Gorecki Posted March 3, 2011 Report Posted March 3, 2011 Hello Will! I've been getting kind of crazy when it comes to fuels, octanes and ethanol content. I CAN NOT get anything that doesn't contain ethanol. And truthfully it's not an entirely aweful thing, just has it's shortcomings. The starting question is quite straight forward. How long should a 10% ethanol content fuel be considered okay to use? I'm under the impression even as little as two weeks the fuel begins to 'shift' lose octane and if any condensation gets involved, let alone that stuff that has set in a tank the entire winter. Any tidbits of insight would be grand!
Balistic Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 Hello Will! I've been getting kind of crazy when it comes to fuels, octanes and ethanol content. I CAN NOT get anything that doesn't contain ethanol. And truthfully it's not an entirely aweful thing, just has it's shortcomings. The starting question is quite straight forward. How long should a 10% ethanol content fuel be considered okay to use? I'm under the impression even as little as two weeks the fuel begins to 'shift' lose octane and if any condensation gets involved, let alone that stuff that has set in a tank the entire winter. Any tidbits of insight would be grand! The new fuels have caused me no end of problems with my dirt bikes, I have had carbs clogged in two weeks! other than how fast it will flash off in a carb I have no problems with is sitting in FI bikes at all. Keep your tank as full as possible and drain the carbs before storage either with the float bowl screws of by running it until it stops with the fuel off.
sslowmo Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 I also do that after every dirt bike Ride. I had too many problems with the carbs getting gummed up after sitting for a period of time. I haven't had a problem since.
Hotfoot Posted March 9, 2011 Report Posted March 9, 2011 Hello Will! I've been getting kind of crazy when it comes to fuels, octanes and ethanol content. I CAN NOT get anything that doesn't contain ethanol. And truthfully it's not an entirely aweful thing, just has it's shortcomings. The starting question is quite straight forward. How long should a 10% ethanol content fuel be considered okay to use? I'm under the impression even as little as two weeks the fuel begins to 'shift' lose octane and if any condensation gets involved, let alone that stuff that has set in a tank the entire winter. Any tidbits of insight would be grand! The new fuels have caused me no end of problems with my dirt bikes, I have had carbs clogged in two weeks! other than how fast it will flash off in a carb I have no problems with is sitting in FI bikes at all. Keep your tank as full as possible and drain the carbs before storage either with the float bowl screws of by running it until it stops with the fuel off. OK, so my dirt bike often runs poorly after sitting for a few weeks without being run... are you saying that all I need to do to prevent that is to shut off the fuel switch and run it until it quits? Can I/should I do the same thing with my Moriwaki 250? Does it make the bike harder to start when you next restart it? Wow, that sounds like a really simple solution to a really annoying problem... Is it bad for the bike in any way?
Balistic Posted March 9, 2011 Report Posted March 9, 2011 Hello Will! I've been getting kind of crazy when it comes to fuels, octanes and ethanol content. I CAN NOT get anything that doesn't contain ethanol. And truthfully it's not an entirely aweful thing, just has it's shortcomings. The starting question is quite straight forward. How long should a 10% ethanol content fuel be considered okay to use? I'm under the impression even as little as two weeks the fuel begins to 'shift' lose octane and if any condensation gets involved, let alone that stuff that has set in a tank the entire winter. Any tidbits of insight would be grand! The new fuels have caused me no end of problems with my dirt bikes, I have had carbs clogged in two weeks! other than how fast it will flash off in a carb I have no problems with is sitting in FI bikes at all. Keep your tank as full as possible and drain the carbs before storage either with the float bowl screws of by running it until it stops with the fuel off. OK, so my dirt bike often runs poorly after sitting for a few weeks without being run... are you saying that all I need to do to prevent that is to shut off the fuel switch and run it until it quits? Can I/should I do the same thing with my Moriwaki 250? Does it make the bike harder to start when you next restart it? Wow, that sounds like a really simple solution to a really annoying problem... Is it bad for the bike in any way? Exactly, if you do that the fuel level in the bowl will be below the pilot jet and that is what clogs up easily. The best way is to drain the bowl and leave it dry, the worst thing is to leave it with the fuel on. The aromatics evaporate off and leave the heavier material with a flow of gas from the tank to keep the bowl full. You wouldn't believe what my daughters KX 100 carb looked like after two months sitting with the fuel on, pre-mix make it much worse as the oil will tend to settle out anyway and doesn't evaporate out of the gas. The bowl becomes a sludge pit.
spgtech Posted April 13, 2011 Report Posted April 13, 2011 Try the website of www.pure-gas.org. It lists alcohol free gas locations by state. I found a station which has 92 octane with no Ethanol that is 15 miles from my house. A bit far for a normal fill up, but my gas cans for the race bike take a trip there quite regularly. -Sean
Gorecki Posted April 13, 2011 Author Report Posted April 13, 2011 Try the website of www.pure-gas.org. It lists alcohol free gas locations by state. I found a station which has 92 octane with no Ethanol that is 15 miles from my house. A bit far for a normal fill up, but my gas cans for the race bike take a trip there quite regularly. I've been well aware of the site (and others) for quite a while, unfortunately around here it's not of much benefit. It takes a half a tank of fuel in a car to get a fillup. Not very practical to say the least.
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