Fuel options for carburetted 1990 Honda XRV 750 Africa Twin
 

In many european countries and some others, efuel (e10, e25) is more prolific than in my country Australia. I have heard that it is very difficult in some of the countries mentioned above, to obtain suitable fuel for carburetted bikes as they don't perform optimally on the more environmentally- friendly fuels, even allowing for the use of octane booster. Two questions-
1. Am I right in assuming that a 1990 model XRV 750 Africa twin does not perform well when the e- fuels are used? Does the use of these fuels damage the motors of carburetted bikes?
2. Are supplies of non e-fuels reasonably easily available in Europe at service stations?
Thanks for taking the time to read.

1. No. No.

2. No.

Based on concurrently owning 2 rd07 bikes from 1993 and 1995, that both have the same rd04 engine as in a 1990 bike, over many 10s of thousands of km.

1990 Honda fuel
 

Thanks for the info.

Ethanol of any concentration damages your motorcycle. But not specifally your motor.

E10 (now the norm in Europe) will do damage to your carb, tank and fuel hoses. It damages sealing rings in fuel pumps, o-rings in carbs. And will make a real mess if you leave it for many months.

E25 is even worse and can do actual damage to your fuel lines in short time. It's poison to an older bike. But it can be tollerated if you're just passing through a country etc. I doubt you'd do any lasting damage over a few weeks. But it's NOT for everyday use. And do not leave that stuff sitting in your AT in storage or over winter.

Honestly, with a 35 year bike, you should be replacing your fuel lines anyway. For more modern high quality hoses which are more resistant to ethanol that the ones Honda were using in the 80s and 90s.

If yours are the original, they will be perished and brittle and waiting for the worst time possbile to split anyway. Even if they appear okay.


Octane has nothing to do with the E rating of fuels. Luckily the AT has a low compression engine and it tollerates very low octaine fuels.

It's the ethanol which is the bad stuff. You will get E5 or even zero Ethanol fuels in major European towns and cities. You should use that whenever you can.

In another post of today, the OP claims to have a 2016 crf1000 that he's confused about the weight of, in comparison to a Yam T7 and has, in his/ her words, age/ mobility issues. The 750 AT is, as you and I know, also a tall, top heavy shed of a bike. I'm not convinced the OP will ever buy a 750 AT, so I can't contribute more to any discussions on this model of bike.

If storing my Af Twins and and stable of other old 1990s and early 2000s Japanese carburettored bikes over winter, I always run the carbs/ and fuel lines dry and drain the tanks. Only once in a blue moon have I thought I should replace a piece of fuel line due to stiffness. Never had one expire while riding.

Older Africa Twins and suitable fuel
 

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your input. Other issues have been brought to my attention with them so need to think again.