E10 petrol......it?s coming

[Jfro5687_imp]

Last night on tv I saw the first advert saying E10 petrol was being introduced in England, 21/22. Noooo. I’ve just dug out the little Honda booklet and it does say the CB can use it (phew), albeit I will try to avoid it for as long as I can. I’ve seen some horrible footage of what it’s done to rubbers/hoses/carbs on older vehicles elsewhere around the world. Classic cars are going to struggle with this. To those who already have it, is it really that bad?

 

[Houtman_imp]

I use the 10 % ethanol gas from Shell but use the 93 octane , never have a problem with my bikes or my many other gas based lawn equipment or pressure washer.
Do not live in fear !

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Up to 10% ethanol fuel has been used in Canada for decades. The Honda CB1100 runs wonderfully on the lowest octane (87 in Canada typically common at the pumps) that contain up to 10% ethanol. In theory, you should be fine too on the CB.

 

[Lord Popgun]

The CB will run fine on it. We have it in the US too and is pretty much all we have in my area.

When it first came out it did ruin a LOT of boats with fiberglass fuel tanks. At my friends shop we changed out a boat load of fuel lines and did a flat out TON of carb jobs on outboards. The fuel lines would break down and gum up the carbs. Everything is E10 safe now.

I do keep marine Sta-Bil in the bike fuel and fuel for all my small engines.

 

[redbirds_imp]

My CB ran just fine on 10% ethanol. It can be hard on motors with carburetors especially if the motor is used infrequently. My mowers, chain saw, golf cart all get ethanol free gas only.

 

[Jfro5687_imp]

Thanks chaps nothing to worry about then really. That is a relief.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thanks chaps nothing to worry about then really. That is a relief.

Correct. Maybe, as mentioned by Forum memebers, if laying up the CB for a whole season, [maybe] consider dumping in a capful of fuel preservative into the tank. I find that top tier brand fuels are pretty stable in Canada to get one through a winter without issue. This is based on about the last 25 years of winter storage / riding.

 

[LouA_imp]

The local paper runs a weekly motoring section and a question was asked concerning gas mileage. Person wasn't getting the mileage on the sticker rating. Response was mfg's. use non E-gas when doing mileage ratings. Seems E-gas gives less gas mileage. Re. storage,I've used Stable brand in my cb's tank for up to 5 mos. winter layup(not a cold weather rider) And it starts right up in spring.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

The local paper runs a weekly motoring section and a question was asked concerning gas mileage. Person wasn't getting the mileage on the sticker rating. Response was mfg's. use non E-gas when doing mileage ratings. Seems E-gas gives less gas mileage. Re. storage,I've used Stable brand in my cb's tank for up to 5 mos. winter layup(not a cold weather rider) And it starts right up in spring.

Ethanol contains less energy per combustible unit compared to gasoline. Power output and economy will be affected. But, the environment will dislike us less for it.

 

[Roper_imp]

85 octane with 10% ethanol is the most common at the pumps where I live. There are a few places which have "ethanol-free" gas at 88 octane. It's usually 25 cents more per gallon. That's what I get. Even if the CB1100 has zero need for ethanol-free, I feel better about getting it. It's only an extra dollar per tank.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Ethanol-free gasoline takes effort to get in southern Ontario, and is usually associated with the high octane grade.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Surprisingly, in the small rural community where I am ethanol free fuel is available at many stations; usually labeled as RV or boat fuel and around 50 cents a gallon more that ethanol of the same grade. I have noticed a very small increase in mileage the few times I've used it.

 

[the Ferret]

Even though I am close to the Ohio River and East Fork Lake, I have never seen non ethanol gas around here, but someone must sell it. Not that I would use it, all 3 bikes and the quad in the garage run fine on 87 grade 10% ethanol gas. Honda and Yamaha designed them to.

 

[gmike_imp]

More and more stations are carrying ethanol free around here. Mostly Chevron, they have a blue handle for the ethanol free and a sticker on the pump that states it not a Chevron product. Yes it is about 50 cents more and mostly regular grade gas.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

More and more stations are carrying ethanol free around here. Mostly Chevron, they have a blue handle for the ethanol free and a sticker on the pump that states it not a Chevron product. Yes it is about 50 cents more and mostly regular grade gas.

Non-ethanol fuel costing more makes cents (pun intended) since the buyer is getting more [actual] gasoline for their stash.

 

[Roper_imp]

Ethanol is a little lower in energy per volume, but that only translates to a couple of MPG less in modern car engines. And, less harmful emissions. And the carbon dioxide released by burning ethanol is at least partially reclaimed by growing the plants (corn, sugar cane, etc.) to make the fuel. Ethanol used to be significantly more expensive than fossil fuels to produce; hence, generous subsidies. That has changed significantly. Ethanol is domestic, and helps tame the market volitivity of foreign oil supply. However, in the U.S., that's of little concern anymore because of domestic shale reserves and production.

The biggest problem I have with Ethanol is an ethical one. I don't think we should be using food crops for fuel when hunger is still the daily reality for millions of children in the world.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Ethanol is a little lower in energy per volume, but that only translates to a couple of MPG less in modern car engines. And, less harmful emissions. And the carbon dioxide released by burning ethanol is at least partially reclaimed by growing the plants (corn, sugar cane, etc.) to make the fuel. Ethanol used to be significantly more expensive than fossil fuels to produce; hence, generous subsidies. That has changed significantly. Ethanol is domestic, and helps tame the market volitivity of foreign oil supply. However, in the U.S., that's of little concern anymore because of domestic shale reserves and production.

The biggest problem I have with Ethanol is an ethical one. I don't think we should be using food crops for fuel when hunger is still the daily reality for millions of children in the world.

I like your ethics.

Sadly though (and this does not make ethanol "more okay"), corn has very low to no nutritional value. It just happens to be an easy crop to grow in North America and farm animals slop it up ... well, so do humans.

 

[Roper_imp]

Yeah, but we use a lot of farmland growing fuel which could be used to grow more nutritional food.

The other problem is getting the food where it needs to go. Distribution is a bigger problem than growing enough food. It's a good thing I'll never be the Secretary of State. When a country resisted, I would say, "Well, we can get food to your hungry children, or we can give weapons to your enemies. You choose."

Anyhoo...back to motorcycles