how about ethanol in our bikes?

[ron bayless]

I understand many pumps nationwide are now using alcohol/gasoline and they will not work in older cars, even destroys their engine.my sons 2001 jetta is one example of a motor getting screwed up by it.dealer said he needs to use premium fuel now.I assume our old bikes like my gs 1000 should use premium too? I finally got my bike running great and now this potential problem comes up.Anyone know the answer about this?

[earlfor]

All GS1000's were specified to run on 87 octane gas. There is no advantage to using premium. Ethanol should not be used in the GS's as it will destroy the "O" ring seals in the carbs and the petcock.

Earl

I understand many pumps nationwide are now using alcohol/gasoline and they will not work in older cars, even destroys their engine.my sons 2001 jetta is one example of a motor getting screwed up by it.dealer said he needs to use premium fuel now.I assume our old bikes like my gs 1000 should use premium too? I finally got my bike running great and now this potential problem comes up.Anyone know the answer about this?

[ron bayless]

If We Shouldn Use Ethanol, And The Whole Gas Station Setup Nationwide Is Ethanol,then What Do We Do?

[dig dug mx6]

ALL the gas in my area is an 80/10 10% ethanol

[getsum]

All gasolines now supposedly have ethanol in it - 10 % I think here up to 15%

Oh well...

We are all screwed ----

Better get on ebay and buy those petsock kits and all those used engines - Wait - forget I said that -
Bye...
I have get on EBAY before you do.... :-D

[earlfor]

Plan on re-"O" ringing your carbs a couple of times a year I guess.. LOL

Earl

If We Shouldn Use Ethanol, And The Whole Gas Station Setup Nationwide Is Ethanol,then What Do We Do?

[duaneage]

They are only using Ethanol where they used to use MTBE. Mostly in urban areas. If you pay 25 cents a gallon more than the next county over chances are your buying ethanol.

I can get ethanol-free gas about 20 minutes from my house. I asked at the station and they said it does not have ethanol. I bought 50 gallons in cans and that is what I am using in my GS. Best part was the premium was cheaper than the low grade in my area. Idles better, starts easier, no pinging, and better mileage. That ethanol runs like dirt in my Escort, I tried the other stuff for a tank and the idle was better. Got 10% better mileage too. Ethanol gets worse mileage, something the oil companies and ADM like. I get 51 on the stuff I trucked over and 44 on the ethanol in my 650.

I have a O-ring kit for my carbs, and plan to use it if need be, until then I will avoid ethanol gas. The rings in my carbs won't take it. The newer the o-ring the longer they will last. My Honda is not going to be happy, there are lots of old rubber pieces that cost plenty to replace. Of course the EPA could care less and their position is " Oh, it shouldn't hurt a car or bike". Like they know what they are talking about.

[Boondocks]

As long as the ethanol concentration is 10% or less, the effect on elastomers (O rings) is not significant. At higher concentrations like E20 (20%), severe problems can result from swelling or shrinking. Fleet tests supported by documentation have been done by Australia to support this evaluation. Gas mileage is 2-3% less, but there is less pinging in both hot and cold weather with a 10% ethanol mix. Except for the E85 sold in the midwest which is used only in vehicles designed to use it, most gas containing ethanol is limited to a 10% content.

Methanol is much worse than ethanol, and can cause metal corrosion and more severe problems with elastomers. It is not commonly found in gas, as warranties may be voided through its use.

I used to go out of my way for may years to avoid gasohol (10% ethanol), but stopped when my GS1100 started pinging in hot weather using non-ethanol gas 87 octane gas. I switched to gasohol rated at 87 octane and the pinging stopped. I've used it ever since and got over 47 mpg at my last mileage check.

[duaneage]

The biggest problem I have with ethanol is the price. Adding it to the fuel raised the market price for a gallon of ethanol from 1.47 last june to 2.78 this may. So even if you discount cost add-ins your looking at 27 cents a gallon of ethanol added to the gas + the extra aggravation of transporting it and prepping the storage tanks. Stations had to dry the tanks out of water completely and that cost around 1500 to do. Guess who pays?
Did the powers to be really thing that the ethanol price would remain the same? Of course they did! That was an argument put forth when they pulled protection for refiners using MTBE after 15 years of mandating it.

[Boondocks]

The biggest problem I have with ethanol is the price. Adding it to the fuel raised the market price for a gallon of ethanol from 1.47 last june to 2.78 this may. So even if you discount cost add-ins your looking at 27 cents a gallon of ethanol added to the gas + the extra aggravation of transporting it and prepping the storage tanks. Stations had to dry the tanks out of water completely and that cost around 1500 to do. Guess who pays?
Did the powers to be really thing that the ethanol price would remain the same? Of course they did! That was an argument put forth when they pulled protection for refiners using MTBE after 15 years of mandating it.

I guess it depend in which part of the country you live. In my area, the cheapest gas around is gasohol. It is almost always less expensive than gas without it. I'm not sure why it costs less, but I agree with you that it may not be because of the cost of producing ethanol. I believe that Oregon's fuel supply comes mostly from Alaska and is refined in California. As a result, our gas isn't cheap and maybe in this area the ethanol mix is economically viable. It was recently announced in the news that two ethanol producing plants will be built in Oregon, so this would tend to support that possibility.

[wharrah]

I have been running ethanol in my GS650L since I have owned for the past three years... not a drip anywhere it shouldn't be, and my petcock works fine. I guess I won't tell my bike though..

[ron bayless]

So What Iam Gathering Here Is Find If The Mix And If It Is Over 10% It Doesnt Matter If The Bike Is My 1980 Or A 2006 Rubber Is Rubber.

[marvinsc]

So What Iam Gathering Here Is Find If The Mix And If It Is Over 10% It Doesnt Matter If The Bike Is My 1980 Or A 2006 Rubber Is Rubber.

Sounds about Right! I tried Gasahol as they were calling it back in the Early 80's in My 500 2 Stroke Suzi Street Bike. Yes, there was an increase in Power and Soon Rubber Gaskets started Failing. That's the Bike I Traded for the 79 1000E I had back then.

[ruddy]

They used a 10% mix during the cool weather months in this area, so I don't have much choice. My bike runs fine, and I don't have any fuel leaks.

[Roybean]

Here is a link to find gasoline in your area.

Congress mandated a 15% ethanol mixture in the near future.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=KY