[KevyKev]

Hey all. I know that our Sprints are "supposed" to be okay with E10, although I try to avoid it if possible (getting pretty difficult to do). I just read this article in the St Louis Post. Thought you all might be interested. Kinda sucks for anybody with older machines of any sort if this happens. Any ideas if our Sprints could handle even more ethanol conetent??

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...74F1E7906952BA9A862575890010A097?OpenDocument

 

[Shovelstrokeed]

Ethanol will attack and break down the resins in fiberglass fuel tanks. It does take long term exposure and is not really a concern for us.

There is little to no reactivity in all the common plastics and rubber used on our bikes. Buna-N or Viton are the most common O-ring material and there is no issue there. It will attack polycarbonate though so you should avoid getting it in contact with windscreens or face shields.

I think some of the studies are a bit flawed, in particular those about combustion temperatures, or idle speed, going up. Ethanol contains far less energy (about 30%) than gasoline so it should produce less heat. The only way I can see idle speeds increasing is if the mixture was already too rich and the ethanol content caused the engine to go leaner and thereby speed up slightly.

 

[KevyKev]

All very good points and I agree. I'm not too worried about if they do increase the ethanol content. I still try to find locations that supposedly don't have the stuff though. However, I'm guessing older machinery will have problems with the blends, especially if they do increase the percentage. Also, from what I understand, this would also likely decrease our milage (not that I'm worried about that with the bike!).

 

[test-reg]

I was just reading the Service Manual for my Bonnie over the weekend -- there is a statement in there about ethanol - don't quote me, but I want to say it said to keep the percentage to less than 15%.

 

[KevyKev]

guess I should post a quick summary of the article (STL Post/newspaper kinda sucks anyways). Basically, the lobbies are pushing for a quick increase to 12-13%, thus aiding the ethanol industries. Ultimately, according to the article, 15% is what they are shooting for, so E15 must be on the horizon.

 

[DaveM]

As a point of interest I asked my dealer service dept manager a couple of years ago if ethanol fuel would damage my '04 955 Sprint and was told it would be ok.

Having said that, I avoid it and in Australia I try to stick to either BP 98 Ultimate, Caltex 98 Vortex or Mobil Synergy 8000 (98).

I put ethanol in it once 'cos I had no choice but it is still easy to avoid this fuel in Australia.

DaveM

 

[MickSprint06]

Use the best fuel that is available, you're not running a V8 so cost shouldn't be a concern. Ethanol is a very contraversial subject and many people have opinions on whether it is good or bad. Fact is, the internal combustion motor we use was designed to run primarily on petrol (gasoline) so I don't really care what assurances some pencil neck gives me, I'm sticking to 100% petrol for as long as I can. The government here have the jack-boots on regarding this and soon we will have no choice but to use ethanol, until then they can jamb it.

 

[Lazarus Long]

Over here in Europe we have ethanol fuel called E85, which is 15% ethanol, but it is sold from a separate pump and not mixed in with your regular unleaded fuel.

 

[KevyKev]

All excellent posts. I too try to run gas without any ethanol, and premium at that, but here, especially in the midwest US, MANY places have the 10% content. I just happened upon this article today and posted. Basically, as said above, it appears our gub-ment is gonna force this on us eventually here in the US. Funny how this would come about right inline with the ethanol industries hurting.