stranded with bad gasoline

[almosthere]

So wife and I just filled our tanks with 93 octane and got only a half mile from the station and both bikes flashed a check engine light and then quit running. We both have 15 RTS and both are pulling trailers. So to get us to closest dealership it's going to take 2 flatbed trucks and 800 dollars. What would it take to drain the gas on rts and get us going again?

[almosthere]

Would adding a bottle of dry gas to the tank help?
Or just make it worse?

[tibadoe]

If you got bad gas, which kinds sounds like you did -- let the station know ASAP. Their insurance should cover this cost. Plus, it may keep someone else from putting the bad gas in their tanks.

[Bfromla]

The tank will need to be syphoned, as for what's in the system the dealer will need to purge before it hits the cylinders. The station is responsible & hopefully it's trash not a mix diesel in wrong tank/pump. Or some high ethanol .

[JayBros]

If you got bad gas, which kinds sounds like you did -- let the station know ASAP. Their insurance should cover this cost. Plus, it may keep someone else from putting the bad gas in their tanks.

What he said! I got a bad loat of gas, water, when my Spyder was a year old. The witch at the C-store was about as cordial as a cornered cobra, but the oil company owning the place was very apologetic and covered the whole bill although transport was through BRP roadside assist because it was just a short poke to the dealer. The fault was a gasket at the tank fill cap at the C-store and we had had a week of hard rain locally.

There is no drain plug on the gas tank and the fuel pump is in the tank so, I guess, you could siphon as much gas as possible and you'd have to fish the siphon hose around a good bit to do that. I would then put a couple of bottles of fuel treatment in the tank, pull the fuel filter and let the fuel pump push out the treatment and whatever residue is in the fuel line, then dump in a gallon of high test plus some some more fuel treatment and let the fuel pump push it out. Replace the fuel filter add a full tank of gas and alcohol treatment and run 'em like you stole 'em.

[IgoFar2]

IF you are going to siphon the fuel from the tank in the hope of curing the problem you will also need to pull the spark plugs. Why the spark plugs? To keep from damaging the connecting rods while you're pumping (I am assuming that you would be using the starter to turn the engine and the fuel pump) the water/fuel from the fuel pump to the cylinders. Removing the spark plugs removes the compression and allows the remaining water/fuel to exit into the cylinders and be pushed out the spark plug hole and out through the exhaust valve.

[Highwayman2013]

I would siphon the tank, put in some fresh fuel and fuel treatment and see if it will run. If it does, get the fuel filter changed ASAP.

[Peter Aawen]

As someone who has had a little experience with bad gas & the damage it can cause/how much it can cost to fix AND the extent that Servo owners & even oil companies can sometimes go to in order to avoid paying for the damage they've caused to your vehicle, I can see that there's lotsa good advice here already, but some, maybe not quite such a great idea!! If you are really lucky, the 'bad gas' won't have actually made it past the fuel filter; just got that far, clogged it, and stopped the engine due to fuel starvation more than anything else!! When the engines shut down it should've been a fairly quiet thing, basically just a loss of power & revs then a glide to a stop if the filters did their job properly! And if that's the case, it really should be not much more than a 'drain & refill with good fuel' job; change the filter; then pop the plugs &/or injector lines & crank til all the lines are clear & clean fuel comes out; then reconnect everything; restart & Bob's your Dad's brother!

Buuut, if the engines started banging & popping & maybe the engine temps soared as things started running rough & making odd noises before they lurched & banged to a stop, then you might need a fair bit more work on the injector system as well as doing the 'drain & replace'; maybe even some remove & replacement work on things like the fuel pump (in the tank & a right pain to get at!) &/or the injector nozzles or complete injectors and maybe even valves or worse!!

I really hope that it's not gonna be anywhere near that bad, but you should speak to your insurance company and more importantly the oil company & outlet immediately, preferably before you go doing anything like adding anything to your tank!!

At the very least, siphon a sample of gas from each tank out into a clean glass container that you can seal & label clearly with which Spyder each sample came out of, adding the date, time, & the location you removed it, & why you took the sample! The 'unchanged/unmodified' make up of the gas in your tanks & the analysis of same may be extremely important in deciding exactly WHO pays to remedy the mess & any resulting damage! And since in the worst case scenario, the necessary fix could involve a new engine, you really don't want to inadertently risk bringing that cost upon yourself by adding any fuel treatment that could dilute or react with whatever the contaminants are in any way, potentially destroying any real evidence there may be & any case you may have ever had that it all stemmed back to the dodgy gas you purchased!

I really do hope you get it sorted quickly & easily, but it's always best to take precautions in case that doesn't happen! Good Luck!

