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DIESEL fuel in SV accident - brilliant!!!!!!! (Yes, seriously...)

3K views 31 replies 20 participants last post by  syntheticton 
G
#1 ·
Hello, I have just one the idiot of the century award. Here goes my
story which explains just how smart I am...

I was riding home yesterday on my 2001 sv650. I went to fill up when on
the fuel light came one about an hour from home. I was slightly
distracted after just checking some phone messages. I saw, 87, 89, 93...and
grabbed at the right most one. I put it in the tank and started to fuel
up. For some reason I stopped quickly and looked at the pump. 1, 2, 3,
4.... 4 fuel pumps??? I looked at the price per gallon (not right) and
then back down at the levers. Doah...DIESEL! AHHHHHH! All pumps were
the same size. The 93 was next to both the unleaded 93 and the diesel,
but there was no sticker next to diesel like there is for the other
stickers with the octane level on them. I didn't even realize there was
diesel. Kinda stupid but also somewhat natural to just grab the one with
the 93 next to it since it was right-most just as the sticker was....ok,
stupid. An hour from home. I only put in 1/3 of a gallon (.3). I DID
NOT start the bike. I spent the next 1 hour and 45 mins in a gas station
parking lot taking apart everything I could find to try to drain the
tank with no luck. If someone knows how to do this let me know? I
disconnected many hoses but must have needed to do something else.
Eventually I went to siphoning the gas. I spent another 45 mins. obtaining a
hose, siphoning, and cleaning the gas off of my body and rinsing out my
mouth (yes some got in but not down the pipes). I was able to get out
a bit more than .3 since there was obviously still some gas in it when
I filled. I could still hear a small amount of gas when I wiggled that
tank back and forth after siphoning but could get no more out. I ended
up filling it up with 93 at this point. The tank holds 4.2 gallons. I
put in 4.2 gallons so am not sure how much of any diesel would have been
in at that point. Some very small amount of an already fairly diluted
mix I would have to guess was there before I filled with the 4.2
gallons.

I probably would still not have ridden (not sure what I would have
done) but I was on the phone with someone online who seemed to suggest I'd
be alright. I did my own checking when I got home and am uncertain.

So, what should I do? Do I need to find out how to redrain all of this
out again, clean the carbs, etc or what? Am I screwed? Will I be
A-OK? The bike rode home an hour or with no unusual behavior at a large
variety of speeds and rpm ranges.

What a stupid thing to do, but the labeling on the pump did not help.
Granted it was black in color. I will not take offense if you want to
remind me how stupid this was.

Thanks for your help.
 
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#3 ·
The solution to pollution is dilution!


Did it run ok after you got back on the road?

Guess I'd check your plugs, but chances are you're good to go, unless maybe you have done extensive modifications to the engine. If you're running stock, 87 octane is the gasoline you want, 93 just lines the pockets of big oil fat cats like our v.p.



Now gargle, rinse, spit, and repeat!! ;D Yech...
 
#5 ·
jowens said:
I spent the next 1 hour and 45 mins in a gas station
parking lot taking apart everything I could find to try to drain the
tank with no luck.  If someone knows how to do this let me know?  I
disconnected many hoses but must have needed to do something else. 
If I remember correctly there is a vaccum petcock on the tank, which means you would need to apply a vaccum (by sucking on the tube) to the vaccum line coming from the tank. This should allow the petcock to open and allow the fuel to drain.

I'd want some body to confirm this tough as it's been over a year since I worked on an SV.
 
G
#6 ·
I think you'll be ok. If you ran it for a hour without incident the diesel's long since diluted and gone so I wouldn't do anything to the bike.

You're certainly not the only person that's ever done this. It's odd that the system's not idiot proofed, at least for cars. Back when leaded gas was available the nozzles were different diameters so you couldn't put leaded in and unleaded-only vehicle. There's probably a reason why it's the way it is, but having both fuels at the same pump and using the same colors doesn't help.

Looking on the bright side, you'll probably never do it again...

Welcome to the board!

:)
 
#7 ·
I hope everything is OK. That small of an amount, when diluted by a full tank of regular gasoline hopefully won't hurt anything. A question though... I gather from your post you thought you were putting in 93 octane or higher. Is this correct? If so, you are wasting money as the SV650 engine is calibrated to run best on 87 octane. There are numerous threads here on this subject by the way. If I am incorrect about how I read your post, I apologize. Thanks, Mike.
 
