By accident I laid my 800GS down...couldn't pick it up!

[_CY_]

Wow, then don't that bike up the Alaska Highway cause some of those lonely gas stations have only 87 octane for sale.

no telling... if you know it's coming, octane boosters will help marginal fuel. one can get a bad load of fuel anywhere.

too many possible scenarios ... in known margin fuel areas like certain parts of SA. it's common for mama fuel vendors to operate out of 55 gal drums.

it's not possible to drain every last bit of fuel out of 55 gal with a barrel pump. say one time tank held diesel, then filled with gasoline. a gallon or so of diesel mixed in with gas will cause major problems with a high compression engine.

make sure you've got a big honking battery. Lots of cranking figuring out what's wrong and/or getting things going again.

easy to fix ... drain fuel, then idle out remaining fuel... when engine no longer knocks under load ... good to go.

can very difficult to hear engine detonation. especially with helmet and/or ear plug on. but the common giveaway is lost of power.

bad fuel is not the only thing that causes loss of power. but if loss of power happens immediately after refueling. a load of bad fuel is suspect!

STOP .. don't ride it out ... take your helmet off, then listen for engine knocks. once someone knows what to look for .. a major trip ending problem is avoided. broken rings, broken pistons, etc. $$$$ ... NO knock sensor to retard timing, so operator has to be the safety.

sure hope this info gets passed on ...

[GlobalRider]

So folks, what do you do....is there a secret to pick it up?

Yup, you have to get plain mad.

Picking up a motorcycle on level ground is a no brainer. Try picking one up when both wheels are resting on ground that is higher than the rest of the motorcycle...as in a road with a 20% grade. A GSA with a full tank of gas gets even heavier then.

[tommcgee]

Yup, you have to get plain mad.

So true!