[RobertTravis]

I used it to desludge my Dakota engine last fall.
Halfway thru the tankful of E-85 the oil pressure
gauge went to zero and back up. Did this a few times
during the same drive. Dumped the oil and it came
out in globs mixed in with the oil. Put in a quart of oil, 4 qts diesel,
idled it for 6 min, and more globs fell out. Bet that baby is
squeaky clean in there, and luckily ethanol free gas is available
here in Indy-anna. NONE of that stuff is going into my bike unless
roadtrippin' so it's getting cooked out right away.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap
Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap

Roundy-Round cars built to run on alky run 'bean oil' for that very reason...It'll wash all the oil off the cylinder walls and creep into the crankcase.

Luckily I have access to corn-free fuel down the street at the track. 100-116 octane...but it's $6-11/gal. Works great for any orphan that didn't get Startron in it before being parked.

Startron (by StarBrite) has been great for my stuff. Apparently it's one of the only ones that will 'convert' bad gas to burnable fuel because it has some kind of enzyme in it that gets the alky bonded to the gas again...or so they say. I put 1/2 a bottle in the KLR and topped it off with 100 octane when it sat and would only run choked...drove it around varying throttle the whole time and it eventually cleaned the slop out of the carb. The carb is a PITA to get out on that thing...

[Cheap Bass Turd]

I used it to desludge my Dakota engine last fall.
Halfway thru the tankful of E-85 the oil pressure
gauge went to zero and back up. Did this a few times
during the same drive. Dumped the oil and it came
out in globs mixed in with the oil. Put in a quart of oil, 4 qts diesel,
idled it for 6 min, and more globs fell out. Bet that baby is
squeaky clean in there, and luckily ethanol free gas is available
here in Indy-anna. NONE of that stuff is going into my bike unless
roadtrippin' so it's getting cooked out right away.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap
Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap

[katanarider]

Figured I'd update this thread since its got so many visits:
Local pump... January/30/2017

[90GixxerGeezer]

Evil ethanol

My solution to the evil ethanol problem for all my engines that may sit idle for weeks or months at a time is to drain the existing fuel, then put 2 gallons of 100LL avgas in the tank and fire it up for a few minutes to purge any remaining auto gas from the system. Aviation fuel us engineered to sit in aircraft tanks for YEARS without any significant change in chemistry. It is non-corrosive and friendly to all known carburetor gaskets and fuel lines and fittings. At 6 bucks a gallon it is cheap insurance. You can obtain it from your nearest general abiation airport FBO. Plus, the bike really snorts when running on that stuff.

Err .. aviation, not abiation.. My bad

[92xjunker]

Yeah, none here and getting thinner. I would sue my state for repair of my vehicle caused by this fuel. They know it damages vehicles, even e85 rated. Alcohol is corrosive.

[bucket_hat_jojo]

not sure if it's been mentioned, but there are sites that tell you what gas stations serve ethanol free gas.

[jettrod]

evil ethenol

I have a 2001 kawasaki klr 650 that I bought new. In the owners manual it says to NOT use ethinol blended gas as it will likely cause problems with the fuel system such as moisture build up. It does say that you can use it if no other fuel is available, but to use as little as possible. Unfortunately it is difficult to find gas without ethenol in it in Canada. I do believe that the premium gas at some stations doesn't have ethenol in it so ya might just have to shop around. It does tell you that it can't be good for your bike tho if the manufacturer says not to use it. Not sure why it's in there anyway, seems to me that the study's have shown that you'll get worse milage and have less power with ethenol blended gas, although I don't think it's quite as bad as that mtbe was that used to be in our gas until it was proven to be way worse for the environment as well as messing up fuel pumps in vehicles. I believe Shell stations were paying for fuel pump replacements in Chrysler minivans a few years ago because of it.

[nfs_riffle]

Good to know! From the website I saw, it seems like Esso and Shell's grade 91 are Ethanol free here in Quebec. I'll try to stick with that.

