E-85
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6th Gear
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RE: E-85
Actually, a little further research I have done shows it can and has been done already, but there are probably no "off-the shelf" conversion kits that are available...yet.
"A.J. Moses and co-worker Jeff Jensen represent GSA in the Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition (TC4). (Jensen, an ardent E85 advocate, has converted his Harley Davidson motorcycle and riding lawnmower to operate on E85)."
From published report by The American Institute of Chemical Engineers:
"Most motorcycle, recreational vehicle and power equipment manufacturers allow the use of ethanol-enriched gasoline in their products without restriction. In fact, Harley-Davidson actually recommends the use of renewable, clean-air fuels such as ethanol-enriched gasoline. "Ethanol-blended gasoline has very similar driving characteristics to straight gasoline, except that pre-ignition and dieseling (run-on) are noticeably reduced and acceleration can be improved."-
But, consider this from Popular Mechanics magazine:
"A gallon of E85 has an energy content of about 80000 BTU, compared to gasoline's 124800 BTU. So about 1.56 gal. of E85 takes you as far as 1 gal. of gas will."
So, looks like the biggest disadvantage of an E-85 conversion would be more frequent stops to fill-up (1.5 times as many as with regular gasoline). Of course, in today's oil-driven America, you would first have to find a station that even has an E-85 pump. For example, in my native South Carolina, there is only ONE place in the entire state where you can buy E-85. So even though an E-85 burning Harley is possible (and maybe even desirable), right now it's not very practical.
"A.J. Moses and co-worker Jeff Jensen represent GSA in the Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition (TC4). (Jensen, an ardent E85 advocate, has converted his Harley Davidson motorcycle and riding lawnmower to operate on E85)."
From published report by The American Institute of Chemical Engineers:
"Most motorcycle, recreational vehicle and power equipment manufacturers allow the use of ethanol-enriched gasoline in their products without restriction. In fact, Harley-Davidson actually recommends the use of renewable, clean-air fuels such as ethanol-enriched gasoline. "Ethanol-blended gasoline has very similar driving characteristics to straight gasoline, except that pre-ignition and dieseling (run-on) are noticeably reduced and acceleration can be improved."-
But, consider this from Popular Mechanics magazine:
"A gallon of E85 has an energy content of about 80000 BTU, compared to gasoline's 124800 BTU. So about 1.56 gal. of E85 takes you as far as 1 gal. of gas will."
So, looks like the biggest disadvantage of an E-85 conversion would be more frequent stops to fill-up (1.5 times as many as with regular gasoline). Of course, in today's oil-driven America, you would first have to find a station that even has an E-85 pump. For example, in my native South Carolina, there is only ONE place in the entire state where you can buy E-85. So even though an E-85 burning Harley is possible (and maybe even desirable), right now it's not very practical.
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badbs101
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Apr 18, 2007 05:41 PM
