STA-BIL in Every Tank or Just During Storage?

[greg78gs750]

the star-tron seems to work well too. i alternate on the last 5 or so tanks of the season, different deal than there in cali.

[Jethro]

Not the bike but my snowmobile gets Startron every tank and it hasn't hurt anything.

[trippivot]

fresh PURE GAS . please.

Carbs on my bike gunked up for the second time this year. I'm getting pretty darn fast with the clean up business (just a little over an hour), but truth be told I'm getting sick of it. This second time was with a double dose of Seafoam in the fuel too.

Bought some STA-BIL 360 Marine and reviewing the product info it looks to be pretty good stuff. It outgasses and protects the inside of the tank, and the system in general, from corrosion. Noticed the bottom of the float bowls looked sort of discolored on these carbs so some protection seems like a good thing.

All you need is something like 1/2 oz per 5 gallons for regular use, or twice that for extended storage. Anyone out there using this stuff with every tank? I don't ride this bike very much so I'm leaning that way. Can't hurt right?

getting tired of the BS? Well a double blast of seafoam is NOT HELPING YOU! no wonder! for crying out loud - you guys think I'm a dunce? I'm rude? I have posted it time and time again.

DO NOT USE SEAFOAM!! EVER . it will burn a coating onto your spark plugs also!

sta-bil changes when it gets near freezing and discolors everything - It really does not work 100% I learned this when I moved to Wisconsin from Arizona.
Sstar tron is just another snake oil product. OH we sell a lot of it at the shop
TECHRON in a bottle? $40 of snake oil playing on your desire and imagination of doing the best for your baby..... please!?! the answer is soooo simple.
fresh PURE GAS - no not alcohol or mtbe crud at the local corner hi-jack-e market. Use the yellow pages and find a vendor for petro chemicals and buy some gasoline not intended for street use.

A small amount of 2 stroke oil will protect your gas tank from rust and it is designed to blend and burn - some types separate at freezing temps. blenzerall is a top shelf freezing temperature resistant product.

I prefer to use sunnoco standard racing gasoline -purple 110 and it can sit for 6 years - ask me how I know.
VP has a unleaded formula and many excellent other levels like c9, c12 -stay away from the oxygenated Q types - they need to be removed from the whole fuel system immediately after using.
Turbo blue,
Cam 2,
any gasoline that has no alcohol ALONE will do better than a witch brew of distillates and propriety formulas.

[Nessism]

getting tired of the BS? Well a double blast of seafoam is NOT HELPING YOU! no wonder! for crying out loud - you guys think I'm a dunce? I'm rude? I have posted it time and time again.
.

Can't speak for everyone but I don't think you are a dunce, but you are rude. And since when did this thread become about you???

Every time one of these "ethanol laced fuel sucks" threads comes up someone recommends purchasing pure gas. Unfortunately, that stuff is all but outlawed where I live. There are a few places around that sell pure gas but I don't feel like driving half an hour to get the stuff. In lieu of that fuel additives are the only game in town.

[bccap]

Admittedly I have access to ethanol free gas and use Chevron's premium gas as my choice. I have used Seafoam in the past and can't say if it does anything or not. Last year I developed a lugging in my car when driving at 50mph and attributed it to possible fuel injector problem. I went on line and many were recommending LucasOil injector and carb cleaner which is supposed to lubricate as well. { what it lubricates I have no idea } In any case I decided to add it to my 1100 as well as it sits for months between uses. I have to admit it fires right up and purrs like a kitten when it does get used. I "think" it is running better than in the past but it could be the placebo effect. I just don't know. I will continue to use it though........

[JEEPRUSTY]

Stabil mot work? brekdown in cold temps?
It gets below 30 c here in the dead of winter on nice days
no discolouration
no failure to start first push of the starter button

What are the passing off as gas out there?

[Fjbj40]

I just noticed the other day while filling up that the regular and mid-grade has up to 10% ethanol. The supreme however does not have that notice on the selector. So I am assuming that the supreme is ethanol free?

