Chinese gasoline - impurities likely.........

[ChinaV]

I think Sinopec is the lesser of all evils, but the 97 tends to get stale, as most of the locals won't pay the extra bucks for the higher octane and it ends up sitting much longer than the 93 which seems to be a top seller. I would like to replace my fuel filters more often, but the Suzuki ones cost almost $200 USD and there is no aftermarket alternative. I usually pic up some FI cleaner in Hong Kong and soak them every couple months now, seems to make things run a lot better and the fuel pump is much quieter after a good cleaning.

Some pics of a V-Strom pump assembly.



See how brown and yucky the pre-filter is. That was after soaking and cleaning



All of this sits inside the gas tank, the fuel acts as a coolant for the pump, so it's a good idea to avoid running the bike with a low fuel level when possible.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[MJH]

You could also approach a local station that sells fuel and sell them better filters for their pumps, they could advertise the superior filtering and people would flock to them? The filter are on the pumps aren’t they?
http://www.benfordfueling.com/shop/filters.html
You could also test fuel stations at the pumps and then show them the results of the bad fuel and impurities.
Sounds like there is a huge opportunity for a business….you could also lobby governments for fuel quality standards and testing at the pumps.
I think it’s funny the comment that the Chinese do not understand microns….LOL that’s silly.
If the cost of the filters are too high, then approach the manufactures of the high quality filters and to get them to manufacture those in china, if they do not already.

[MJH]

These people do not know what a micron is….LOL
http://english.sinopec.com/

[chinabiker]

You could also approach a local station that sells fuel and sell them better filters for their pumps, they could advertise the superior filtering and people would flock to them? The filter are on the pumps aren’t they?
You could also test fuel stations at the pumps and then show them the results of the bad fuel and impurities.
….you could also lobby governments for fuel quality standards and testing at the pumps.
If the cost of the filters are too high, then approach the manufactures of the high quality filters and to get them to manufacture those in china, if they do not already.

You could do all this, but: They don't care - Why: because TIC.

[Pfaelzer]

Just had the same problem than euphonius on my little ride around Fujian on my JH600 last weekend. The last tank fill must have been not clean. When accelerating strong, the engine ran very rough, it felt like the ignition went off/on on higher rpm. Replaced the fuel back at the garage and all was fine.

It seems there are 2 kinds of "contaminations" like impurities like water and also particles.

ChinaV: I got a question. I read somewhere that a kind of "quick-fix", when encountering a clogged fuel pump on the road (on a FI bike) and there is no place to work on the pump - a short change of polarity to make the pump run backwards and blow out the filter - can solve the problem temporarily to get to the next workshop. What do you think?

I have to take a closer look at the fuel pump system of my bike to be prepared for worst case scenario...

Interesting topic - thanks for bringing it up ZMC888.

Cheers, AW.

[ChinaV]

ChinaV: I got a question. I read somewhere that a kind of "quick-fix", when encountering a clogged fuel pump on the road (on a FI bike) and there is no place to work on the pump - a short change of polarity to make the pump run backwards and blow out the filter - can solve the problem temporarily to get to the next workshop. What do you think?
Cheers, AW.

I did reverse polarity while testing my fuel pump flow during its last cleaning and the pump ran in reverse. I guess that could be handy for dislodging spooge out in the wild. Can't wait to see how you fabricate some kind of fancy toggle for running the pump backwards

One other thing I do now is run FI cleaner/additive to every third tank of gas. I'm probably being picky, as usual, but I only use the PJ1 motorcycle brand purchased from Hong Kong.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[Pfaelzer]

That's what my guys found in the tank:



Looks like rust, but they also found some metal chips (they say finger nail size).... Too bad I didn't have the chance to see it - always on the run.
AW.