Bad Gas

[JRO]

Crummy fuel. Who else has noticed?

I've heard from a lot of folks (driving autos), that much of our current fuel supply - particularly when laced with moonshine - just... Sucks. Real poor mileage. Poor power delivery. I know the 'seasonal' mix change always messes cars up, but we're not on Summer gas yet, are we? My wife is bitching, every time she has to make a trip. There's only one 100% GAS station in town.

But... How's it affecting our bikes? Mine seems to have about the same fuel economy (maybe down an MPG or two), but the idle seems to be a bit off. Is this my imagination, or have others noticed problems that could be fuel related?

 

[Checkswrecks]

My bike definitely prefers certain brands over others, so it makes total sense to me. I don't have a list and YMMV anyway. If you really want to cure your insomnia, you can read more than you ever wanted to by cruising in NEPRT-land for the threads about gas brand, grade, and ethanol. BTW, the refiners did switch to making summer blend a number of weeks ago.

Bob

 

[74mach]

I live in an area of north Texas where many of the stations sell ethanol-laced gasoline. They're supposed to have a warning decal on the pump, but sometimes don't. To test for alcohol in your fuel, get a tall test tube, put about 3/4" of water in it and mark the level. Then fill the rest of the space with gas and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Real gasoline will separate from the water in a few seconds and the water level will still be at the mark. Gasohol and water will turn into a foamy mess that takes several minutes to separate. When it does, the water level will appear higher since it's now mixed with alcohol. Alcohol would much rather mix with water than with petroleum.

I won't run alcohol in any of my vehicles as long as real gasoline is still available. By the way, Avgas is now cheaper around here than unleaded premium, and it never contains alcohol. In the not-to-distant future, there may be an unleaded aviation gasoline in the 95 octane range. The tetra-ethyl lead in 100 Low Lead aviation gas probably won't be around much longer.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Boy did you hit a sore subject. I don't know about Texas, but our local airport is $6.10/gallon for 100LL and the average in the area is about $5.50, while regular car gas is around $4. For those who are not active pilots, a normal Cessna 172 burns about 8 gallons/hour, so $44/hr just in gas.

Add in that airplanes are typically financed through second mortgages and what Chicken Little heard wasn't the sky falling, what he heard was the resale price of a used airplane.

 

[FJRMGM]

46 mpg on Friday during a 200 mile ride on the "bad gas" and the bike is running great.

Been using ten percent alcohol mixture gasoline off and on since 1977 (started in Iowa - the corn state so go figure) and never noticed much, if any, difference in gas mileage and never a problem with it.

Been using it in Houston full time since they switched off MTBE three years ago and gas mileage is as good or better now.

Since I've never had a problem with E10 gas it make me wonder when I see these posts about bad mileage and poor performance?

 

[03HiYoSilver]

I've noticed this as well. I believe there is a Federal law requriing 10% ethanol in gas by June or July '08 in most states.

As Iggy mentioned, this percentage of Ethanol which produces less energy by 6-7%, hence less gas mileage.

It is mentioned here:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...st&p=411264

 

[Karmak]

Watch for an error code (can't remember which) that points to injection problems or something like that-I simply can't remember what the error code or reason was-it may be simply bad gas. Years ago on one of the Forums someone posted that message and it actually happened to me. The explanations for the code I was getting didn't seem to fit, so remembering the post, I drained most of the tank, filled it again (from a different station) and never had the problem again.

 

[palerider]

Crummy fuel. Who else has noticed?
I've heard from a lot of folks (driving autos), that much of our current fuel supply - particularly when laced with moonshine - just... Sucks. Real poor mileage. Poor power delivery. I know the 'seasonal' mix change always messes cars up, but we're not on Summer gas yet, are we? My wife is bitching, every time she has to make a trip. There's only one 100% GAS station in town.

But... How's it affecting our bikes? Mine seems to have about the same fuel economy (maybe down an MPG or two), but the idle seems to be a bit off. Is this my imagination, or have others noticed problems that could be fuel related?

I got some bad gas after eating at Chili's.

 

[Oldyeller]

Since I am new to FJR's and this forum - I just took my first long distance haul on my '03 (The Gray Cat Shaft). Several of us did Wa. coast - down through the Gorge and up through Ellensburg and the North Cascades #20 - then back to Vancouver, BC.

I did 2000km (1250mi) in the 3 days I was riding and got record mileage. Normally in town/Hwy I get about 260km per tank Which works out to about 32-35 mpg. Doing all (spirited riding) hwy I went to around 40+ mpg. I usually run Chevron 89 oct. and find The Gray Cat Shaft runs fine. I ran Texaco (91 oct) a few time and notice no difference.

I tried 87 oct once. That should say it all.

I will mention more about the ergonomics of the bike in a seperate thread.