Ethanol-Chemically harmful

[bmwsog]

Our horizontal twins and singles are made of mostly metal and rubber-with a minimum of other products.
The engines were designed to best function and run reliably on pure gasoline. They were NOT designed to run on alcohol or alcohol by-products.

Gas lines are adversely affected, steel tanks will rust before their time, and the efficiency of the engine and gas mileage
goes south. In short, ethanol is bad stuff for your motorcycle and the environment: it costs more to produce, and it really is'nt green-it is inefficient to manufacture, causing more fuel to be burned-and it requires more of it over the same distance than gasoline.

I was warned some time ago about making politically incorrect statements on this forum venue-at another location.
So I will abstain from making incendiary remarks, that are the hallmark of many combat veterans-whose august body
from which I am part and parcel.

So- we are at 10-12-15 % ethanol in many parts of the US. If the current administration provides subsidies in the right amounts to farmers in Iowa and Illinois-we may even see no pure gasoline. In other countries, citizens have the right to choose the quality and content of their gasoline. Vote responsibly for real change.

Pure gasoline locations are posted on the internet. Smart owners of vintage BMW cycles do their due diligent research.

[Matteo]

This reads too much like a political statement. It is not a question of being politically incorrect, just a question of being political. I don't believe ethanol subsidies are limited to one political party.

[stagewex]

I have no options in my area to purchase ethanol-free fuel. At the pump it's usually 10%. In the Winter there seems to be a higher ratio blend of 14%. Really smells different when you start you car or bike on a cold morning.
Last month when I was up at Lake George, NY for "Americade" I filled up daily at two local gas stations that advertised and had ethanol-free gas. I could tell the difference in my 750cc Carb Ural Boxer engine right away. The Harley's riding with me really couldn't but they filled their bikes as well when they saw how excited I was to buy real gas. Not all the gas stations had this fuel but the ones right on or by the lake did. Boat folks know that this is the best thing for their engines.
I have a 2.5 Jerry Can full of the good stuff for the r60/2. Wish I had more.

[schrader7032]

Some people are lucky to have a "pure gas" station nearby. I'd have to drive 200 miles to find one. Search:

http://pure-gas.org

[stagewex]

... that the prices at these two gas stations were wildly different, one was $5.00 a gallon, the other was $3.50 a gallon. That was for premium/91 octane. Expensive stuff but I'm paying about $3.50 for corn gas by my house anyway. And that's for regular/87 octane.

[khittner]

Much a-do about not much.

I've poured E-10 gasoline into my '84 R100RT for the last 17 years and the fuel tank hasn't rusted, the fuel lines haven't crumbled to dust, and the carbs haven't goo-ed up, dissolved, or cried "uncle!" in German. A jolt of Sta-bil or Startron if it'll be sitting for awhile, and I've had no fuel-related issues, while getting a rock-steady 40-42 mpg at 70mph (75 indicated). Next case.

[R.D.Green]

I agree completely about the political comments on this forum. This isn't the place. In fact, I view it as a small safe-haven from the endless barrage of partisan horse-hockey every day. That said, and dare I express it, I also agree that the ethanol/subsidy program has not been limited to the current administration. As for the detrimental effects of ethanol, I think that if you use any machine regularly and run a more or less steady change of fuel through it, you will minimize or eliminate any chance of tank damage because the ethanol in the fuel will not be given a chance to "phase separate" and cause water to collect in the bottom of the tank. As for me personally, I have some bikes that are ridden somewhere between regularly and not so much. I use a mix of Startron and Seafoam in these bikes religiously and, so far, have had no ethanol-related issues. Maybe it's hocus-pocus, maybe it's luck, maybe it's chemistry, or maybe the motorcycle gods just like me, but something seems to be working.

[mark_weiss]

I started riding in Iowa in the late '70s. Ethanol blended fuel was available back then and was slightly less expensive than straight gasoline due to a lower tax level. When I moved to Arizona in the mid-80s, ethanol blended fuel was just coming online here. For a while, gasoline/MTBE was more popular than gasahol.

While I realize that it has been only 40 years, I have never, ever, had an alcohol related fuel system or engine problem. My '75 Honda still runs fine and nothing has dissolved or corroded. My R90 had no issues in nearly 200k miles of on-road use. My '72 R75 is still fine. I have also had a few newer bikes and have never had a fuel related problem with either of them (well there was that diesel incident...).

No rusting gas tanks. No corroding aluminum, brass, or zinc. No dissolving rubber, vinyl, butyl, parts. I did perforate a carb diaphragm on my '84 R100, it only had about 80k miles on it at the time.

Fuel mileage is slightly lower. Just about 5%. Consistently.

[Slash2]

I live in a tiny town in western Pa and am fortunate enough to have two ethanol free stations within minutes of my home. All of my bikes are filled with ethanol free premium and it warms my heart to know it.

I think the frustration comes from a lack of options. I don't care to delve into the semantics of this, that or the other thing, but I sympathize with anyone frustrated by their lack of choices at the pump.