So, today I did something I can’t believe I’ve done…always laughed at those that did this. Today is my turn to be a complete tit.! On way back from a ride I topped up the 1299 with 8 litres of…diesel …wtf!! Didn’t realise what I’d done until bike refused to continue half mile down the road….checked my receipt and sure enough bloody diesel. Got the bike recovered back home now & drained off the offending fuel. Now has 10 litres of finest BP Super in the tank. Have tried to start but it’s a no go. Anyone have any pointers as to what else I need to do? Cheers
Oops.. You should be lucky, I think it is rare that diesel into petrol engines is a problem once you get the diesel out. (The other way round in modern diesel cars is a real wallet drainer for the unwary) You say you rode half a mile before it stopped, so think about how many cycles of the engine that was before diesel got to the engine and would not fire. So now there is petrol in the tank you will need a similar number of cycles to purge the diesel. I think I would pull the plugs and leave them earthed on the engine, and spin it over and over and over until I could smell fresh petrol from the exhaust, (you might need to charge the battery in between attempts!) then flush out any diesel in the cylinders with brake cleaner and spinning it over again. Then Put the plugs back and cross your fingers.
Thanks Jon, Oops indeed bud. Appreciate your advice. I’ll be taking the bike apart today. I’ll drain off fuel pump and lines to the injectors. I’m guessing that the plugs will be oiled up so will need cleaning. Cheers
Don’t panic! Tank off. Fuel lines and injectors off. Thoroughly clean with petrol/brake & clutch cleaner. Reassemble. Fire up. It might take a few attempts and you will get some smoke from exhaust. But it will be fine. Ask me how I know (on a V4s)
I guessed I’m probably not the only one to do it EPJ; I still feel like a complete tit for doing it. Appreciate your input too
Making headway….. however the plugs are challenging as it needs a very slim plug socket to get down to them! Any ideas where these are available? Cheers
Awesome Tony. You might get the odd misfire for 50 miles or so but give it the beans and it will be fine.
Great outcome. You should hear the consequences of misfuelling a modern diesel car - The “black cab effect” and several thousand to fix.
Thanks for your steer EPJ, very helpful. The smoke was spectacular!!! Took her for a 30 mile progressive ride after a top up of super V…bit jumpy for a few miles but soon back to normal bonkers
Just for info, green flag recovery includes mis fuel cover, we have joint personal cover to cover the cars and bikes on one policy that's about £100/year ( also includes trailer cover for when towing ). Put petrol in the wife's 2003 diesel fabia, recovered to garage, cleaned out, gallon of fuel put in, on my way in less than an hour, all for free.
