on.

Amazing considering how unleaded fuel deteriorates.... The following is from another forum;

Interesting write up on shelf life of modern petrol here:
"The gradual elimination of Sulphur from fuel (not well publicised) has resulted in a lower shelf life for unleaded fuel. Oil companies surveyed estimated that a half full tank of unleaded could be unusable in as little as 2 months. Sulphur used to be added as a preservative to slow down algae growth in the fuel. Without it, the algae grow and the fuel quality deteriorates. How old is the fuel in your tank now?"

So yesterday, I phoned the BP Technical Support Line, and asked about the shelf life of unleaded fuel. “One month” I was told. “After one month in a half full fuel tank (ie: unsealed, plenty of air space) you would notice a drop in power. After three months, the car would be hard to start, would not idle well, and would suffer a significant loss of power. By this time, much of the high volatility elements in the fuel will have evaporated, leaving the more dense part of the mixture. In addition, the fuel will be oxidising and fungus will be growing. The fuel takes on an orange colour and gets progressively darker as time goes by.”
More:
http://www.spriteparts.com.au/tech/fuel.html

Completely true. Not a drop of fresh fuel added. It's the bike I'm praising. If this bike can run on badly out of date fuel then I know what bike I would rather be bouncing across Africa on.

BigBashBonanza wrote:

knobbly wrote:I also have a KLR 650 76K on the clock last turned off in 2009. Started first stab of the button 3 weeks ago with the same fuel from 2009. In 76K the only thing that went wrong was the side stand switch.
My mates F800GS wouldn't start cos it had dropped 1.5 Volts.

I know what bike my money is going on.

Amazing considering how unleaded fuel deteriorates.... The following is from another forum;

Interesting write up on shelf life of modern petrol here:
"The gradual elimination of Sulphur from fuel (not well publicised) has resulted in a lower shelf life for unleaded fuel. Oil companies surveyed estimated that a half full tank of unleaded could be unusable in as little as 2 months. Sulphur used to be added as a preservative to slow down algae growth in the fuel. Without it, the algae grow and the fuel quality deteriorates. How old is the fuel in your tank now?"

So yesterday, I phoned the BP Technical Support Line, and asked about the shelf life of unleaded fuel. “One month” I was told. “After one month in a half full fuel tank (ie: unsealed, plenty of air space) you would notice a drop in power. After three months, the car would be hard to start, would not idle well, and would suffer a significant loss of power. By this time, much of the high volatility elements in the fuel will have evaporated, leaving the more dense part of the mixture. In addition, the fuel will be oxidising and fungus will be growing. The fuel takes on an orange colour and gets progressively darker as time goes by.”
More:
http://www.spriteparts.com.au/tech/fuel.html

Treadtrader wrote:

AndyB wrote:Most times if something minor goes wrong with my bikes and I can fix it then I do it. I don't need to go back to the dealer if a screw falls out of the fairing on my bike but some riders do and that's logged as time in for a repair.

Too many people are buying bikes but don't have either the skills, the time, the tools or the interest to repair even minor niggles so it's back to the dealer with the idea that they'll try their hardest to persuade the dealer to put it through as a warranty claim.

How true.
Customer of mine had his nice new K1600GT on his drive when I called the other day.
I asked if he was off for a ride. But no, he was taking it to the dealership to have his tyre pressures checked as it has a TPMS system and it's best to let them do it!
He explained that it's easy to break a valve when trying on a garage forecourt, this was from experience.

Maybe the complication of modern bikes scare people into these actions?

I think it's down to a combination of things ie how much money you've paid for it, how much warranty is left on it, how much money the PCP bods will roger you for if you've done something yourself and broke it, how much the 'know it all' service reception bod has scared you ............... so basically if it owes you or owns you then the fear of a financial penalty has you sending it in for every little niggle.
My BMW was 12 months old when I bought it privately for £8.5k and for the 1st time ever in my life it went in for a service whilst still within the manufacturers warranty, just incase something went wrong. Since then it hasn't seen a dealer because it's paid for and doesn't owe me anything. After doing a round the Midlands tour of Starbucks it's now on 45k miles .

In general some models have specific common faults but I don't think anyone can make any sweeping statements about one manufacturer Vs another.

Treadtrader wrote:Maybe the complication of modern bikes scare people into these actions?

The unknown scares people into these actions. The bikes aren't that complicated and the mechanics at the dealership aren't wizards, they've just been trained and have learned about what they're dealing with.

There's no denying Japanese tops reliability..surveys prove it. But my Hinckley Triumphs have been good. Changed Sprag clutch on my Trident,my fault for not keeping the battery charged. Cost me £50. Only a crank sensor on my Daytona in 17yrs of ownership,and nothing on my Tiger in 3 yrs.

Don't tell everyone Threepot or the price of second hand Triumphs will rocket! :laugh:
In 60k miles on my Sprint ST all I had go wrong was about three broken wires and a failed speedo sensor. (thumbs)

threepot wrote:There's no denying Japanese tops reliability..surveys prove it. But my Hinckley Triumphs have been good. Changed Sprag clutch on my Trident,my fault for not keeping the battery charged. Cost me £50. Only a crank sensor on my Daytona in 17yrs of ownership,and nothing on my Tiger in 3 yrs.

Triumphs are good so long as you don't buy a new model within the first year or so.

Triumphs are ok if you're very selective about where you buy them from.

I wouldn't buy a new one after my wife having problems with warranty claims and dealer service on two new ones from two different dealers but once someone else has put the problems to bed then they're ok.

AndyB wrote:Triumphs are ok if you're very selective about where you buy them from.

I wouldn't buy a new one after my wife having problems with warranty claims and dealer service on two new ones from two different dealers but once someone else has put the problems to bed then they're ok.

If you had problems with a dealer,did you contact Triumph direct?

threepot wrote:

AndyB wrote:Triumphs are ok if you're very selective about where you buy them from.

I wouldn't buy a new one after my wife having problems with warranty claims and dealer service on two new ones from two different dealers but once someone else has put the problems to bed then they're ok.

If you had problems with a dealer,did you contact Triumph direct?

I did, they replied with "Please refer that question to your dealer"

I've never bought a new one.