Alcohol in the gas used to be a big concern back when I was on two-strokes.
What a lot of people don't know is that ethanol doesn't like to mix with gas
very well. As a result the fuel companies are allowed to add enough of
another type of alcohol "methanol I believe " to hold it together. They
don't have to label the pumps unless it's over a certain percentage but, and
this is a BIG but, all they have to count is the ethanol! I remember reading
an article in a magazine years ago that did some tests. They were finding
10% ethanol and sometimes up to 10% methanol added! The pump was labeled
10%, but in fact you were getting more like 20%.
The two problems we had with gasahol were 1. the two stroke oils we were
using didn't like to mix with alcohol. So if the alcohol settled to the
bottom you could get a straight dose and have no lubrication. 2. You need to
run twice as much alcohol as gas for the jetting to be right. So the more
alcohol in the fuel the leaner you run. Another problem is water absorbtion.
I never used to worry about it, because I never kept race gas for more than
a day or two.
In a 4-stroke like our KLR's I doubt if it would be a big deal as long as
the bike isn't lean to begin with and you don't leave gas sit in the tank
for long periods.
Incidentelly, an easy way to check for alcohol in gas is to take a clean
glass jar with a lid. Put in about 2 inches of water, then add about twice
that amount of gas. You want the jar about half full. Next put the cap on
and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. Set the jar down and let everything
settle. The water will immediately pull any alcohol out of suspension. You
will wind up with three levels. Water at bottom, alcohol in middle "it will
look cloudy ", and gas on top. It won't tell you percentage of alcohol just
the presence. Of course if you have two inches of gas on top and an inch of
alcohol things aren't looking good. If you are really desperate you can use
this method to purify the gas of any alcohol. Just make sure everything
settles completely and siphon the good gas off the top!
Like I said, we were paranoid because of the two strokes we ran. I
wouldn't worry too much in a properly jetted KLR! I just put some STP gas
treatment in every once in a while and stick to reputable gas stations! I
think anything labeled "oxygenated" has alcohol added.
Mike
>Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 19:35:50 -0500
> From: Alan L Henderson
>Subject: RE: Bored Carby
>
>At 03:00 PM 6/24/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>>Did you fuel in Utah? If so, what area, if you remember. One entire county
>>uses ethanol during the winter. The majority of the pumps are not marked.
>>
>>DAngus
>>
>
>
>
>> Sorry, I meant ethanol. They legally don`t have to label it if it`s below
>>10%. At those levels, it`s not always easy to tell by smell, that`s why
>>pilots with auto gas STC`s ( permission to legally use it) are admonished
to
>>use ethanol test kits when buying fuel, especially in the plains states. I
>>bought some in Nebraska and didn`t test it till I got home, and it was
>>around 8% , and I swear you couldn`t smell it. And the pump wasn`t labeled
>>either.
>>
>>Skip
>>
>
> Well you learn something new every day. I think all the "enhanced" gas in
>Iowa is 10 percent and there definitely would be a lower level that you
>couldn't smell the ethanol anymore. So, how much do the test kits cost and
>where would you get them? I'm not that worried about it for the bike but am
>just curious again.
> Alan Henderson A13 Iowa he who tries to stay away from alcohol
>most of the time