[almosthere]

Ok bikes are at the dealer and trailers are home. So much for our 3 days down the Skyline drive / Blue Ridge Parkway for a camping color tour. Wife's bike hopefully will be safe for we did not try to start it back up when it died. Mine on the other hand could be a whole another ball of wax. I was so mad that I started it and kind of drove it back to the gas station about a half mile. It was not liking that at all. It was flashing all kind of lights at me including Limp Home Mode. Bottom line 900.00 to get the bikes off the road and 54 miles to the dealer. and us and the trailers another 13 miles home. who knows what it will be at the dealer to get them back on the road? Oh and by the way the arab at the BP station only shrugged and said the gas was checked good yesterday. I had put about 5 gallons in mine and wife put 5.8 in her's.

[canamjhb]

I totally agree with Peter. One thing to add is that water and contaminants settle in the bottom of the tank. The top of your tank may have good gas while the bottom could be pure water. Make every attempt to siphon a fuel sample from the very bottom of the tanks. Contaminated fuel will be visually obvious. Good Luck.....

[jcthorne]

Keep receipts from the fuel and the repairs showing it was the bad gas. File with the owner of the station first and if they push back, your insurance company who will go after them for the damages. It sucks that your vacation was destroyed by a bad gas station owner. As you found out, arguing with the attendant at the station is of no use at all. They have no authority to accept liability or authorize payment. Not even to shut down the fuel dispensers.

[Rick H.]

Ok bikes are at the dealer and trailers are home. So much for our 3 days down the Skyline drive / Blue Ridge Parkway for a camping color tour. Wife's bike hopefully will be safe for we did not try to start it back up when it died. Mine on the other hand could be a whole another ball of wax. I was so mad that I started it and kind of drove it back to the gas station about a half mile. It was not liking that at all. It was flashing all kind of lights at me including Limp Home Mode. Bottom line 900.00 to get the bikes off the road and 54 miles to the dealer. and us and the trailers another 13 miles home. who knows what it will be at the dealer to get them back on the road? Oh and by the way the arab at the BP station only shrugged and said the gas was checked good yesterday. I had put about 5 gallons in mine and wife put 5.8 in her's.

Was this an Interstate highway BP station or side road variety? Can you advise where it is located so we can all avoid it in the future?

Rick H.

[robhowen]

Glad you're home safely and so sorry that you faced such issues. The best in getting your bikes resolved.
Rob

Ok bikes are at the dealer and trailers are home.

[almosthere]

Follow up. I just finished talking to the gentleman that works for IN weights and measures that went to the gas station that we filled up at Sunday. He said the problem was not water but a phase separation of the premium gas and what we pumped into our bikes was probably straight ethanol. Anyone truly know what that might have done to the bikes?

[Bfromla]

Follow up. I just finished talking to the gentleman that works for IN weights and measures that went to the gas station that we filled up at Sunday. He said the problem was not water but a phase separation of the premium gas and what we pumped into our bikes was probably straight ethanol. Anyone truly know what that might have done to the bikes?

Your dealer doing repairs can better describe & hopefully will not have to replace too much.

[jaherbst]

Not failsafe but never buy gas at the smaller outlets just because it's cheaper. They usually have old tanks and old equipment. (not that all things that are old-such as my own self are bad ) Nieghbor was in Alaska and accidentally put Diesel fuel in his Goldwing. Yep, trucker put Diesel fuel in underground tank meant for Gasoline. Gas put into Diesel trucks is catastrophic and extremely costly. Gas, especially higher octane does not get used much at the smaller and cheaper stations. I avoid them and always buy fuel from the larger name brand outlets that pump a lot of fuel. Chances are you will be far better off. I have Diesels and dread the day this might happen to me.

Hope all turns out well for "almosthere" and the station's insurance pays off.

Jack

[canamjhb]

Phase Separation is what happens when contaminants (such as water) in gasoline separate from the gas and go to the bottom of the tank. That is where the fuel pick up is located so you draw whatever is in the bottom. Alcohol (ethanol) absorbs water and when it becomes saturated, "phase separation" occurs. Regardless of what the weights and measures guy calls it, you got contaminated gas. It's good that the problem is identified. Looks like you are taking the right steps. I would develop a log book and document every conversation, keep every receipt, and chronologically detail everything. It may be a bit of overkill but better that than not have anything. The high percentage of ethanol you tried to run burns at a much higher temperature than gasoline. The first problems are likely to be damaged valves and valve seats. Keep us posted.

[almosthere]

The name of the station is "The Landing BP" corner of IN 5 and US20. street address is 8095 W US 20 Shipshewana IN.
The Inspector said he was from the area and that station is a very heavily used station with no other reports on it. He said he thought the problem might have been at the fueling depot the refilling tanker came from. I hope no one else ends up with the same problem cause if it was as he suggested then who knows how many other stations could have bad gas right now?

[Little Blue]

Anything new to report on the Spyder(s) with the Bad Gas? I hope it goes well.