- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
- Messages
- 5,294
This has me scratching my head. Like most I typically fill up the bike with the usual ethanol 10% premium commonly available, in particular Marathon 93. Three times now when I've been low I've tried filling up with a local regional retailer's ethanol-free 91. The Duc's manual says 91 octane or better. The DVT engine ('15 and '16) is equipped with knock sensors on head and will pull spark timing if need be. Anyhow, all three times now that I've put in the ethanol free 91, the bike simply does not want to start when cold. Not a cranking issue, spins just fine. Won't catch and barely fires. To get it started I have to old school it and open throttle quickly when it tries to fire and it will sputter around and idle-up and eventually idle hands off but will hunt up and down almost dying for 10 secs or so before leveling off into a normal idle. Like a carbed bike needing choke or something. By cold I don't mean temperature necessarily as much as first start of the day.
However, when the tank contains the usual 10% ethanol 93, this doesn't happen, and the bike starts normally. Should note that "normally" means it fires off on the 2nd or 3rd revolution, idles up and hunts very slightly up and down for 5 or ten seconds but not markedly and evens out at specified idle speed of 1200 fairly quickly.
I am wondering why this is happening on ethanol-free premium. The station is relatively recent and so I wouldn't suspect some contaminant in the storage tanks. Plus, once past the the initial idle situation and warmed up, the bike runs well on the ethanol-free.
I have heard that Ducati has the DVT for the US market "tuned for [10%] ethanol blended gas." Could this be why the pure gas is flubbing cold starts? Pure gas causing an overly rich condition and flooding?
However, when the tank contains the usual 10% ethanol 93, this doesn't happen, and the bike starts normally. Should note that "normally" means it fires off on the 2nd or 3rd revolution, idles up and hunts very slightly up and down for 5 or ten seconds but not markedly and evens out at specified idle speed of 1200 fairly quickly.
I am wondering why this is happening on ethanol-free premium. The station is relatively recent and so I wouldn't suspect some contaminant in the storage tanks. Plus, once past the the initial idle situation and warmed up, the bike runs well on the ethanol-free.
I have heard that Ducati has the DVT for the US market "tuned for [10%] ethanol blended gas." Could this be why the pure gas is flubbing cold starts? Pure gas causing an overly rich condition and flooding?
