New fuels, old bikes

I have recently read in the French press that our fuels are to be relabelled, but the list accompanying the article said that they will henceforth all have some degree of biofuel.

The 95 and 98 unleaded petrols will now be E10 and E5, for instance, where I believe the ‘E’ still refers to ethanol, whose deleterious effects on joints, gaskets, diaphragms, etc, have already been publicised.

Hitherto there has still been the option for owners of older cars and motorcycles of ‘straight’ petrols, without added ethanol, but there was no mention of these unadulterated petrols in the article.

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Can you please advise which, if any, of these new fuels I can use in a 1965 RE 250 Continental GT and in a 1978 BMW R100 RS?

Alternatively, will the older fuels (for older engines) still be available – without having to find a scarce or remote specialist supplier?

Andrew N Woods

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Do any readers have any issues with E10 or E5? Has anyone run with no side effects? Has anyone had fuel lines, filters or carburettor seals go bad?

Read more Letters, Opinion, News and Views in the December 2018 issue of OBM – on sale now!


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