Commando just won’t start

I’ve never had new fuel that’s so bad it won’t even start.

Except the time I put diesel in my petrol car !

Are you saying that poor fuel was the cause of the initial breakdown and rough sound too ??
 
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Carl H said:
Did the "gas" have a funny smell or appearance to it? Did you ask the place you brought it from if others had bad experiences with it the "fuel"? Did it have water in it?
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Do you think they are going to admit to bad fuel where you brought it from, unless they had many complaints then they have to, been caught out once from a bad tank of fuel on my 2013 Thurxton, filled up from a near empty tank just got down the road and it started to misfire and carry on, next day the bike wouldn't fire up at all, but because it played up straight after filling the tank (was running great before that) so I drained the tank and had a fuel can full for the lawn mower and put it in, the bike fired up straight away and ran great again, did complain to the servo about it and got the cold shoulder, but found out a week later a few people had the same problems with their cars running sick, never did go back to that servo again.
The fuel I drained out just didn't smell right or the colour just didn't look right, it was 98 premium fuel as that's all I run in my bikes.
 
Carl H said:
Did the "gas" have a funny smell or appearance to it? Did you ask the place you brought it from if others had bad experiences with it the "fuel"? Did it have water in it?
Click to expand...
Yes after putting fresh fuel I noticed the old fuel had a very string smell can still smell it on my hands the day after also the clothes I wore are in the bin,Mrs wouldn’t put them in washing machine. Didn’t notice any water. Thank you for your feedback.
 
Fuel bad from station. Big yes!!!
Premium yes.
Today's fuel is bad and recent experience with Esso being the absolute worst indicates their consistency since the 1970s.
I do the ethanol removal chore for saws & all occasionally used engines on the farm!!! Otherwise drain completely.
Cannot imagine the damage ethanol is really doing to the environment and Canadian's pocketbooks.
 
ashman said:
Do you think they are going to admit to bad fuel where you brought it from, unless they had many complaints then they have to, been caught out once from a bad tank of fuel on my 2013 Thurxton, filled up from a near empty tank just got down the road and it started to misfire and carry on, next day the bike wouldn't fire up at all, but because it played up straight after filling the tank (was running great before that) so I drained the tank and had a fuel can full for the lawn mower and put it in, the bike fired up straight away and ran great again, did complain to the servo about it and got the cold shoulder, but found out a week later a few people had the same problems with their cars running sick, never did go back to that servo again.
The fuel I drained out just didn't smell right or the colour just didn't look right, it was 98 premium fuel as that's all I run in my bikes.
Click to expand...
Luckily, Close by to me I have very modern, new gas stations near me. I'm sure there would be 100s of vehicles breaking down soon after filling up, as they sell gas by the truckload daily. It would probably be reported on the local TV news and action and lawsuits would be taken to get money for repairs. The big companies have deep pockets and lawyers love the big lawsuits and the 1/3 they get from every BIG money suit they make.

But the gas stunk , so that was a tip off and could have been noticed, Especially when you tickle the Amal. But I don't doubt a poorly run gas station would try to weasel their way out as it could cost them thousands of dollars in damages.
 
Dave Harvey said:
Yes after putting fresh fuel I noticed the old fuel had a very string smell can still smell it on my hands the day after also the clothes I wore are in the bin,Mrs wouldn’t put them in washing machine. Didn’t notice any water. Thank you for your feedback.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, One thing I assume you took the tank off to drain it and it would be a great time to really clean the tank to De-rust it and make the tank as clean as possible. Also looking at the petcock filters to be sure they are in good shape. And besure you know which is the main and which is the reserve petcock. I hate the smell of bad gas and had to drain quite a few tanks from basket case bikes I brought years ago.
 
If you leave an old T-Shirt that you haven't washed lately off to the side of the crossroads and leave it overnight, the dog will be laying on your T-Shirt in the morning. Fact not fiction. Has nothing to do with fuel and everything to do with dogs. Of course if you spend most of your time mistreating the dog, I'm not sure if that would work.

Somewhat true. as someone that has owned hounds most of my life, I can say that works somewhat. If hunting in a strange woods, a lost hound will often come back to the last place you were, and then hang around- something with your scent may or may not keep him there... worth trying, but a tossup as to success. Nothing to do with a fuel issue, just clearing it up.
 
trappnman said:
If you leave an old T-Shirt that you haven't washed lately off to the side of the crossroads and leave it overnight, the dog will be laying on your T-Shirt in the morning. Fact not fiction. Has nothing to do with fuel and everything to do with dogs. Of course if you spend most of your time mistreating the dog, I'm not sure if that would work.

