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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 24 Feb 2011
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gas in peru
yesterday I ran into two riders in puno who said peruvian gas had about a 1/3 alcohol content, they procceded to tell me a story about their friends bmw being torn apart by it. ive been in peru for two rides (Copacabana- Puno, Puno-Cusco) and have had no problems running their premium, only available in cities, 90 gas in my 250cc honda xlr.
does anyone have experience on a similar bike, good or bad?
thanks alot,
adrian
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  #2  
Old 24 Feb 2011
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Spent 2 months riding all over Peru on a KTM 990. I ran the 80 octane which was all I could find in the places I rode. FWIW, my bike still runs.
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Old 24 Feb 2011
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... Peru isn't a place to get fussy over gas. 90octane is sometimes available, but typically 84 or 80 is normal. The bike will run a bit lumpy, but with no lasting damage.

... Basically take what you can get when you can get it, the next gas station may be empty!
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Old 24 Feb 2011
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I saw some postings by the couple who are so worried about the effects of what they assume to be high alcohol content on their BMW's. They seem to feel that Beemers are especially prone to being damaged, and they're convinced the percentage in Peruvian fuel is far higher than advertised.

Maybe they're right: what do I know? But my KLR survived just fine and is still running many tens of thousands of miles later. And the lowered octane is what you need for high altitude, so don't worry about that part. If it's the same couple, they're fine people but overly worried about a lot of stuff which never seemed to bother me, so maybe take it all with a grain of salt.

Hope that helps.

Mark
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Norton Rats View Post
... Peru isn't a place to get fussy over gas. 90octane is sometimes available, but typically 84 or 80 is normal. The bike will run a bit lumpy, but with no lasting damage.

... Basically take what you can get when you can get it, the next gas station may be empty!
I am one half of the infamous couple with F800GSs who's engines had melt downs after taking a drink of the notorious Northern Peruvian gas (or at least in Peru it is). Oh how I wish my bike just ran a bit lumpy...

All i will say is that Peru has more suspect gas than other Latin America countries we've been to, and this seems to be commonly knows by the locals. So just be careful. Even after our experience we aren't going to alter our route and miss the highlands (where you can only get gas from a jug) I'm just saying that exercising caution is probably the way to go.

It is not clear what exactly broke our engines, but extensive discussion has taken place and what is clear is that a single tank of gas that is "bad" (contains things it shouldn't like diesel, alcohol ... ) can seriously damage your engine.

just my 2 cents.
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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... Gas is iffy in Peru, but yours is the only report I've had of a meltdown on an F800GS.

... I am familiar with 800s and 650s running here with no lasting ill effects.

... Question - Did you set your bike on to the 'low-octane' gas option in the engine management system?
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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Wow, 2 800's with destroyed motors in one tank of fuel? You definitely didnt get normal gasoline, no matter how low the octane. My bet is you got pure Ethanol, or worse......

FWIW, my KTM 990 ran fine in Peru, but in Brazil, it doesnt like the Comun gasoline, at all. Runs good on Podium though.
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Old 26 Feb 2011
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Originally Posted by Norton Rats View Post
... Question - Did you set your bike on to the 'low-octane' gas option in the engine management system?
Yes we did. The entire episode has been detailed extensively over at ADV. If you want to get into the details please post over there (I don't want to hijack this thread )

Agreed our situation is the extreme but I just wanted to point out that really bad things can happen if you are not diligent. I've talked to TONS of other riders with both Japanese bikes and European bikes. They've put in lower grade fuel throughout SA and had no issues.

So yeah, I just wanted to highlight what had happened to us, because had this not happened, I would still be blissfully filling my bike at gas stations with only a normal level of skepticism.
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