Heavy Fuel

Heavy, claggy, gungy, sticky or just plain stale, probably described the state of the fuel in my tank when the bike was brought out of winter storage last month. And I was convinced that this is what had caused the fairly severe misfire that cropped up at low speeds, last time I took the bike out. I said at the time that I needed to use up what was in the tank and then see if fresh petrol would cure for the problem.
Unfortunately, bad weather and other obligations meant that today was the first chance I had to take the bike out for a decent run. I went to see my friend in Barrow and initially thought the misfire had cured itself but was swiftly disabused of this notion when it returned with a vengeance as I neared my destination. I basically “kangaroo’d” for a few hundred yards before a final bang heralded the return of normal running. As the fuel warning light had come on by this point, I wasted no time in heading to the nearest petrol station and brimming the tank with nice, fresh fuel.
Decided to head back via the coast road to Ulverston, stopping halfway to snap the bike against the backdrop of Morecambe Bay - tide well and truly out! This was the sort of road that would normally trigger the misfire, but nothing happened. Going through Ulverston I tried at various times to make it misbehave - low speed, snapping the throttle open in a variety of gears - but, again, nothing.
I tried one last time as I neared home - crawling uphill and then grabbing a handful of throttle - but still no misfire. Whether it was the last big backfire, the fresh petrol or a combination of both, I don’t know. I’m not going to say the problem has gone away until I can go out again without a misfire at any point during the journey, but that will have to wait for another day.