Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Thread Starter
|
5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
I was told this is the 1st SE RK to be delivered to Thailand....received on Dec 8, 06.....here it is pictured broken down on the 2nd day of riding...total 590 miles....The reason "bad gasoline" according to the US dealer who has examined the damaged parts....New heads and pistons are on the way back to Thailand.
Apparently this new 110 doesn't have the same tolerances for low octane gasoline as the 88 and 95 engines that filled up at the same petrol stations....I'm told i'll need to keep an octane additive in the saddle bag and use when traveling in rural areas of the Kingdom...where some petrol stations don't always sell what'sadvertised.
Not a happy guy having paid what amounts to 46k usd for this bike....
Also am disapointed in the seat, which isn't comfortable and i'll need to replace.What's withthe windshield....the wind at80+ mph coming over the low windshield causes some serious head buffeting,I have a new higher windshield ordered...
[/align]On the positive side i amimpressed with the speed off the line and the braking compared to my 03 night train.
[/align]
[/align]Am waiting for the new parts and shouldhave this overly sensitive monsteron the road sometime in Feb.
[/align]
[/align]Anyone else havingengine problems blamed onbad gasoline?
and I see quite a bit of talk referring to the SERT....would this a smart addition to this bike?
[/align]
[/align]Champ
[IMG]local://upfiles/23314/3A96F3248D194575B8D90AF7DD1985BB.jpg[/IMG]
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 1
From: Rockies
RE: Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Champee... Congrats on the bike. I'm not surprised by the octane requirements. I ride high performance bikes from other manufacturers and they often require high octane fuel. However, perhaps you really did get a very bad tankful of gas. FWIW, I'm not having any problems with 91 octane (U.S.).
Seats and screens are subjective. At this time I'm very pleased with the stock seat, and since I ride with a full face helmet have no issues with the lower screen. Maybe I'm just used to sporting bikes with much lower screens.
The SERT can be helpful for fine tuning the bike, especially if you modify the intake. At this time, I'm finding myself quite smitten with the stock form of this bike. But at the break-in service will probably do something with the intake and SERT. Not sure if I'll swap the stock exhaust or not. I'm liking the nice low and deep stock note coming with the '07's.
BTW, not sure if you're in Bangkok but I've been there several times on business. Quite the place!
Seats and screens are subjective. At this time I'm very pleased with the stock seat, and since I ride with a full face helmet have no issues with the lower screen. Maybe I'm just used to sporting bikes with much lower screens.
The SERT can be helpful for fine tuning the bike, especially if you modify the intake. At this time, I'm finding myself quite smitten with the stock form of this bike. But at the break-in service will probably do something with the intake and SERT. Not sure if I'll swap the stock exhaust or not. I'm liking the nice low and deep stock note coming with the '07's.
BTW, not sure if you're in Bangkok but I've been there several times on business. Quite the place!
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 6
From: Omaha Nebraska
RE: Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Usually an experianced engine mechanic can tell by the parts as to what caused the failure, and just saying "bad gas" is kind of a broad statement. What was bad about it, water in gas, too low octane, etc? But I think, with your engine combo I'm assuming that it requires a 91+ octane fuel, the way we rate octane here in the states, which sometimes is hard to find here, not to mention Thialand and watch out how other countrys rate their octane. With your engine disassembled now you have the opportunity to reduce your compression ratio with different pistons for lower octane fuel. Yes, aSERT would help for tailoring an ignition spark advance curve for specific fuels by a competant tuner. But still, the real solution for lower octane fuel is having a compression ratio to match the octane of the fuel used.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 263
Likes: 0
From: U.K.
RE: Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Champee,
Really nice bike, hope you are back on the road soon.
Here in the UK 'standard'petrol is 95 octane, most places also sell 97, and at least one major chain sells 99 octane. I've found that my 06 SE UltraClassic needs 97 to run anywhere near properly, and really prefers 99. I guess the US and UK must calculate octane ratingsdifferently !
I'll be putting on a better breathing air filter and exhaust in the next couple of months(probablya Ness Big Sucker AF, but not sure which pipes yet), when I do this I'll also put on a Power Commander (not enough SERT experience this side of the pond) and have the fuelling set up ona dyno. From all I've read (mainly on the Touring Models section of the forum) SERT or Power Commander are the best way to go, even with stock bikes.
GhostBagger.
Really nice bike, hope you are back on the road soon.
Here in the UK 'standard'petrol is 95 octane, most places also sell 97, and at least one major chain sells 99 octane. I've found that my 06 SE UltraClassic needs 97 to run anywhere near properly, and really prefers 99. I guess the US and UK must calculate octane ratingsdifferently !
I'll be putting on a better breathing air filter and exhaust in the next couple of months(probablya Ness Big Sucker AF, but not sure which pipes yet), when I do this I'll also put on a Power Commander (not enough SERT experience this side of the pond) and have the fuelling set up ona dyno. From all I've read (mainly on the Touring Models section of the forum) SERT or Power Commander are the best way to go, even with stock bikes.
GhostBagger.
Thread Starter
|
5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
RE: Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Thanks guys for the replies.
According to the mechanic the valve guide was chipped, he explained that the mark was caused by a valve stuck to the valve guide due to over heating from "bad gasoline." As a result the guide slipped out of its location about 1/4 " towards the top of thepiston causing the the valve to slam into the bottom of the valve guide when the valve closed. This is why there is a chip in the valve guide and this allowed the debris to fall through when the valve opened causing furthur damage.
My mistake was to not to read the manuel before ridding...but i got the bike the day before a long group ride. I should have stopped earlier when the engine started sputtering.....and not continued on even when the bike started backfiring.
After a few miles I figured maybe gasoline was the issue and emptied the tank and refilled with 95....but the damage was already done as a few miles further down the road...white smoke started billowing from the exhaust.
Lesson learned...
My distributer told me today that he had a sert installed before he shipped....I'm not sure why, though I did have the stock pipes replaced with V/H pipes before leaving the states.
BKK is quite a place, but not a place to ride this bike...
Champ
According to the mechanic the valve guide was chipped, he explained that the mark was caused by a valve stuck to the valve guide due to over heating from "bad gasoline." As a result the guide slipped out of its location about 1/4 " towards the top of thepiston causing the the valve to slam into the bottom of the valve guide when the valve closed. This is why there is a chip in the valve guide and this allowed the debris to fall through when the valve opened causing furthur damage.
My mistake was to not to read the manuel before ridding...but i got the bike the day before a long group ride. I should have stopped earlier when the engine started sputtering.....and not continued on even when the bike started backfiring.
After a few miles I figured maybe gasoline was the issue and emptied the tank and refilled with 95....but the damage was already done as a few miles further down the road...white smoke started billowing from the exhaust.
Lesson learned...
My distributer told me today that he had a sert installed before he shipped....I'm not sure why, though I did have the stock pipes replaced with V/H pipes before leaving the states.
BKK is quite a place, but not a place to ride this bike...
Champ
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Catastrophic engine failure due to bad gasoline?
Another idea for low octain gas situations - mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with Airplane fuel - which has very high octain but has no lead (very dry fuel with little or no lubricant). A good friend of mine rides a 01' Duece with SE high compression heads, pistons, cam, and V&H Prop Pipe and he mixes ALL his fuel 1/2 US Premium Unleaded and 1/2 US Airplane Fuel (buys it at local airport). Swears he can feel the performance difference and he's got 15k miles on the bike.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
110, bad, contaminated, covered, cvo, davidson, engine, failure, gas, gasoline, harley, hd, heads, progressive, ultraclassic
