E10 Fuel and Beyond
E10 fuel is here and it’s not going away. Steve Cooper looks at the facts, half-truths and hearsay.
Well, here comes the reality check – E10 petrol is with us and it’s here to stay. The people in power have decided that we are all going to be that little bit ‘greener’ and whether you like it or not the petrol we pour into our tanks now contains 10% ethanol.
For the moment E5 is still going to be available and that’s a small crumb of comfort, but for how long? The Department of Transport has suggested that the lower level of ethanol-doped petrol may only be available for some five years. That means 2026 could be the Sword of Damocles hanging over our bikes... or is it?
Is it all media hype?
Along with the relatively well-publicised government compatibility checker – which is no use whatsoever to classic bike fans – there’s also been a veritable deluge of information, white lies, fake news and propaganda on the various media outlets. We’ve seen ‘we’re all doomed’ to seeing so-called cures, fuel additives and a lot more besides. The truth is, a lot of what is being spun out there is unsubstantiated speculation with little in the way of supportive data.
Think back to the introduction of lead-free petrol in January 2000 and the resultant media frency; and yet amazingly the vast majority of older vehicles still ran fine, despite many classic fans looking into various top-end valve conversions…
Most automotive manufacturers have now issued guidance on E10 compatibility and many have warned that older engines may not run as intended and/or key parts may be affected. Is that an unequivocal statement? Or just covering their backsides in case of litigation? And remember, do any manufacturers really
care about their older products?
The introduction of E5 and Its impacts
E5 petrol began to appear a few years ago with mandatory labelling at the pumps appearing in September 2019. One of the first signs of the bio-green additive was that many fuel stations underwent a substantial refit. There’s little, accessible, hard data out there to support what was happening but if you looked closely enough the facts were there. Fuel storage tanks and pipelines were being replaced and/or upgraded. Previously perfect serviceable polyester resin, glass-fibre reinforced vessels and conduits were being outed for materials that could withstand the new fuel. Most forms of plastic were now no longer viable in the presence of E5; the petrol companies knew it, the forecourt franchises knew it, the suppliers of fuel pumps knew it. We, on the other hand, got a few cursory updates and little else…
In reality it didn’t take long for folk to find fuel pipes hardening, tap rubbers failing, petrol tanks rusting, carburettor components being attacked, and far worse. Certain brands of (then) new motorcycles were also found to be prone to physical attack by ethanol-doped fuel in their plastic petrol tanks. Technicians servicing new bikes were taking the tanks off to access what they needed to and then finding said tanks wouldn’t go back in place – they’d been plasticised by the fuel they contained!
Over the next few years the situation moved to carb float bowls rotting away, fuel pump seals being eaten, wintered bikes refusing to start, and tanks full of ‘separating’ fuel. It’s not just bikers… think classic car owners, scooterists, lawn-mowers, marine engines, etc…