lubrication and cleaning additives mixed with fuel

[ultracyclist]

One of my friends adds a little Kreen's degreaser the fuel tanks of his snow blower, outboard engines, and other powered equipment including his twin engine cabin cruiser that he keeps on Lake Michigan. He further claims that this mixture is an antidote to fouling caused by ethanol fuel.

Are any of you using any additives to the fuel of your airheads?

Frankly, I am a little nervous about putting anything other than gas into the fuel tank of a 40 year old motorcycle.

[DennisDarrow]

For me, I use stabil on a regular basis, lead substitute, and lucas gas treatment especially in the early spring and when I tend to not ride to much in the winter...

I pretty much use stabil every time I bring a five gallon can of fuel home for my small engine stuff and when I fill up the bike..........The Lucas gas treatment stuff has repeatedly cleaned up or out problems with missing and lousy idle......

.....God bless.......Dennis

[amiles]

I've been using marine 2 stroke lubricant TC3 rated. One ounce per 5 gallons. It has cleaned the combustion chamber nicely on my R90.

Dennisdarrow You have a great idea with the StaBil, myself, I never know how long a quantity of gasoline will last. Having the staBil would prevent problems automatically as I see it. Thanks.

[Robrob]

I started using Seafoam this year and the stuff is great. Mix it with the gas to use for all small engines and it stabilizes the gas and cleans any gunk out of carb. My tractor lawn mower and other stuff runs better. Had a friend that was having trouble with his generator. I told him to get some Seafoam and try it. He told me it cleaned the carb on his Honda generator and now it runs with a level speed whereas it had been racing up and down. Use it in my bike and all my cars.

[QBALL]

I use the seafoam as well as lead additve for my R75/5, works together pefectly.

[bobinthemtns]

How does ethanol "foul" an engine?

[Bobmws]

How does ethanol "foul" an engine?

It can attack and degrade certain plastic and rubber materials that my be part of the fuel system, especially in older vehicles.
I've had to replace the fuel lines in my weedeater and chainsaw. The plastic fuel cap for the chainsaw has expanded and is hard to screw in to and out of the tank. I expect I'll have to get a replacement from Sears. Meanwhile I've gone to buying a gallon of ethanol free fuel for use in the small 2-stroke engines.

Google "ethanol fuel problems" for a comprehensive list.

[DennisDarrow]

Ethanol tends to not only eat rubber and foam in carbs, fuel lines, and tanks; but also tends to seperate when water becomes involved and bonds with the water instead of gasoline........Doesnt burn to well........

The modern day gas, even those without ethanol tend to have a very short "shelf life" in the can so treating for that particular situation is also necessary.........God bless.......Dennis

[bobinthemtns]

Has anyone ever run a airhead on E85 gas?
That would be interesting to see how it responds....

[PGlaves]

Has anyone ever run a airhead on E85 gas?
That would be interesting to see how it responds....

I would expect some things to dissolve, and other things to melt. But the frame and forks and other parts would still be OK for parting out.

[Bobmws]

Has anyone ever run a airhead on E85 gas?
That would be interesting to see how it responds....

One of our Chevy work trucks is spec'd for E85. It get 12mpg on E85 and 18 mpg on E10.
Send me your address and I'll come pick up that Airhead before you mistreat it!

[bobinthemtns]

But the frame and forks and other parts would still be OK for parting out.

Haha- Good one Paul-

But I actually like alcohol fuels and I think that the "damage" people talk about is overstated. Yes, it can attack some rubber within the fuel system like the fuel lines, but do you know what starting a cold engine does to your engine??

And $4 worth of fuel lines isn't a big deal when you consider that alcohols in your fuel will keep rust out of your tank, keep carbon deposits outta your engine, reduce your emissions and increase your octane..

There are costs when using any fuel, and I think if people knew the facts versus the scare-mongering, many more would seek out fuel alcohols.

Or maybe you guys just like sending all your cash to the Middle East?

[DennisDarrow]

Haha- Good one Paul-

But I actually like alcohol fuels and I think that the "damage" people talk about is overstated. Yes, it can attack some rubber within the fuel system like the fuel lines, but do you know what starting a cold engine does to your engine??

Please explain to me in your view what a starting a cold engine does to my engine? I should warm it up first?.....Even my old engine with 200K on it?

And $4 worth of fuel lines isn't a big deal when you consider that alcohols in your fuel will keep rust out of your tank, keep carbon deposits outta your engine, reduce your emissions and increase your octane..

Does this also renew my O rings in my carbs, repair or maintain my diaghrams, or replace the floats when they have deteriorated?



There are costs when using any fuel, and I think if people knew the facts versus the scare-mongering, many more would seek out fuel alcohols.

Now we are getting political and this thread, until you decided to run away with it is about how folks "treat" or "make do" with fuel because of the adverse effects of modern day pump gas

God bless........Dennis

[PGlaves]

Actually, the damage done by alcohol fuels is quite well documented for some bikes, and seems to have been avoided by BMW on other bikes. For Airheads it is the rubber parts primarily but not exclusively. Fuel lines, O rings, floats, and diaphrams. On classic K bikes it is the fuel pump damper primarily which dissolves and then ruins fuel pumps and injectors. A bad case can cost $1,000 in parts to fix. BMW also lays blame for fuel strip problems on alcohol in the fuel. Whether that is wholly true I'm not at all sure.

BMW says that it's vehicles are not suited to E15.

When E15 was authorized for 2007 and later cars, it was expressly excluded from older cars, all motorcycles, and marine uses. E85 is out of the question unless a system is specifically designed for it.

I know we have some corn farmers in BMW MOA and on this forum, and probably have some stockholders of ADM and Cargill too. I understand why they are in favor of expanded use of ethanol. At the same time I have seen with my own eyes and fixed with my own hands with parts bought with my own money the damage done by ethanol to BMW motorcycles. To shrug it off as a few bucks worth of hose is disingenuous at best and an outright untruth at worst.

There is so much slanted data out there that the actual energy impact of ethanol in fuel is nearly impossible to determine. I do know that if your mileage suffers by 10% when the fuel is 10% alcohol the actual use of petroleum per mile remains about the same. If you count energy used to distill the alcohol, and fuel burned to transport it, the reports of net-loss are certainly plausible.

If you like it, use it. I don't like it but am forced to often use it, even when I know it is doing damage to my bikes.

[Robrob]

One thing ethanol does is drive food prices sky high. We can't use food for fuel and come out ahead.