Reformulated Gas - Ethanol/Gas mixture

xrdaddy

Member
Sep 3, 2003
4
0
Anyone using/ever used the RFG in their KDX or XR? Our area is under ozone attainment requirements and we are going to have to use the ethanol/gas mixture for fuel. Would appreciate any experience anyone has had regarding use of this type of fuel in the bikes.
 

John Harris

Member
Apr 15, 2002
552
0
This has been discussed several times on these forums recently. I will make no comment about such use in 4 strokes because I don't own a two wheeled one. However, I believe the concensus here has been that it can be very dangerous for your two stroke to run an ethanol mixture. As I understand it, the main reason is that ethanol has an affinity for water. Have you every been riding in your part of the world without encountering high humidity and ground water? What happens is that the ethanol component somehow attracts moisture and your two stroke oils do not mix with water. Thus you might get fuel with no lube and you can imagine what that would do to a two stroke. Buy all gas gasoline (no ethanol) from somewhere and ride safe.
 

xrdaddy

Member
Sep 3, 2003
4
0
Interesting point you make. And I wonder how different the ethanol mix would be from, say straight gas with accumulated moisture from condensation in the tank? I think things may be ok if you purchase/mix/use the RFG on the same day as riding or within some reasonable time frame. I don't think keeping RFG around for a longer time is a good idea due to its affinity for water. On a 4-stroke forum, a canadian fellow said he had used RFG in his 4stroke for a long time with no apparent adverse effects. I'm thinking that if you keep things mixed up in the tank, if there is moisture in there, it will become part of an emulsion and carry thru the combustion process. Still, I like to hear about actual experience folks have had with use of RFG in their two-stroke engines.
 

cjmx

Member
May 13, 2004
40
0
I live in Denver and in the winter it's hard to find a close by gas station without ethanol mixed in with the gas. I have used this gas mixture with my honda cr and have not had a problem. I do try and use all the gas the same day and mix it as much as possible.
 

skipro3

Mod Ban
Dec 14, 2002
902
0
xrdaddy said:
I wonder how different the ethanol mix would be from, say straight gas with accumulated moisture from condensation in the tank?
The thing is; even just a teaspoon of water with bind up all the alcohol in a tank of gas, pull it out of the mix and will go straight to the bottom of the tank. It is this raw alcohol without any oil mixed in it that will cause 2 stroke engine problems, maybe even an engine seize.
 

Mark W

Member
May 12, 2004
41
0
Doesn't make sense to me

The amount of water that the alcohol could pick-up would be minimal and not effect the engine other than in the area of maybe some power output or gas mileage.

Think about it a little and this makes sense. The high end sports cars use water injection into the engine to make more horsepower. Race cars (Indy Style) use straight ethanol in their gas tanks and that ethanol is carted all over the place.

While oil and water don't mix, water and gas do and therefore the water will not not cause problems "emulsifing" the oil - won't happen.

Mark
 

xrdaddy

Member
Sep 3, 2003
4
0
Thanks for all the input guys - one thing is for sure, our area is fixing to have to use the RFG and we are going to ride the bikes, so time will tell. Thanks again. XRDad
 
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