Ethanol gas - any issues?

[Alley_Kat]

I am taking a trip through Illinois this weekend. My father in law said that they use the 20% ethanol mix there. He said it made his VW run terrible.
Are there any issues using that gas in the Kat?
Do I need to do anything to run that gas?

[Tuna]

no problems

I live in Illinois and you will have no problems anything over 10% is clearly marked and actually not to mant stations carry it.

[Kat-A-Tonic]

It's my understanding that ethanol is not recommended for winter storage as it is hard on some of the components of the Katana, largely due to the fact it attracts water, which is obviously bad for the performance of your machine. Personally, I find that anytime my bike has any ethanol in its fuel, it doesn't run as well.

[tnvatdreamland]

We run 10% ethenol down here in Texas, and I haven't had any problems with it at all. However, I wouldn't run any E85 fuel.
If a fuel stabilizer mix is used during periods of inactivity, this should solve any problems associated with ethenol in your gas.

[slayergsxf1]

From 1993 to 2006 I ran premium gas in my 750 Kat,due to gas prices I started running regular 87 in it for a while, I dont know the percentage of ethanol in it but whether on a short ride or long ride when I put the bike away it smelled of gas. So strong it was unbearable. After about 2 to 3 hours of sitting the odor would go away..switched back to premium and the smell is gone..maybe coincidence ,had a stuck float who knows..anyhow this season I'm still on premium and no smell....

[newride]

I talked to a dealer about this the other day and he said that the ethanol is a problem with some bikes, but try a fuel additive, like Startron, seafoam, etc.
Doesnt matter if you use 87 or 93 Octane, there is still the same amount of ethanol in the differnt grades.
So I am told........
I would add something if the content is higher than 10% Ethanol

[The CyberPoet]

Check your owner's manual, where it cautions you not to use above a certain percentage of alcohol in the fuel.

The reason for this is that alcohol has a very low stoichiometric rate, and it will cause the engine to run way too lean, giving you unreliable detonations and potentially damaging the valves and/or piston-crowns due to heat. Running a richer jetkit (such as the Ivan's, DynoJet or FactoryPro) wll bump the fuel-supply up, and buy you a larger percentage of alcohol your bike can safely burn before it goes to lean.

The three other concerns:
1. Alcohol is hygroscopic, meaing it pulls water out of air. Since the bike has a non-sealed gas tank, this can be a serious problem; the fuller the gas tank is, the less of an issue it is (because there's less air in the tank for the fuel to suck the moisture out of).
2. Alcohol evaporates quite readily, which again, given the bike's unsealed gas tank, can mean you're buying fuel you'll never get a chance to burn because it evaporated while you were parked.
and finally:
3. Alcohol produces significantly less power per-gallon than standard gasolines, so total performance decreases as well (worse fuel mileage).

If you do go through high-alcohol country, I'd also suggest running a water-remover additive through the tank when you get back home, just to be on the safe side (STP makes one, available at most auto parts stores).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet