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Funny...I was going to start a thread on this myself...
Several months ago started having problems with my bike stalling, including while moving in traffic which was disconcerting. Some minor adjustments, ran a little better but still noticeably different.
Problems off and on, mostly running rough but then again had problems with stalling while in motion. SilverGhost (my trusted technician)put in the Lucas which did help with the stalling although doesn’t smell so great. Started filling up with non-ethanol fuel before the weekend, have filled up twice and it’s making a big difference.
Been to both the CoCo (I think that’s what it is) in Mallets Bay and also the GoGo gas in Colchester (south of the Interstate from Costco on the left side after McDonalds). The non-ethanol stations are getting my business from now on.
Also, for what it's worth, my car has experienced a greater than 10% decrease in fuel economy with the addition of 10% ethanol. Not sure what the point is if it's worse than just an expensive filler...![]()
If there's anyone here in this thread that I trust knows what they're talking about, it's TLRMan.
-Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
GMD Computrack Boston | Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists | Phoenix Graphics | Woodcraft | MTag-Pirelli | OnTrack Media
The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650
This has been killing my carborated bike as well. The best I can say is ( assuming the eth is the problem ) is to clean your jets and then make sure you always start the bike and let it run often. It seems to be working for me. I drained the bowls last winter and that didn't help as I believe the pilot jets are so small that the gas just stays in them. The first thing I did was to use an expensive injector clean, that didn't work. When I took the jets out the pilots were still fully clogged and the mains almost fully clogged.
I thought my fuel injected bike was ok but now that I think of it, it has started behaving funny off throttle.
well the only station i know that does not use ethanol gas is the mobile station on rt 25 in effingham-use it in our boat no problems.. here at the shop ethanol has been a huge issue in motorcycles with carbs, we recomend using spectro fuel stablizer with an ethanol conditioner in it.. manufacturers are now using stainless steel needle and seats instead of brass this seems to not be affected by ethanol. anything 2-stroke does not seem to be affected either since there is an oil mixture in the carbs at all times.
I have seen multiple problems with the ethanol fuels, 1- I have a friend that works at a car dealership and has had alot of cars coming in with performance problems, he said they have been doing fuel tests and apparently ethanol does not stay mixed with gasoline real well because they have found as much as 24% ethanol in the tank said we should be running our tanks down closer to empty,unlike we have beat into our heads in the past to keep them off empty, and this is suppose to burn more of the ethanol , next I have found my chainsaw,has a new problem if you are not going to use your chainsaw or your weed eater for awhile drain your tanks it seems it reacts to plastics and rubber diaphragms in a bad way, causing them to swell and makes removing plastic fuel caps almost imposable, also swells the diaphragm fuel pumps in chainsaws causing poor or no performance, since these problems have been accruing I have also been draining the fuel from my race bike , so far no problems
You should drain your bowls in the spring every year but run the stable into them before storage. If you are continue getting lots of rust and brown crap, you need to clean your tank with etch or get a new tank.
There are a lot of self proclaimed cleaners that do not work. The lucas fuel conditioner has been working great for me and some others.
I used the lucas, but I think mine were to far gone for that to help. I have a friend who owns a mc shop and he says even the new Stabol will not work for more than two months, and the old formula even less. He's doing a lot amount of carb cleaning.
This is what I'm going to try this year, drain the bowls, make sure the bike will not start. Then I'm going to blow ether down it and see if I can get some turns to create enough vacume so the pilots are really empty. If that does not work the carbs have to come off agian anyway.
massachusetts requires 10% ethanol at all stations, right? it seems most of the people here that have found non-ethanol stations are in vermont...
higher wholesale prices (ethanol is transported separately & added later), lower fuel economy, decreased performance, and increased engine & fuel system problems. oh, and increased corn demand translates to higher feed cost and subsequently higher food prices for us. sounds like a great idea.![]()
ethanol is being used to replace MTBE, only counties that do not meet air quality standards are required to add an oxygenator
in populates areas, an oxygenator is mandated cause of all the smog, in more rural areas that are not downwind from smog sources and air quality is good, many stations have unoxygenated gasoline,
its not federally mandated everywhere
chemical additives are not always the same even thought they came from the same supply, brands that use specific addatives, add the addatives by the 5 gallon pail when they are gettting fresh gas delivery
RandyO
IBA#9560
A man with a gun is a citizen
A man without a gun is a subject LETS GO BRANDON
The EPA thought MTBE tasted better than lead.