Supreme is all I run in my 1085, I add sta-bil for the sleep period. No problems yet.

This year I started draining the carbs on my Honda outboard due to the fact that I rebuilt them this summer and I burn only regular unleaded in it.

I am not looking forward to the higher ethanol based fuels when they finally arrive here, from things I have read so far.

Does all supreme unleaded not have ethanol in it or is that here and eventually it will?

[bccap]

I don't know about Nova Scotia but here just Chevron supreme is ethanol free and says that on the pump. One indicator is there will be a separate hose not just a choice of grade through the same hose. At least that's the way it is here.....

[mrbill5491]

No pure gas here. All grades are 10% ethanol. Did have one station that was ethanol free but its long gone. I use the Lucas Ethanol treatment since I rebuilt my carbs. Not one problem in 2 1/2 years. I use 2-3 ounces when I fill up after a ride. Usually during a ride I don't use it.

[JJ]

No pure gas here. All grades are 10% ethanol. Did have one station that was ethanol free but its long gone. I use the Lucas Ethanol treatment since I rebuilt my carbs. Not one problem in 2 1/2 years. I use 2-3 ounces when I fill up after a ride. Usually during a ride I don't use it.

Ummmm.... If you add 2-3 ounces after a ride, aren't you "using it" on the next ride?

[TxGSrider]

I've got an atv that uses a Keihin FCR carb that if you let it set for more than a 3 or 4 weeks with our ethanol in it will "weld" the float needle in place. It uses a brass holder and a Viton tipped aluminum float needle and something about the ethanol corrodes the two together and requires pliers to pull it out and usually destroys the valve. Ive been through 3 in 3 years. At first I thought it was a fluke, then the second time I learned my lesson, and now I use Stabil in it whenever I put gas in so I don't forget later. Havent had any problems since then.

[Fjbj40]

So it sounds like ethanol is really bad for carbs then?

what about the FI bikes, are they like the new cars and have the claim of flex fuel?

[JTGS850GL]

Depending on the specific FI bike it can be as bad or worse then with carbs. The problem is moisture. The Ethanol will allow moisture to combine with the gas and transport that water to components down stream. Some fuel pumps and some injectors are susceptible to water intrusion and damage. Other systems not so much.

I have a couple 1990's 300ZX Twin Turbo's at the house. The earlier model injectors were notorious for being damaged by ethanol. At 500 bucks a set it was getting pretty tiring and expensive to replace them every year or two.

[trippivot]

it's not about me NESSIM - it's about knuckleheads that doctor up their gasoline

So it sounds like ethanol is really bad for carbs then?

what about the FI bikes, are they like the new cars and have the claim of flex fuel?

Made my own injector cleaner fixture before they were commercially available.

Interesting thing about FI bikes -- the gas evaporates and leaves behind the resin just like carb bikes. However a FI bike has a fuel pump and the injector will drip fluid gas instead of spray a fine mist. carb bikes will not run with a plugged pilot and a FI bike will run -- unless the pump gets stuck - very common issue.

look down the intake of a FI bike and if you see a black tar like goop on the tulip of the intake valve you have a problem and probably don't know it. Now if you find you have that build up, I am very sure the guys that doctor their gas can tell you what to put into your gasoline to remedy that problem too.

yes most pump gas is hydroscopic and water contaminated gas will cause running problems but in this post we are dealing with some poor guy that has to be reminded how to avoid a simple - preventable problem.

ethanol is not bad it just evaporates over time. once you understand the physics and typical deterioration - you can make a strategy that works for you to prevent typical problems .

some guys choose to take it to the shop and let a guy like me solve it. or even better do it themselves.

[GS1000S]

I've been using Star tron in every tank on the bikes I don't ride regularly. I try and keep non-ethanol fuel in my old GS bikes year round also. I add a little more in the winter for storage and as winter nears I switch over my late model bikes to non-ethanol fuel with stabilizer. I don't like cleaning carbs.