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The $3.50/gal Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter GS JOE
  • Start date Start date
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GS JOE

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Are there any modifications that need to be done to run on 85 ethanol?
 
I dont believe the "O" ring seals in the carbs or petcock will tolerate that fuel.

Earl


GS JOE said:
Are there any modifications that need to be done to run on 85 ethanol?
Click to expand...
 
I have been running 85 octane through my 850 for a year and a half and about 7,000 miles with no problems.
 
GS JOE said:
Are there any modifications that need to be done to run on 85 ethanol?
Click to expand...

I think that the lowest gas octane rating in my area is usually 87. I would normally try to find regular 87 without alcohol. Alcohol burns slower, which raises the octane rating, but it contains less energy than gasoline. This means that the engine may get slightly less mileage and run slightly leaner. Alcohol content is usually limited to about 10%. Any more can cause problems.

As long as you are running a 10% max ethanol mix, there should be no problems and no modifications necessary. Ethanol, the alcohol made from grain, is not as corrosive to metals as methanol and is fairly kind to elastomeric materials. Methanol, commonly known as wood alcohol, should be avoided if possible. This is the more destructive type of alcohol, causing corrosion to some metal parts (i.e., aluminum parts such as carburetors) and damaging to rubber, polyurethane and most plastics.

I recently had an episode of pinging in hot weather and suspected the gas. I filled it with a different station's 87 octane regular with a 10% ethanol content. I normally would avoid this gas, but I wanted to test my theory of crappy gas in the tank. The pinging stopped. It isn't just a question of gasoline or an ethanol mix, but low quality below grade (octane) gas compared a higher quality (octane) product although both have the same octane rating.
 
the octane rating of E85 is up in the 100s.. i think the 85 means 85% ethanol.
 
RotaryRodder said:
the octane rating of E85 is up in the 100s.. i think the 85 means 85% ethanol.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thanks. I misread GS JOE's post. I thought he was referring to gasoline with a low (10%) percentage of ethanol added, and took the 85 for an octane number.

As far as the 85% ethanol mix, some car manufacturers make E85 compatible cars, but no stock motorcycles can use it. It would take major modifications and testing to run an experiment on a motorcycle. Ethanol in that concentration will probably be corrosive to aluminum (carburetors) unless it is anodized. It might also have a detrimental effect on gaskets and other parts not designed for a high concentration of ethanol.

I wouldn't even consider it.
 
you pretty much will do the same work you would do to prepare for running alcohol. It can be done, but then you wont be able to run regular gas. The GM flexi-fuel cars have a computer controlled deal that can tell when its running what and alter the fuel system accordingly.
 
ive ran 10% ethanol a bit, never had a problem with it. supposedly it will slowly eat rubber parts, but I think thats more the E85 being the issue. in fact my bike seems to like it better than 89 and 91 octane regular fuel.
 
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nuts930 said:
I have been running 85 octane through my 850 for a year and a half and about 7,000 miles with no problems.
Click to expand...

He's talking about E85, the latest and greatest green promo, that's going to make us burn less oil based fuel. My daughter's van can use it, but due to evaporation and less btu/lb of fuel, she fills up more often. Actually gets less mpg, so uses more fuel. Is it cost effective for .20/gal less? I don't think so, so she is just sticking with regular unleaded because she feels the same way.
 
With the removal of MTBE and replacement with ethanol it looks like there might not be any other options.
 
The ethanol conversion is going to screw us all.

1. No savings on energy since it still takes energy (including oil) to produce ethanol
2. Worse mileage. More fillups. Higher costs.
3. It must be trucked to refiners because they cannot send it through the pipelines due to water being absorbed. More costs and energy wasted.
4. The lovely ethanol lobby, led by ADM, has protection against foreign ethanol to the tune of 54 cents a gallon. That keeps competition out and prices high.
5. Ethanol went from 1.47 a gallon last summer to 2.77 a gallon now. So some geniuses thought it would be a cheap alternative to MTBE. Guess again. Supply and demand teaches the greenies another lesson. Instead of adding 15 cents a gallon it adds 27 and that may go even higher.

Environmentalists don't care what it costs or even if they are wrong since YOU pay for their cause one way or another. I plan to rebuild my carbs with new o-rings from bob barr, i think his are alcohol resistant.
Sorry for the opinion laced rant, this should be in off topic I know.
 
I would be more interested in propane or natural gas rather than ethanol. It would be quite a task to fabricate a tank to hold it without looking like a barbeque grill on wheels.
NV13436_1_400.jpg

As for the E-85, I think that if you get a new EFI bike, you might be able to use a power programmer to make a fuel map for it and there might be a way to switch back and forth between that and a normal map to give you flexibility,
 
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