MTBE in Drinking Water | Drinking Water Contaminants | Safewater | Water | US EPA
A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. - John Stuart Mill
There is also supposed to be a non-ethanol station in Milton but I'm not sure exactly where it is.
I'm pretty sure the one in Mallett's Bay, across from Mazza's General Store, said CoCo on the receipt. I'd have to check when I get home. I don't think anyone even works there, just pay with a credit card at the pump.
So what do you guys recommend for winterizing a carb'd bike??? I thought I had run my CB-1 until it stalled before storing over the winter, but the carbs are still effed up... want to know how to winterize her properly this time 'round...
What suggestions do you all knowledgeable carb guys know?
Add stabil to the gas tank and fill it up. Run it for five minutes and then let it sit. No need to drain the tank and the bowls.
Let the bike sit all winter. Don't start it unless you're going to ride it. Starting it without thoroughly heating up the engine will cause condensation to form inside, contaminating the oil and increasing the possibility of corrosion. So if there's a nice day during the winter, by all means start the bike up, and then ride it for 30 miles or so to be sure all the condensation has been cooked out of the oil. Otherwise, just leave the bike alone.
And yes, add Stabil to the tank, fill it up, ride it home. By that point the Stabilized fuel should have worked its way into the carb bowls. But personally, I will drain the bowls before putting the bike away just in case the information earlier in this thread is correct about Stabilized gas breaking down in two months (entirely possible -- it definitely breaks down faster in small quantities, such as in the carb bowls).
Also, I'll make a point of filling up with non-ethanol gas before putting the bike into winter storage... assuming anyone is still selling it by then.
--mark
PS: Starting my Triumph this morning at 53 degrees was a bitch. I ended up flooding the shit out of it with full choke, then closing the choke and starting it with the throttle half open and revving it a bunch of times, then going back to half choke until it was semi-warmed up. But it was still running a little rough by the time I got to work (only 3 miles, so not far enough for the engine to thoroughly warm up).
coldest ive started my kat this year was back in May and it was 36 degrees out. half choke started it no problem but on full choke it wouldnt start for crap. im assuming your talking about your 700 triumph so im sure the years make a difference.
i have been running nothing but what ever i got where ever i stopped all season and dont seem to have any issues. i run my tank as low as i dare everytime i fill up. i couldnt tell you if im running lean or rich or what ever. i just think that the best thing for 10% eth fuel is go through it fast and run your tank low as often as you can.
04 Katana 600
- color matched wind screen
- Vance and Hines Slip on
- Dynojet Stage 1 jet kit
- Factory Pro Ignition Advancer
- down one on front Sprocket
- up 2 on the rear Sprocket
Not much of one. Hinckley Bonnevilles are notoriously coldblooded. Even bone stock ones take a lot of effort to start when it's less than 50 degrees or so out... and that's with good gas. It doesn't matter how hot it is out, if the bike's been sitting more than two or three hours, it needs choke to start. And when it's cold out, it needs partial choke for the first couple miles of riding.
The whole Bonneville line is getting fuel injection for '09. It'll be interesting to see how much easier those start in the cold.
--mark
No doubt, the ethanol pump gas is crap. Unfortunately for many its a matter of buying non-ethanol street fuel from Klotz, VP, etc or dealing with the crappy fuel. Even then you've got to make sure you chose a product that is ethanol free. If you do that then you've got to add stabil or other fuel preservative.
I've always done the same winterizing, pre and post ethanol. To date its worked well. Bike start with minimal turnover and/or kicks.
Add Stabil, Fill the tank, ride the bike for 15 minutes (not just idle it), keep the bike running, cut the fuel (easy if you've got a petcock I know), let it stall out, drain the bowls, pull the plugs and fog the cylinders, replace the plugs. Remove the battery and trickle charge it over the winter.
The Older I Get,
The Faster I Was...
Well, went to the GoGo just south of Costco last night, all of their pumps are now marked with 10% ethanonl signs.I just filled up there the other day with non-ethanol fuel....