Justin Starling Explains “Boiled Fuel”
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2020 SALT LAKE CITY ONE SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
Multiple racers were struck by a surprise bike issue at the 2020 Salt Lake City One Supercross: boiled fuel. Somewhat common during the outdoor Nationals in the pre-EFI four-stroke days, it only happens now in extreme conditions like the 90-plus temperatures and high elevation, two factors that were at play on Sunday. Justin Starling was forced to pull out of the 250 Main Event after heat from engine of his Gas Monkey Energy/AJE Motorsports Husqvarna rose to the gas tank and prevented the bike from running correctly. It’s something that the team determined was due to the blend of fuel used and an improper ECU setting, and they have addressed it for the remaining races in Utah.
“The temperature on Sunday was 92 or 93 degrees, so it was already pretty warm and then we are at 4600 feet of elevation, so the bike is starving for air. When the fuel starts to boil, the bike starts to feel almost like really horrible jetting, like the bike is not getting fuel,” Starling described of the bike’s performance. “It will bog and stutter and seem like it’s going to shut off because it’s not getting what it needs. It gets really dangerous in Supercross, especially to be in a rhythm section when the bike starts bogging on you.
“When it starts to happen, it’s already over,” he explained of the dreaded feeling. “That’s the crappy thing, because you can’t really fix it once the bike is hot. If you try to rev it or use the clutch more, it just creates more heat and more of a problem.” If pulling out of the race is not an option, Starling says that you could nurse the bike to the finish line but that it would require perfect technique and bike control. “The best way to get through it is to back your effort down, be smoother, try not to rev at all, and just to keep the bike from getting much hotter.”
Hot gas isn’t a terminal issue for a motorcycle and Starling stated that the bike will perform like normal once the temperature goes down. “Once the fuel is cooled down, it’s totally fine. The bike is totally fine when the fuel boils, it’s just that the fuel doesn’t go through the lines the way it should,” he concluded.
