Here's a long thread about difficulties with ethanol in gasoline in motorcycles. Anyone have any experience and/or suggestions?

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51751

Well look at it this way. IF ethanol was detrimental there would be a line of LAWYERS that would stretch from here to the moon and back:D

You don't hear much about it anymore, but the first talk about ethanol was to replace an addative in gasoline that was polluting the ground water.

My mileage did drop about that time. But, its here now. Today's gasoline seems to go bad sooner but, I have had no trouble. I see some talk of gasolines with no ethonal but, I thought it was a Federal regulation.

Dave

Actually it's not much different (at all) from adding gas line antifreeze or Stabil. Alcohol is alcohol, and as we all remember from our General Science class, alcohol combines with water so that actually allows an internal combustion engine to "burn" water that forms from tank condensation.

But it does take a toll on mileage.

[b]Actually it's not much different (at all) from adding gas line antifreeze or Stabil[/b[. Alcohol is alcohol, and as we all remember from our General Science class, alcohol combines with water so that actually allows an internal combustion engine to "burn" water that forms from tank condensation.

But it does take a toll on mileage.

Do not group Stabil in with alcohol/ethanol. Stabil does NOT contain any alcohol. Read the back label on the bottle.

Yes, ethanol was used as gas line antifreeze. It does not make water burnable or we'd be fueling our vehicles with that combination. What it does do is prevent the water from freezing either from the weather or when passing through the venturi in a carb (carb icing).

The gov't mandated ethanol to replace MTBE which it had originally mandated be put in fuels as an oxigenator. MTBE was found to be cancer causing so they needed another oxigenator. The farm lobby fixed that. :)

As far as damage. It depends on the fuel system and engine. Older engines had rubber fuel lines swell/choke off, carb seals swell, etc. Engines made for E10 use a different materal to combat this. Boats with fiberglass fuel tanks had the resin disolve and screw everything up. Adding ethanol to older undergound tanks caused many problems in that the ethanol would dissolve the dirt in the tanks and hold it in suspension to clog fuel filters, etc in engines. Then there is the phase separation problem for which you add Stabil or other additives to prevent. There were many problems from ethanol. It's just who do you sue?


:)

Do not group Stabil in with alcohol/ethanol. Stabil does NOT contain any alcohol. Read the back label on the bottle.

Yes, ethanol was used as gas line antifreeze. It does not make water burnable or we'd be fueling our vehicles with that combination. What it does do is prevent the water from freezing either from the weather or when passing through the venturi in a carb (carb icing).

:)

Sigh. Public education just isn't what it used to was :(:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4385593.html

1. I didn't say Stabil contained alcohol.
2. Alcohol/water solutions have been used for decades in radial aircraft engines as an anti-detonation additive (ADI Fluid)
3. And yes, when ratios are observed, alcohol/water solutions WILL ignite. Obviously the alcohol/water ratio must be heavily in favor of the alcohol. A 10% ethanol proportion in any motorcyle fuel tank is more than adequate to combine with routine fuel system condensation.
4. When combining volumes of alcohol and water, the sum is always slightly less than the total of the combined volumes, verifying the combination of alcohol with water.

Those who eschew ethanol in motocycles think nothing of adding HEET and/or other volatile additives to their automobiles' (new and old) fuel systems. Old Goldwings with their miles of rubber fuel and vacuum lines trudge happily on using ethanol; other newer bikes can't handle it.

Most blog opinions on damage are anecdotal, rather than based on objective study. Take it with a grain of salt; the sky hasn't fallen yet.:)

But it does take a toll on mileage.
From what I have came across on the great wiggly (www) is a 34% decrees over gasoline. That ant much at all is it:confused:

P.S. from now on I will call it the Great Wiggly

If I pull into a pump that says over 10% E, I move on to the next station. The book I read says 10% ok, true? hell I don't know, just try to play on the conserve side of things;) We all know(all who have checked) different gas=different mileage. Remember, you listen long enough, you can hear anything. Ride safe.