G
#8 ·
Yes, I will NEVER do it again. It was not a good experience.

I did try sucking on the tube (on the bike, no funny comments!) but nothing came out. I believe it references this in the service manual as well but it didn't work for me. I tried twice, maybe not hard enough.
 
#9 ·
You should be alright, I would top off the tank again 8)

Your real problem is running 93 in your bike, if you were running 87 none of this would have happened ;D
 
#11 ·
yes, it is a vacuum petcock.  there's a tube going from the rear intake boot to the gas tank near the fuel line.  If you suck on the hose fuel comes out (don't say it Doug or Josh  :p ).  Cranking the engine will open it as well.  

I'm pretty sure that all bikes made in the past few years are required to have a vacuum petcock.
 
#12 ·
Bmudssa said:
You should be alright, I would top off the tank again 8)

Your real problem is running 93 in your bike, if you were running 87 none of this would have happened ;D
+1. using 93 in your bike will not give you any performance upgrade, nor will it extend your bike's longevity; it might even hurt it long-term. go by the manual (87, all the way); anything with a higher octane is a waste of money.
 
#14 ·
Did you have your tool kit the bike comes with? If so why didnt you just use the allen wrench to take the two front screws out that hold the tank to the frame, prop the tank up with your prop rod and remove the rubber hose that feeds the fuel from the tank to the pet cock? I know there is a rubber hose with a factory hose clamp somewhere in the loop b/c I have drained my fuel once while at a camp site so I could gas up my dirt bike after we had run out of gas and I don't remeber it being too hard to do. Diesel being heavier in weight to gas would have dove right to the bottom of your tank too so you would want to drain it. Alos, the diesel pumps I have seen do always have a larger diameter fitting than the gas ones. Obviously this would still fit in your bike but someone had mentioned that the diesel is no longer a larger fitting.
 
#16 ·
I blame it all on cell phones I hate those GD things I would not own one to save my life when I am away on my bike I want to really be away no calls no crap nothing. I think this guy did this b/c of something to do with his cell phone. They are evil little devices and they fry your brain too just ask Johnnie Cockrun about that.
 
G
#17 ·
yes, i had the toolkit and used it to do exactly what you said. i must not have done something right as no gas came out. if the diesel fuel was the heaviest and sunk to the bottom of the tank, that would indicate that i must have already burned through it in my one hour ride home if any was in there. also, if the hose was all the way at the bottom of the tank, that would mean the diesel would likely have got sucked out first when i siphoned...right?
 
#18 ·
87 octane best for all SV years? I even put 92 octane in my John Deere lawnmower because I think its bettter!
 
#20 ·
YUCK!!!

Shouldn't hurt the bike at all... hope you don't smoke cigarettes though!

Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're really worried, pull the plugs after a few days and check 'em.
 
G
#21 ·
yeah, i don't intend to suck on a tube to siphon much again. i'm sure it's been done many times before and most lived. some people even do it for fun. then again smoking crack has been done before and it's not good for the body either....
 
#23 ·
When I used to work in an auto dealership service center we had a college girl that filled up completely on diesel in a car that ran on gas. She was completely befuddled on why it was running soo poorly and stunk so bad. We drained the tank cleared out the hoses and ran it with gas for awhile to burn out any remaining fuel that didn't belong on there. It sounds like you should be fine. If something were to go wrong you would of known it within that hour ride home. Trust me when a gas engine is trying to cumbust on the wrong fuel you will know it and smell it. You did the right thing by emptying it out and then topping off with gas. You should be fine. Like was mentioned though if you are worried just check the plugs after a week of regular riding. Though if something were wrong you would of defiantly known by now.
 
#24 ·
I had that happen to me when I was a kid in a 2stroke dirtbike(with a separate 2stroke oil tank), My friend filled the tank from his dads garage but The can he used had diesel in it. started the bike up and it started smoking like hell. stopped drained the gastank of all diesel then refilled with clean gas. started it back up and ran it until the smoke stopped, didnt hurt the bike it ran for years afterward. You will be fine.
 
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