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Effects of E10 and E20 fuel on the GS engines?

Spiff

Spiff

Forum Mentor
So the Norwegian government in their infinit wisdom has stated that during the course of 2018 all regular fuel sold is gonna contain a 10% blend of ethanol as opposed to the 3.5-5% of today. And finally in 2020 it will be a bumped up to 20%.
So this has caused quite a stir her among mc and classic car people so I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of this fuel on the gs or similar engines? They say carburetted vehicles are gonna suffer....

I'm guessing there will still be non ethanol fuel available like 98RON but because it isnt sold as much as the 95 and its more expensive alot of gas stations in rural areas have quit selling it, like in my instance I would have to drive an hour just to get 98 fuel....
 

Where I live the fuel is all 10% Ethanol -
When I can get regular old gas (some other state ) my MPG goes up
The bike doesn't mind it otherwise - but it does go through 'phase separation" more soon --
Breaks down into fuel, water, organic compounds, etc. and can clog jets pretty easily.
Using fuel stabilizer like Stabil or Seafoam helps a lot to prevent this breakdown of fuel components.

When they go to E20 -- all bets are off... our bikes are doomed to be museum pieces.
 
Wingsconsin said:



When they go to E20 -- all bets are off... our bikes are doomed to be museum pieces.
Click to expand...

That's a bit drastic - the real problem is ethanol will degrade rubbers and seals over time and especially if fuel is being stored. So, winter storage would be best with draining the fuel totally.

Replace your fuel hoses with ethanol resistant ones, and as long as you aren't running a fibreglass tank, you should be OK.
 
That...and the fact ethanol attracts moisture and can get water introduced into the fuel systems. One way around that would be to drain the carb bowls if you know the bike is gonna set a while..say 3 weeks or more. Then connect the fuel line from the tank and drain a dose off before refilling the carbs from the tank Any settleed out stuff "should" be at the bottom of the tank and readily be drained off one would think.
 
Other than it goes off quick all my GS's have only had the 10% ethanol stuff (except for maybe when I went to Nevada). It's all you can get here....

Stabil definitely seems to help.
 
salty_monk said:
Other than it goes off quick all my GS's have only had the 10% ethanol stuff (except for maybe when I went to Nevada). It's all you can get here....

Stabil definitely seems to help.
Click to expand...

Are you putting a bit of Stabil in your tank every time you fill up or only when you know it's going to sit for a while?
 
salty_monk said:
Other than it goes off quick all my GS's have only had the 10% ethanol stuff (except for maybe when I went to Nevada). It's all you can get here....

Stabil definitely seems to help.
Click to expand...
Also applies to lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc.


Recently bought a new lawn mower & they recommended using Stabil all of the time.
Its also easy to figure out how much you need if you add the Stabil to the gas can.
 
81733309-38d0-4bdc-8542-be504e2bb652.jpg._CB292591575_.jpg
 
I know the ethanol goes bad pretty quick and becomes corrosive. Ive got an ATV with an FCR carburetor that always has issues with the stuff if it sets more than a few weeks. It'll seize the aluminum float needle to the brass seat assembly, and that's using Stabil and Marvel oil. It sometimes takes pliers to remove it. Its also corrosive to the accelerator pump diaphragm on cars and bikes that are so equipped.

Theoretically you should have to use a larger jet and the motor should run slightly cooler, but I doubt you'd notice....well maybe with the E-20, but not the E-10.
 
Ive noticed that my bike runs better with a shot of Sta Bil in the tank. I dont use it all the time, but occasionally. It also seems to run better when I fill up in Pa, but I cant seem to definitively find if ethanol is used in Pa super unleaded. They were fighting the ethanol mandate I read though.
I also found a site called Pure Gas that lists gas stations by state and Canada that sell ethanol free gas.
 
I looked them up. http://pure-gas.org/

It appears a lot of MurphyUSA stations are ethanol free. Around here, those are the ones outside of WalMarts. I'm going to do more research and see if all of them are. The only two it showed by me are 70 miles and 30 miles away. A little too far to ride to fill up. :p
 
Deuce said:
I looked them up. http://pure-gas.org/

It appears a lot of MurphyUSA stations are ethanol free. Around here, those are the ones outside of WalMarts. I'm going to do more research and see if all of them are. The only two it showed by me are 70 miles and 30 miles away. A little too far to ride to fill up. :p
Click to expand...

Just checked NM nada.
 
azr said:
Are you putting a bit of Stabil in your tank every time you fill up or only when you know it's going to sit for a while?
Click to expand...

These days I ride less... (Kids) and ride the KLR more often when I do go (Henry is now riding short hops with me and can't reach the pegs on the Zuki) so I just stick a squirt in every tank. Despite best intentions it can often sit 3-5 weeks without being ridden!
 
I've seen that fairly new E-20....ugh. My old van was flex fuel capable and when I tried a few tanks of the E-85 my mileage dropped enough that it wasn't worth it the supposed savings....that was back when you could save your E-85 receipts and send those in for tax credit...{which also wasn't worth it}.
This dang ethanol is simply tearing up old gaskets and float bowls to the point the old cars and cycles won't stay running for years to come...guess they planned it that way. When cash for clunkers died off we were left with clunker gas to finish the job...just no cash given to us. I suppose it could be worse - think it's France that has that whole nothing before 1980ish gets licensed any more there....nice!
 
I know when we took our cross country trip my MPG with ethanol was around 28-29 and non ethanol 35-36 riding two up fully loaded, the "savings" are neglegatible
 
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