Somewhat true. as someone that has owned hounds most of my life, I can say that works somewhat. If hunting in a strange woods, a lost hound will often come back to the last place you were, and then hang around- something with your scent may or may not keep him there... worth trying, but a tossup as to success. Nothing to do with a fuel issue, just clearing it up.
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I've done it and it works. Actually a hunter told me to try it. I wasn't in a strange woods though. It was in a small town.
 
A few years ago in our town, a fuel supplier was sued for damage which done to fuel systems in several cars, by suspect fuel. I do not know what was in the fuel, but it attacked the system.
 
There is so much crap mixed with fuels these days no wonder we can have problems with bad fuel and most of the time its not the service station fault as bad fuel can be delivered by the tanker or fuel suppliers, never ever had problems when we had leaded fuels and it lasted and it burned better than the shit we have these days.
 
I saw a Henry Cole clip the other day, they dragged an old Triumph T100 out of a garage that had not benn run for many years (ie pre ethanol) and to everyone’s amazement (especially Allan Millyard who was utterly flabbergasted) the bloody thing start FIRST KICK even with ancient fuel !

Just goes to show how much ‘progress’ there has been with fuel eh !!
 
Fast Eddie said:
I saw a Henry Cole clip the other day, they dragged an old Triumph T100 out of a garage that had not benn run for many years (ie pre ethanol) and to everyone’s amazement (especially Allan Millyard who was utterly flabbergasted) the bloody thing start FIRST KICK even with ancient fuel !

Just goes to show how much ‘progress’ there has been with fuel eh !!
Click to expand...
Same thing with me I was given an old 1980 Honda XR250 that still had a full tank of leaded fuel that was laid up since 1985, we got it sparking and too our amazement it fired up on the old fuel, I sold it to my mate who got me into Nortons and his kids rode it around the paddock with that full tank of fuel, that was about 5 years ago.
Just shows that leaded fuel will last not like the crap we have today, UL fuel goes off after a few months and premium will last a bit long but not years, the old leaded fuel still had its colour and smelled like real petrol even after all that time sitting.
 
ashman said:
Same thing with me I was given an old 1980 Honda XR250 that still had a full tank of leaded fuel that was laid up since 1985, we got it sparking and too our amazement it fired up on the old fuel, I sold it to my mate who got me into Nortons and his kids rode it around the paddock with that full tank of fuel, that was about 5 years ago.
Just shows that leaded fuel will last not like the crap we have today, UL fuel goes off after a few months and premium will last a bit long but not years, the old leaded fuel still had its colour and smelled like real petrol even after all that time sitting.
Click to expand...
I don’t think it’s the lack of lead per se that’s the main issue, it’s the bleedin’ ethanol …
 
Newer fuels have less volatile content, the stuff that evaporates quickly that carbs love. Fuel injection will tolerate the lower volatile content but carbs won't. Hence why I add some thinners fix before the spring season first starts on my mower and bikes.
 
Schwany- yes, it works. But having tried that trick many times, I find it works sometimes, not all the time. Its 50/50 at best. Worth trying, but in no way absolute.

I think the"bad fuel" comes down to contamination (talking about getting gas at a station, not stored at home over time). I've had several instances of "bad gas" over my decades of riding- or rather, have had misfires after filling up with gas. But it always cleared up after riding, so was it pulling gas from the bottom of my tank, a slightly fouled plug, etc... or just "bad gas"? I suspect the former more than the later.
 
trappnman said:
If you leave an old T-Shirt that you haven't washed lately off to the side of the crossroads and leave it overnight, the dog will be laying on your T-Shirt in the morning. Fact not fiction. Has nothing to do with fuel and everything to do with dogs. Of course if you spend most of your time mistreating the dog, I'm not sure if that would work.

Somewhat true. as someone that has owned hounds most of my life, I can say that works somewhat. If hunting in a strange woods, a lost hound will often come back to the last place you were, and then hang around- something with your scent may or may not keep him there... worth trying, but a tossup as to success. Nothing to do with a fuel issue, just clearing it up.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for your dog and don’t know which way to look, go upwind
( the direction the wind blew at the time of disappearance)
Most times the dog was follow his/her nose .
 
trappnman said:
Schwany- yes, it works. But having tried that trick many times, I find it works sometimes, not all the time. Its 50/50 at best. Worth trying, but in no way absolute.
Click to expand...
I got your point about the dog behavior. 👍

I was responding with some odd real life humor to the unusual dog analogy for tuners initially. I wasn't attempting to be an authority on dogs. :)
 

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