[lastleg]

This just happened to me, as well. Bike was running great after the rebuild... the new Yosh can really breathes and the stock jets are pretty close to what I need. After a fill up in Sullivan County, NY... the bike started running poorly and smelled like i was losing fuel or, at the very least, running overly-rich. Lots of backfiring and incomplete combustion. Would barely idle...300-400 RPM. A little teeny bit of choke would keep it running.

Picking up another jet kit on Saturday and ripping down the carbs for a re-jetting and cleaning. Will use the new manometer to balance and see how it goes... time to print up carbs 101 again...

[RatVette]

In the late 70's early 80's there were some stations selling "Gasohol" which as far as I can tell was the beginning of the new blended gas we all are stuck with.

I remember that.I even had a 92 Chevy Lumina here in Germany,with Cal. specs,labeled as a "Multi fuel" vehicle for just that reason.

Germany has been 5% ethanol for years now.The gov. tried to force the 10% ethanol mix on us by penalising gas stations that did'nt sell there quotas worth.Didn't work out so well.People still shunned it,and left the stations holding the bag.There was a huge scare brought on by the press and car clubs claiming the older vehicles would'nt tolerate 10% without modifications to the fuel systems,and even then, the engines would'nt hold up, and people bought into it. We still have both at the pumps with 10% being 4 cents cheaper,and even at $8.00 a gallon for the 5%, I won't use the 10% either.not because of the hype,but because the spreadbore Holley I run on my vehicle did'nt even like the 5% without modifications for alcohol fuels.I surely won't put it in my dirt bikes either,with their plastic tanks,and floats.

[grslightn]

Here's a test... pour alcohol on one hand and gasoline on the other. See which one gets hotter

So back to the issue... because my Kat doesn't move very often, or for very long. What's the best option as far as gas that'll be sitting in the tank for more than a few days?

The alcohol will burn cooler on the hand as it has a lower vapor (flash) point. The gasoline will just flash.

I just cross referenced the MSDS sheets and chemical databases for Seafoam, Stabil ethanol, and Star-tron fuel additives.

Seafoam: pale oil (petroleum distillates), naphtha, isopropyl alcohol.
Stabil ethanol: hydrotreated light (petroleum) distillate, proprietary additive.
Star-tron: proprietary enzyme, naphtha.

Here's an interesting article regarding ethanol-fuel blend and use of preventative additives.

http://www.goldeagle.com/UserFiles/file/Ethanol%20411/Gold%20Eagle%20eGas%20Article%20PSL.pdf

[Tuner Auto]

Ethanol issue has plagued my new to my 96 750 . SLowly getting it rectified.

[crazycraven420]

I've been using the star-tron enzyme treatment since almost day 1 with my kat. It seems to run smoother all the way around compared to running straight e10 (when I run out of star-tron) an that was riding every day as well and not letting her sit for more than a weekend. Now that work slowed an I'm not commuting as much I make sure she has star-tron run thru the system before I park her. I'm personally sold on this stuff. Also, the good thing is you can't "overdose" the ratio you add. In other words you don't really have to measure it as you add it at the pump, I've just eyed out a fair amount each time compared to quantity of gas added making it much easier when your on the go.

As for seafoam, it worked ok for cleaning out some gunk when I first got her running again but I wouldn't call it a "regular maintenance" product as in every fill up.

[JaredD]

I know the seafoam can also be added to help break up sludge in the oil and vacuum lines. Those stabilizers are just stabilizers though right?

[boomer_95]

The guys at both major shops here in the tri cities area in TN recommend this stuff, you can buy it at Lowe's in the lawnmower and chainsaw areas.

http://ktvintagecars.com/products_files/startron8oz.gif

Here's another link to it.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...0BD1CE&first=1

my shop sells star-tron stabilizer and we haven't had a single complaint yet. and we see ALOT of dirty carbs on small engines (lawnmowers, chainsaws...)

ive put it in my bike before, but then its never sitting long enough for ethonol to really do any harm