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Author Topic: Range experiment  (Read 1031 times)

bergercurtis

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Re: Range experiment
« Reply #30 on: July 24, 2019, 02:56:26 AM »

I personally love fuel with ethanol. The more the merrier. E85 at the pump is one of the best things to happen to the modified car scene.

Yeah, burning cooler and higher octane is a win-win, but if it sits for too long it can be a hassle. Availability also changes a lot. There was only one station within a 100 mile radius that had it from my previous house.
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-Curtis
2020 Zero SR/F Premium Seabright Blue
Licensed Zero Dealer in Colorado Springs

siai47

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Re: Range experiment
« Reply #31 on: July 24, 2019, 03:25:19 AM »

The other problem is if you are depending on E-85 actually being E-85 you've got a problem.  What is sold as E-85 at the pump can legally be anything from around E-40 to E-85.  So it becomes a calibration issue if you are depending on the ethanol content for the anti-knock qualities you are looking for.  The good "race" ethanol is marketed as E-90.  Anyway, like others have mentioned, Ethanol has less heat content (BTU) per gallon than an equivalent amount of pure gasoline.  Therefore you mileage may vary.  In addition, beyond phase separation problem over time, ethanol in hot climates can be far worse for emissions when refueling or storing compared to pure gasoline. 
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1979 Honda CBX
2009 Aprilia Cube 250 Scooter
2016 Victory Empulse TT
2019 Can-Am Spyder
2020 SR/F (retired)

Richard230

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Re: Range experiment
« Reply #32 on: July 24, 2019, 03:37:29 AM »

Even with gas bikes, quick laps but far more gas stops than in a car.
Not always true, my Stelvio has an 8.5 gallon (32L)  tank and around a 400  mile (645 KM) range on a tank of gas. Several of my other ICE bikes go more 300 miles (485 KM) on a tank.

I like large gas tanks in my ICE bikes. It's the very first spec that I look at when buying an ICE bike.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Range AND mileage.  My K1200LT has a 6.6 gallon tank and when I bought it in 1999 I was averaging around 51/52 mpg.  Unfortunately, once they replaced MTBE with ethanol as an oxygenate in the fuel, my mileage dropped to about 45 mpg.  I thought it was just because of the age of the engine, but when I had the opportunity to use ethanol-free gas (hard to find around here) my mileage jumped right back up to 51 mpg.  Makes you wonder exactly WHO is benefiting from the use of ethanol in gasoline...

Ethanol e15 burns cleaner, is cheaper at the pump and lowers our dependence  on fossil fuel, but the trade off is lower fuel economy and engine damage especially in older cars.
Not worth the tradeoff imo, unfortunately ethanol-free fuel is getting harder to find.

All motorcycle, boating, older cars, gas-powered tools and other small engine manufacturers warn against using anything above E10. They say it will damage the engine and void any warranty. I believe that the US EPA also warns against using the fuel.
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.
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