Dangers of ethanol gas

Guys I have a 1985 Yamaha xj700n my question is this what is the danger running ethanol gas through my motor as opposed to non-ethanol back when my bike was produced we didn't have ethanol but nowadays it's hard to find non ethanol gas if I use ethanol in my bike what can I expect what kind of trouble can I get into

 

Ethanol dries out rubber (seals, fuel lines etc). It's biggest problem however, is it attracts water. If you use your bike regularly it shouldn't be too much of an issue. If you don't ride it regularly or at the end of the riding season (shelf life from what I've read, is about 1 month vs. 3-4 months for non-ethanol) you should drain the carbs and empty your tank. Stabilizer (many different kinds available) helps as well. Search "problems with ethanol" and you will get a lot of information.

From personal experience having a few bikes, an old car, lawnmowers, snow blower etc. I run whatever fuel while I'm riding. At the end of the season, I fill with non-ethanol. I make sure to drain carbs and add stabilizer. Seems to work and have had no issues.

Hope that helps,
Cheers.

 

+1

BTW, ethanol blended fuel was in use in many U.S. states when our bikes were new. Yamaha took that into account when they were built.

 

E5 has been around for a really long time, back when regulations surrounding formulation notices were not required. E10 and up are becoming more prevalent now as regulations change. Ethanol burns extremely hot and clean which is supposed to do all kinds of wonderful things according to the oil company's marketing fluff. As noted already Ethanol and Methanol are both highly hygroscopic so they will contain and absorb some amount of water depending on the atmosphere they are exposed to when transferring and storing. As long as water exposure is not critical to a component coming in contact with the fuel then ethanol blends are fine. You can't ignite water though, so there is a very limited life for them. Even a couple months of heat cycles can lead to water precipitating out of solution.

 

do not concern your self about it. proper maintaince and storage practices will fight off the evil ethanol monster.

and of course we have a thread on how to remove the ethanol from your fuel if it bothers you that much


basic way is to mix water with the fuel shake it up ond water mixes with ethanol and fuel seperates from water/ethanol

just a waste of time

 

I have had my XJ700n for about 6 years and it has never had anything but regular ethanol gas. I run it at least weekly year round. (Never gets too cold to ride in south Georgia. Go DAWGS!)

 

I bought my XJ550 new from the dealer. His last words to me out the door..."don't use gas with alcohol (called gasahol in those days)" I heeded his advice to this day, but then, I can get alcohol free regular gas. I have had very little carb issues over the years.

 

That's the best option. You can use Stabil for short term storage (less than a year). I've had zero issues with it in my 6000W generator from year to year. The longest I've had it stored is 2.5 years and it still ran just fine. You should still run all carbs empty before storage of any length to avoid varnish build-up and jet clogs.