Carbureted Evo & E10
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 191
Likes: 82
From: Napoleon ND
Ethanol has gotten a bad rap but there is a reason some drag cars run alcohol. The octane like you said is great. Let’s your motor run cooler and if set up properly, your bike runs good. Only thing I would be concerned about is road trips and not getting E-85 everywhere. I would imagine with the jetting you have the bike would still run. Just not as perfect. Around here, even though we are in farm country, E-85 is not available everywhere.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 166
Likes: 13
From: Beaufort, NC
I read an overheat notice for our bikes a few years back that said to run 87 to prevent over heating. My understanding is that the base timing at idle and slow speeds isn't advanced enough to light off the higher octane fuel, so you get a partial burn in the chamber and exhaust temperatures high enough to melt your nuts. So a fast complete burn ends up with lower head temps than a slow incomplete one. I don't get any run on after shutting down with 87, where occasionally I'd get a burble or three after cutting the ignition off with high test when she was hot enough to fry an egg on the rocker boxes.
Actually ended up advancing the timing a bit once I put in an EV27 cam, still running 87 octane.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 8,604
Likes: 3,375
From: Cental, MI
That sounds incredibly rough. I have noticed in my time at the gas stations around my area, the attendants complain nearly weekly that the 91 tanks get too low to where they are at the borderline of shutting them off so you dont pump all that crap in the underground tanks out when you fill up, and the problem seems to be increasing in frequency over the last 5 years.
I travel between 6000 and 9000 feet of elevation so adjust your jetting for altitude - 91 was 40/160 jets and E85 is 52/180 or 52/185 (cant remember which, gotta check my other thread). General rule of thumb is 0-5000ft is okay, go down 1 size every 1-2000feet of elevation from there. However I am also using CVPs emulsion tube and needle, which alters both your atomization over stock and your fuel pull over stock needle. Theyre not big factors but theyre factors nonetheless. One thing I absolutely love about E85 is that when I go see my parents at 9600ft, the bike has NEVER choked on fuel from running too rich. I can go WOT at anytime and I never have to back off. Gasoline was never like that, Id get bogged down and have to back off.
I travel between 6000 and 9000 feet of elevation so adjust your jetting for altitude - 91 was 40/160 jets and E85 is 52/180 or 52/185 (cant remember which, gotta check my other thread). General rule of thumb is 0-5000ft is okay, go down 1 size every 1-2000feet of elevation from there. However I am also using CVPs emulsion tube and needle, which alters both your atomization over stock and your fuel pull over stock needle. Theyre not big factors but theyre factors nonetheless. One thing I absolutely love about E85 is that when I go see my parents at 9600ft, the bike has NEVER choked on fuel from running too rich. I can go WOT at anytime and I never have to back off. Gasoline was never like that, Id get bogged down and have to back off.
Ethanol has gotten a bad rap but there is a reason some drag cars run alcohol. The octane like you said is great. Lets your motor run cooler and if set up properly, your bike runs good. Only thing I would be concerned about is road trips and not getting E-85 everywhere. I would imagine with the jetting you have the bike would still run. Just not as perfect. Around here, even though we are in farm country, E-85 is not available everywhere.
Anyway... the "Bad Rap" on Ethanol is the cost to produce it...and the Fossil Fuels Used in Production...Like I said...If it was really Productive, the Plants could Generate their own Fuel...
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 54
Likes: 4
From: Colorado Springs
Interesting... I would have thought one must go larger than that from No Ethanol fuel to E85...
RaceCars use Methanol... Not necessarily Ethanol.. And with methanol [Racing Alchohol] you need Much...Much larger jets... I am still amazed the 15% real fuel has that much bearing on the Jetting!!!
Anyway... the "Bad Rap" on Ethanol is the cost to produce it...and the Fossil Fuels Used in Production...Like I said...If it was really Productive, the Plants could Generate their own Fuel...
RaceCars use Methanol... Not necessarily Ethanol.. And with methanol [Racing Alchohol] you need Much...Much larger jets... I am still amazed the 15% real fuel has that much bearing on the Jetting!!!
Anyway... the "Bad Rap" on Ethanol is the cost to produce it...and the Fossil Fuels Used in Production...Like I said...If it was really Productive, the Plants could Generate their own Fuel...
Those big V8's you see joe blow using on the track that don't want to pay for methanol but have 11:1 or better compression usually go E85 now that it is widespread. The larger the compression, the more power E85 produces. That portion has never been explained to me, or anywhere I can find, but the dyno tests have proven it to be true. I was going to do 11:1's in ours and that would hae pretty much forced me to use E85, but of the 5 kits I ordered who all said they had it in stock, no one did, and I had to go bak down to 10:1s, the minimum for E85.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 8,604
Likes: 3,375
From: Cental, MI
If you are going from gasoline to ethanol, energy density goes down along the way, so you need more to do the same thing. Given the joule output of each combination, it matches that my pilot when up EXACTLY 30% and my main went up only 12.5%, showing the efficiency differences between the two pathways used.
Those big V8's you see joe blow using on the track that don't want to pay for methanol but have 11:1 or better compression usually go E85 now that it is widespread. The larger the compression, the more power E85 produces. That portion has never been explained to me, or anywhere I can find, but the dyno tests have proven it to be true. I was going to do 11:1's in ours and that would hae pretty much forced me to use E85, but of the 5 kits I ordered who all said they had it in stock, no one did, and I had to go bak down to 10:1s, the minimum for E85.
Those big V8's you see joe blow using on the track that don't want to pay for methanol but have 11:1 or better compression usually go E85 now that it is widespread. The larger the compression, the more power E85 produces. That portion has never been explained to me, or anywhere I can find, but the dyno tests have proven it to be true. I was going to do 11:1's in ours and that would hae pretty much forced me to use E85, but of the 5 kits I ordered who all said they had it in stock, no one did, and I had to go bak down to 10:1s, the minimum for E85.
Still....My Harley gets Real Gasoline ...thank you.. Non ethanol added, and If it needs a bit of Octane... Good old Racing Gas as an additive has Never let me down... If on the road ya need to seek out a station near a Dragstrip tho...Therefor, the Tourer is very Stock indeed...
Last edited by Racepres; May 4, 2019 at 06:06 AM.
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