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Sooner State ABATE Sentinel - Volume 2 Issue 2
Hoobee’s Safety Corner
Greeting my SOONER STATE ABATE
Brother and Sisters, last month my son
and I road about 1300 miles thru New
Mexico, it was hot and dry but we had a
blast. But we ran into one little problem
ethanol only fuel, my CVO did fine but
my sons 98 EVO did not like it after
about 1100 miles. This leads us to my
next article Ethanol Fuel Problems and
Treatment.
Most motorcycle manufacturers urge
owners to use pure gasoline in their
motorcycles. At least one motorcycle
maker, Ducati, considers ethanol to be a
gas additive and its use voids the cycle’s
warranty. Harley Davidson and Suzuki,
also tell their bike owners that regular
unleaded gasoline is the best choice
for their engines. If you have no choice
because regular unleaded gasoline is
not available in your area, it’s best to
arm yourself with the facts. Here are the
issues you may face running your motorcycle on E10 Fuel.
Studies have shown that a pound of
ethanol produces 30 percent fewer
BTUs of heat than a pound of gasoline.
This decreases mileage by the percentage of ethanol added to gasoline. So,
E10 mileage is 3 percent less than that
of regular unleaded gasoline. Not only
that, but the “leaning out” of the fuel–air
mixture that powers motorcycle engines
running on ethanol is enough to cause
engine damage. Ethanol related problems for motorcyclists, include: Exposure to alcohol can rust metal fuel-system part and warp or otherwise damage
parts of rubber, plastic, and other sealing
materials Ethanol soaks up water from
everything, including air. Once alcohol in
gasoline has soaked up enough water,
it causes phase separation and water
contamination. E10 Fuel has a shorter
shelf life, and creates engine deposits
that can cause your bike to run poorly or
worse leave you stranded on the side of
the road in the middle of nowhere.
High quality fuel additives can help
your engine deal with the effects of E10
gasoline. When searching for the right
fuel additive, look for one that isn’t made
of alcohol. Many of today’s fuel additives that are alcohol based can actually
worsen the problem. Instead of fixing
ethanol related problems, they add to
them. Remember to read labels carefully, and if you are not sure if a product
has alcohol, you can always ask. Alcohol is known by many names when used
as an additive, some of these names
are Propanol or Isopropanol, Methanol,
Ch3OH, Carbinol, Carbon Disulfide,
and N-Butoxyethanol the list was quite
long. There are other possible additives
to fuel treatments that are not good for
your motorcycle, they are Desiccants not alcohol but they also have a strong
affinity for moisture and will absorb
relatively large amounts of water from
the environment. Deliquescent salts
include: Calcium chloride, magnesium
chloride, zinc chloride, Carnallite and
sodium hydroxide.
The good news is there are non-alcohol containing treatments available for
cleaning carburetors and fuel injector
they stabilize the gas, giving it a longer
shelf life and preventing phase separation and water contamination. Some
products may combine stabilizers and
corrosion inhibitors. A well-managed additive program and regular maintenance
per the manufacturer will go a long way
towards keeping your bike running well.
Some well-known ones are Seafoam
and Sta-Bil 360, there are several other
out there so just be careful and read
those labels.
So until next Quarter ride safe my family... MAY GOD BLESS AND PROTECT
YOU ALL.
HOOBEE
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