[jjizhere]

Just wondering what is common... The person I just bought my 750 Shadow from says he always put Ethanol free gas in.. that its good for less maintenance issues. Any thoughts on this? Can I switch to regular gas? I have no problem paying a little extra for Ethanol free gas, but if I make a trip somewhere it may not be available everywhere and I don't want to mess things up:neutral:

 

[TenDollarBill]

The bike will run fine on E10 gas. The only time I put the E free gas in is when I'm going to store it for any length of time. There's tons of opinions here about fuel, do get ready.

 

[jwinker]

1) What bike?

2) Is it worse to run out of fuel searching for ethanol-free gas, or fill up with gas that is readily available?

3) Don't overthink it. 87 Octane is perfectly fine (well....probably, since we do not know what bike you have).

 

[AceofSpades]

Does anyone know what the phrase "regular gas" means?

I was riding with some fellas through The Snake (421thesnake.com) and we got lost somewhere in the mountains down there. We ended up at some small mom and pop station with old pumps and no octane sticker. The guy behind the counter told one of the Harley riders that it was "regular gas." We didn't know what that meant, too afraid to ask and nobody wanted to put it in their tanks.

Regular gas? Anyone know this phrase?

 

[jjizhere]

2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750

 

[Eagle7840]

Does anyone know what the phrase "regular gas" means?

I was riding with some fellas through The Snake (421thesnake.com) and we got lost somewhere in the mountains down there. We ended up at some small mom and pop station with old pumps and no octane sticker. The guy behind the counter told one of the Harley riders that it was "regular gas." We didn't know what that meant, too afraid to ask and nobody wanted to put it in their tanks.

Regular gas? Anyone know this phrase?

Filling stations are required by law to have a sticker affixed to the pump which indicates the octane rating and ethanol percentage and the last time it was measured for dispensing accuracy. Today's regular gas usually means an octane rating of 86-87 with 10% ethanol. My 1100 Shadow has no problems running with that mix. but I like to run some non-ethanol gas from time to time and fill the tank with it just before putting the bike away for the winter.

 

[7xclm]

Fuel is fuel. Regular gas was 87 0ctange with lead. Ethel was high test gas with lead, in the 60's and 70's

 

[jwinker]

2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750

I had a 2005 Honda Shadow Spirit 750. Same engine. You are fine with Ethanol 87+ and there is no need to use Premium unless it makes you feel better about the baby seals or something.

 

[Furball Zen]

Fuel is fuel. Regular gas was 87 0ctange with lead. Ethel was high test gas with lead, in the 60's and 70's

No, regular gas is leaded. Youre old enough to remember that...

 

[Jeepnewbie]

Running ethanol gas is fine as long as you don't let it set for any extended period of time. However over time the ethanol gas turns to a goo and can gum up you carbs or injectors. I just finished cleaning a cb450sc and a vt700 carb and they were a mess after setting for at least 6 years. The vt700 wouldn't come apart till I let it soak for a couple of days. You can always run a fuel stabilizer or cleaner through the fuel too. If you have an idevice you can get the pure gas app that shows ethanol free stations on it. I have a 2014 Star 950 I run mid grade through usually sometimes I run 90 in it. If I am close to some E-free gas I will get it even if I'm only on a half tank. Good luck and happy riding.

 

[adlowe]

Today's regular gas usually means an octane rating of 86-87 with 10% ethanol.

Ethanol content has nothing to do with the definition -- "regular" can come with or without. Ethanol, btw, will INCREASE the octane rating of gasoline while cutting the power content -- it has a third less energy.

In the mountains, "regular" can be 85 octane. Around sea level (give or take 1,000 feet) it is 87.

All that's before we get to the calculation method. There's MON, there's RON and what we generally use in America, AKI.

In case it's not clear, the octane rating has nothing at all to do with the "quality" of the fuel. It's merely a rating of how much pressure the fuel can withstand before detonating.

 

[jpr1968]

Running ethanol gas is fine as long as you don't let it set for any extended period of time. However over time the ethanol gas turns to a goo and can gum up you carbs or injectors. I just finished cleaning a cb450sc and a vt700 carb and they were a mess after setting for at least 6 years. The vt700 wouldn't come apart till I let it soak for a couple of days. You can always run a fuel stabilizer or cleaner through the fuel too. If you have an idevice you can get the pure gas app that shows ethanol free stations on it. I have a 2014 Star 950 I run mid grade through usually sometimes I run 90 in it. If I am close to some E-free gas I will get it even if I'm only on a half tank. Good luck and happy riding.

You do realize that those bikes you just cleaned the carbs on would have been a mess whether the gas had ethanol in it or not. Ethanol free gas doesn't last much longer then ethanol gas.

 

[adlowe]

Ethanol free gas doesn't last much longer then ethanol gas.

Depends on where you live. Folks at salt-water marinas seem to run into problems with water absorption by ethanol. Don't know if their complaints are valid or if there's something else going on but they'll talk your ear off if you let them.

My gripe with ethanol are based on the fundamentals:
o I don't like paying the same for a less-useful product.
o I don't like the diversion of food crops (mostly corn) to the production of automotive fuel, especially when that crop would be better used to make bourbon or steak.
o I don't like that ethanol requires more energy to produce than it actually contains.
Other than that, it's fine for running internal-combustion engines.

 

[7xclm]

No, regular gas is leaded. Youre old enough to remember that...

Having trouble comprehending the second sentence.

 

[Cheshire_Cat]

I'm not a fan of ethanol for a few reasons:
1. The big idea here is that it's somehow better for the environment, despite the fact that it takes a bunch of extra machinery to harvest and refine corn and then transport it to a refinery where it can be mixed with fuel. And then what you get is fuel that is less efficient than if you'd never added ethanol to it in the first place. How exactly does that help the environment??
2. The seals in the fuel systems of older vehicles were not designed to handle ethanol, which can make them fail.
3. Ethanol also absorbs moisture out of the air, so you're extra prone to fuel leaks if your vehicle sits for a while (say you have a motorcycle and want to store it for the winter).
So, not only is ethanol WORSE for the environment, but it's also a safety hazard! I know about the leaks first hand, as I've had vehicles that were dumping fuel on hot exhaust manifolds, because the fuel lines had corroded through. I've also seen pictures of vehicles that had burst into flames while being transported, not even DRIVEN, because their fuel lines were leaking. I blame ethanol.
Drink bourbon, put gas in your fuel tank!