I have been at the Classic bike show today and the Ducati stand had some nice bikes on it. The stand that caught my attention was Ethanil. Two containers for removing ethanol from fuel. Not a solution for those that do loads of miles but for us hobby riders that have live out of a jerry can in the garage it looks like a great solution. ETHANIL | Remove ethanol from petrol
What do you mean by a "solution"? Solution to what? Solution for folk who have an irrational desire to waste 5% of the fuel they have just bought?
My Streetfighter goes in for it's 3rd fuel tank on Monday. The 1st 2 have been distorted by Ethanol in fuel.
5% of fuel or a new tank and damaged carbs. Irrational to those that have had not issues with ethanol I guess.
What "damaged carbs"? If there are any specific components in any carbs which are actually "damaged" by ethanol, perhaps you would enlighten us by helpfully specifying the components, and the damage. Otherwise, this is just so much vague waffle.
I guess the many articles in the motoring press about the problems caused by ethanol are just made up and Pete is the right. Ethanol is great, global warming is not happening and Brexit was a great idea. Plastic floats can be damaged in carbs the same as Ducati plastic tanks. Ethanol is attributed to the varnish build up in carbs that blocks jets.
This is part of the reason I got rid of the Daytona 650, the tank's are £600 for those (so the dealer said) and Ethanol makes them swell and eventually split as I found after removing it. Would it hell go back on, once the stress of the mounting bolts was off it the thing expanded 10mm so it had to be drained and left for the ethanol/water to dry out of the plastic.... Had to get it totally odour free before it was allowed in the airing cupboard.
No it isn't. Ethanol is not varnish, ethanol does not turn into varnish, and ethanol does not block carb jets. If your carb jets have got blocked, whatever they were blocked by it definitely wasn't ethanol. The jets in old carbs get blocked with crap eventually, as they always have done; but attributing this to ethanol is sheer ignorance.
It is well-known that Ducati made a mistake in the specification of a batch of fuel tanks a few years ago - they were manufactured out of the wrong grade of plastic material, with the result that they swelled and distorted in use. Ducati had to replace some defective tanks under warranty with properly made ones. So what? Are you saying that is a reason for going to great lengths to remove ethanol from your petrol? What plastic floats are damaged in what carbs? Is there any factual basis at all in anything you post? Or do you prefer to confine yourself to vague waffle?
Ethanol fuel has stretched my SF tank by 5 mm. It is a bitch to get on and off. Attaching panels no longer fit, the steering damper arm has had to be ground down to prevent it rubbing through and holing the tank. And its not just Ducati, who admittedly are wankers who make over-priced throwaway bikes - Ethanol fuel fucks every non metallic tank it touches. Its fucking pointless, toxic, destructive Euro shit. If you want to save the planet, stop breeding, don't fuck with the petrol, it achieves nothing.
I guess that without a scientific white paper I am not going to convince you of the issues with ethanol and I have no need to. Many articles have been written on the subject by respected journalists and motoring organisations and damage to bikes attributed to it. Between me and my father we run 14 bike, some pre '40s and many with tanks treated with sealer that ethanol strips and deposits in the fuel system. I will not run ethanol free fuel on my modern bikes or cars but feel it is worthwhile on older machines and thought it was worth showing to others on here, some of whom have their heads less far up their own arses I hope.
Look, it is terribly simple. Ethanol in petrol does not cause any problems at all, except in certain cases when there are problems ... but that isn't down to the ethanol. The components inside the fuel system are the problem - you can see this for yourself by using ethanol-less fuel. So it is obvious that ethanol doesn't cause any problems, it's the things that ethanol does to your system that causes the problems. I hope that's clear but in case it isn't, I am now placing my fingers in my ears and yelling "la la la". (Wow, I could be a barrister, me)
It seems that there is always someone on to making a fast buck. All you have to do to remove ethanol is add water, give it shake. leave it to settle then pour off the petrol leaving the water/ethanol mix behind. Instructions here.
I agree with Pete. Blocked jets are invariably a result of unleaded petrol being left to evaporate in the float bowl when the bike is laid up. It leaves behind a gum that will harden to a resin, blocking pilot jets and internal passage ways. Nothing to do with the alchohol. When I'm laying up a carbed bike I always turn off the fuel and run the engine until the carbs are dry. This prevents left over fuel from gumming up the jets.
Aprilia must have accidentally used the same plastic for their tanks on the RSV4 and Tuono bikes as well...
