Star Tron fuel additive

[snark]

Around where I live all we can buy is E10 gas. I've heard that this is bad for our bikes...there is even a sticker on the pump to that effect..not to mention the gray sludge I found when I rebuilt my cards last fall. Anyhow, when I was a Bike Week last week I was able to buy gas without the Ethanol and I did notice some improvement.

Anyhow, I saw an ad for Star Tron fuel additive that is supposed to cure these problems.

Has anybody tried this or anything else? Did they work?

[Dave8338]

Hey bud...though I have not used the product that you are speaking of, I do know that in town here at the local Cenex, I buy the fuel that is labled for off road use/collector vehicles "ONLY" and though it is 91 octane, it is the only thing I buy ( for the toys). No ethonal, not nutt'n! Works GREAT for storage survival, ect.

As for the E10...it won't crap up the bike, wreck the fuel lines, cause undue wear / tear, "kill the O-rings" or put the hurt on anything. The state of Minnesota REQUIRES that a MINIMUM of 10% Ethanol be used in all "general consumption fuel", sans diesel. And that, they are pushing for 10% "bio-diesel".

Allright...let the "new oil" thread begin!

[snark]

As for the E10...it won't crap up the bike, wreck the fuel lines, cause undue wear / tear, "kill the O-rings" or put the hurt on anything.

Which then has me asking...

Has anybody else found gray sludge in the screens when they rebuilt their carbs?

[chef1366]

Which then has me asking...

Has anybody else found gray sludge in the screens when they rebuilt their carbs?

It's the Pittsburgh air *

[snark]

It's the Pittsburgh air *

You may be right.

I live right down the street from a Crematorium...could be the exhaust from there.

[chef1366]

You may be right.

I live right down the street from a Crematorium...could be the exhaust from there.

You live by Bellevue right?

[Steve]

Which then has me asking...

Has anybody else found gray sludge in the screens when they rebuilt their carbs?

The only carbs I have had to rebuild were either bikes that I have just acquired and had probably been sitting around,
or they are carbs that have been sent to me for rebuilding.

The carbs in my wife's bike were rebuilt 5 years ago and have not been off the bike since then.
It runs very well, so I have absolutely NO urge to pull them off to check for crud (of any color) on the inlet screens.

.

[Adler]

You may be right.

I live right down the street from a Crematorium...could be the exhaust from there.

You mean to tell me you have people clogging your carbs?!

[snark]

You live by Bellevue right?

Live in Lawrenceville...worked in Bellvue...now working in Pine Twp.

[hikermikem]

You may be right.

I live right down the street from a Crematorium...could be the exhaust from there.

My God!! Maybe it's Aunt Edna !

[Road_Clam]

As for the E10...it won't crap up the bike, wreck the fuel lines, cause undue wear / tear, "kill the O-rings" or put the hurt on anything. The state of Minnesota REQUIRES that a MINIMUM of 10% Ethanol be used in all "general consumption fuel", sans diesel. And that, they are pushing for 10% "bio-diesel".

Fill up with a tankfull of E10 fuel, and let it "ferment" for a year and go back and open up all the fuel system components, trust me you will be horrified with what you see....

[atvpyrofreak]

I've defiantly seem some extensive aluminum corrosion/etching/pitting that I attribute to the ethanol in our MN fuel. If you are constantly cycling the fuel through and it never sits and gets old, it may not have problems, but I wouldn't want to leave it sit in my carbs all winter. I use the local non-oxygenated 91 "off road" gas when at all possible. I have no idea how the additives work

[snark]

I put in a capfull of Marvel Mystery Oil every tank and I notice a difference if I don't do it.

When I was at Bike Week and got to buy real gas I noticed a big difference...she ran a lot stronger. Unfortunately I'd have to use half a tank just to get to a station with the good stuff.

I was told that the gray sludge that I found in the screens was probably from the E10.

[Road_Clam]

The residue left behind after E10 fuel evaporates is corrosive to softer metals. This is the basis for all the issues with E10. If you consistantly maintain fuel turnovers it's not an issue. If the E10 sits for extended periods of time unused, this is when the BAD things will happen.

I've been religiously adding Startron for the past 3 years, and the stuff works awesome at treating E10 fuel.

[bwringer]

I always burn the cheapest crap I can find, and I've never noticed the slightest difference.

So there.


1) Ride more - any kind of gas, ethanol or no, will cause problems after long periods of storage. If you're not going to ride a bike for a couple of weeks, dump in some Sta-Bil or whatever preservative you prefer. Do this before the bike enters hibernation. Race and aviation fuels are formulated with additives that help them survive long periods of storage, but they're extremely expensive.

2) Fix your bike -- these are low compression air-cooled engines, not the freakin' space shuttle. If you think you feel a performance difference because of the gas, something else is wrong. Do some plug chops and get your jetting right, rewire your coils, or do whatever it takes and fix the problem.

3) Worry less. See #1.