gasoline question

[Jack Garman]

Is it ok to use 10% ethanol gas in my 40u. I've been using it since I bought the bike three yrs ago.I ride yr round almost every wk and have not had any trouble.

[sirhrmechanic]

It should be just fine.

The ethanol doesn't like plastic, but is generally not a problem w. an older machine.

One area where it DOES give problems is that if there is old varnish and crud in the tanks. The varnish will live happily for years with gasoline. But add the ethanol and it's just like Gumout. It puts the crud/varnish in solution and it goes into the fuel system. When it hits carb jets, manifolds, valves, etc. it creates what we call "the candy apple coating" that sticks everything up like glue.

But if your tank has been cleaned/sealed or does not have significant varnish in it... no worries.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[Sargehere]

Some riders of old bikes of your/my vintage swear by Marvel Mystery oil. Claim a little in every tankful does wonders for things like guides and rings. I can never remember to put it in, even if it's on board when I fill up. Ten percent is all you can buy here in Flah.

[sirhrmechanic]

Marvel Mystery Oil is an old standby....

Of note, several years ago at Hershey I came across a "Marvel Mystery Oil Injector" system. Plumb it into your fuel system and it automatically adds MMO into the gas at a metered rate. Came with a tank, metering setup, lines and everything! I am sure they must show up on eBay, but I've never seen another one. Bet you went through a lot of Marvel with that in your engine bay.

For those who ever experience vapor locking with modern gasoline (it has a lot more volatility than in the old days) adding 5 - 10 percent diesel fuel generally makes that go away. And cheaper than MMO by a long shot. We recommend this to owners of cars with autovac's that are on the firewall near the exhaust manifolds (because engineers thought THAT was a good idea) during hot weather or high-altitude driving. Just a little diesel makes a big difference in eliminating vapor lock.

Not tried it in motorcycles as I have never had one that vapor locked on me. But the principle is the same.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[23JDCA 808]

. . . . Ten percent is all you can buy here in Flah.

Here is where you can buy ethanol-free gas in FL: http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=FL

[Sargehere]

Thanks for that, Bill! Unfortunately, none in my neighborhood. At least 20-30 miles the the nearest station on that list, but I'll print a copy and carry it. There are lot more than there used to be.

I remember when "the law" mandating 10 percent ethanol was rammed through the Fla. Legislature before anyone had a chance to react to it, and the price of CORN began to skyrocket. What a stoopid move by shortsighted morons in the pockets of corn producers. Made almost everything we eat go up in price (corn sugar, dextrose, I think), for no benefit, IMHO.

[Daking]

Gerry,
It is great here in the midwest has helped alot of farmers big and small but more important alot of the small towns that were dying are now seeing life again local economy is good farm prices are up and we are not sending it over seas so We thank you for your support. I do not run it in my old bikes but I do run it in my truck 10 cents cheaper here....

[larry]

I'm happy that the farmers are doing well. However, ethanol has caused problems in every one of my engines. I wish that it would go away.

[Jerry Wieland]

I prefer straight gasoline but have run thousands of miles on knuckleheads with alcohol gas with no noted engine problems. Don't use Marvel either as it is not needed if you are running the good lead free parts. Jerry

[Jerry Wieland]

What kind of problems?

I'm happy that the farmers are doing well. However, ethanol has caused problems in every one of my engines. I wish that it would go away.

[larry]

It swells some floats. It disintegrates some fuel hoses. It causes some float needles to stick. It renders some petcocks inoperative. It can make engines harder to start. It attracts water. I'm refering to all my engines, not just motorcycle. This is with E10. I hope we never go to E15.

[bikerdds]

Have had to rebuild carbs more than I want. Ethanol is crap in old bikes. Starts deteriorating within a few weeks. If you use it, let nothing stand more than a week, and even that could be too long. Even worse in lawn tools.
I use the pure gas ap on my phone to find ethanol free gas. Keep it on hand at all times. Never want to even think about a carb job on my Honda CBX [6 carbs!], so it is run weekly or more without fail. My Indians need constant running because of all problems to carbs already mentioned. Even the ethanol free isn't what it was. And now in Florida, they are starting to require the stations with ethanol free to list it as recreational fuel. Get ready for another tax hike on your favorite fuel guys!

[T. Cotten]

Political insanity aside, Folks,

Ethanol would only be a minor problem if it were not for some of the other 150+ additives, which are to blame for extremely digestive fuels, which I call P4gas.
And digestivity is directly related to its poor shelf life.
Ironically, my local fuel remains pristine for over a year at least, [u]in glass[/i].
Subject it to plastic fuel containers, rubber stoppers, or carburetor floats, and it goes rancid, darkens, and actually increases in specific gravity while in a closed container.

Floats ruin P4gas as much as P4gas ruins floats!

The mix of these dozen-dozen approved additives is different for every different region, proprietor, and season.
Combinations may prove more potent than any particular pump pee alone.
Take heart at least, that the last three years have seen milder fuels out of the Nation's pumps than in the past.

Beyond digestivity, there is the concern of precipitated additives, as shown in the attachment.
The bottle was from one bowl.
If these were dissolved solids that were supposed to pass through the combustion chamber, it might explain some of the ceramic-like deposits upon pistons and valves.
Ironically again, one of the additives suggested to be quite digestive is "IVD", mandated to reduce deposits upon intake valves.

Absence of ethanol is no guarantee that the other additives are not a problem.

....Cotten

[stevekleincustom]

Ethanol at 10% has not caused any issues with my bikes except it ate up all the cork floats in my teens bikes. We are now getting 15% ethanol in parts of Texas. A higher level of ethanol has now started to cause fuel to discolor in tanks lined with Red Coat. All previous Red Coat testing showed it was impervious to ethanol. Just finding this out recently and wanted to share. I might also mention that regular Stabil does not work with ethanol. Have switched to the blue marine grade Stabil.

My 2 cents... Happy New Year

[Chris Haynes]

New car makers won't warranty any pre 2012 cars that have been using EP 15. My guess is the same goes for motorcycles.