Ethanol
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
From: The Heart Break Hotel
Ethanol
Are you guys experiencing lower gas mileage and or performance issues since the use of Ethanol has been added to gas? I even noticed that my car highway mileage has drop a mile a gallon lately.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 805
Likes: 2
From: Columbus,Ohio
I noticed a difference when I went to the Outterbanks a couple of weeks ago, seems most of the gas stations to the east have 10% ethanol. The bike didnt like it very much, the exhaust sound was different like it was working harder, had a power drop off and the mileage was worse. One tank got just 120 miles on it when normally I was getting around 140.I was happy to get back home and get real gas in it again.
Supporter
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 15,788
Likes: 5,625
From: along the shore of Mishigami
Had fuel mileage drop off, performance and some start issues on the 10% ethanol we got in New York on our trip. This was on a 02 carbed bike. Also took a day ride into Indiana on the 05 EFI bike, same issues on ethanol. After a full tank on non ethanol, bikes ran good. Ethanol doesn't have the same BTU as gasoline and therefore less efficient, about 30%, but burns cleaner.
Last edited by seniorsuperglideE8; Aug 27, 2009 at 09:52 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 346
Likes: 0
From:
This ethanol BS is the biggest government boondoggle to ever happen in this country! The only way you can get the engines to run on it well is to design and build the engines from the ground up.
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Tourer
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 321
Likes: 0
From: Winter Haven, FL
This is true. My truck is built to use Ethanol, bike is not. I have had a small drop in gas millage with the bike.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 511
Likes: 0
Not really
I cant speak for the older than 07 bikes but mine is pretty much dialed in on what HD advertised. 42 HWY and 37 city. I do notice a difference between summer and winter. Ethanol does have a higher evaporation rate. It also boosts octane so while BTU value is less it burns cleaner. I would not expect to see much difference in the mileage of one tank between one or the other with all the factors involved. I would really think -10% to 15% ( on my bike = 36 to 37 MPG HWY ) could be explained by a lot of things. But I work for ADM one of the largest producers of ethanol in the US. Regardless what you think of ethanol its far better than MTBE which it replaced and the petroleum industry favored. It has been proven to pollute ground water. I really dont care if they outlaw both but ethanol replaced MTBE which replaced lead as octane boosters. Ethanol is a renewable fuel. Im Not going to argue about food prices because most of those claims have been debunked by leading universitys including some from oil states. Ya Ya I know all about the subsidies but what can I say- It's good for me.