[aghondaman]

New to this awesome site and now have a few questions. So i have lost 2 bikes now to i believe ethanol. So i am switching my sons bike and mine to 108 octane. With the higher octane will i have too rejet the bikes or will they be fine the way they are.

[Harkon]

No you shouldn't have to reject. Remember that octane has nothing to do with how much energy is in the fuel, but rather describes how fast the fuel burns. Just because you get 108 octane fuel doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have ethanol in it. I am unfamiliar with 108 octane fuel so it's likely that this is racing fuel and is ethanol free by source, I don't know. The air fuel ratio should remain the same. In a car, because higher octane burns slower you could advance your ignition timing, increasing your peak cylinder pressure. Jetting isn't affected.

[riddler9]

If a bike is capable of running that high octane it can be adjusted with the fuel screw.

108 is pretty high. If you do not have enough compression you are not going to create the required combustion - 108 does not burn as easily as 91-93. Some will go 50/50 on VP/pump gas to stay within the combustion zone.

Ethanol without a doubt sucks. Gunked up carbs and "some" premature wear on the valve train are norm. Being the cause for melting down a motor is extreme. What were the symptoms? Any chance you were buying from a station that either sells low grade fuel or has bad tanks?

I have seen my share of bikes with 200+ hours on the same piston. The skirts get thin, the rings wear out, and then bad stuff starts happening. Same thing on the fuel/air side. Dirt starts to collect and then bad things happen. I am not saying you are one of those guys - and some are only because they just did not know any better - but carbs/FI circuit and the top end absolutely must be maintained. If they are not then ethanol will speed up the deterioration process.

Similarly, fuel additives are bad for bikes. I have seen the inside of a carb after Lucas Octane Booster has been run through several tanks of gas, and I have also seen valves after someone ran BG through the fuel system. Neither were pretty (although the octane booster was easier to clean up after).

[Leardriver]

You would be running a fuel that the bike was never designed to run.
Teams of engineers made that bike so that it would run great on pump fuel.
More is not always better.
Octane is only a measure of resistance to detonation. It doesn't always mean that the fuel is superior in other ways.

[aghondaman]

I am basically trying to get away from the ethonal in the gas.

[Leardriver]

That is a great goal that we can all relate to.

For storing the bike over the winter, draining the fuel and carb and putting a couple of cups of race gas in it for storage is a proven method of making the bike take longer to gum up.

How often are you riding? If you go twice a month or more, you aren't at risk for an ethanol pudding mix.

[jlstoo]

Similarly, fuel additives are bad for bikes. I have seen the inside of a carb after Lucas Octane Booster has been run through several tanks of gas, and I have also seen valves after someone ran BG through the fuel system. Neither were pretty (although the octane booster was easier to clean up after).

I just finished cleaning the ethanol gunk out of my carb,, jets, etc, and did run a small amount of "Sea Foam" through it for about 30 minutes or so puttering around the neighborhood. Maybe 20mph but mostly about 5-10mph and idling.

Does the Sea Foam fall into that,"don't do it" additive warning with the 230crf?

I run nothing but non ethanol trough all my small engines now, mowers, blowers, chain saw, etc, after, finally, learning the disasters that that crap does to small engines. It screwed up everything that I have but finally getting each back doing good.

[riddler9]

Similarly, fuel additives are bad for bikes. I have seen the inside of a carb after Lucas Octane Booster has been run through several tanks of gas, and I have also seen valves after someone ran BG through the fuel system. Neither were pretty (although the octane booster was easier to clean up after).

I just finished cleaning the ethanol gunk out of my carb,, jets, etc, and did run a small amount of "Sea Foam" through it for about 30 minutes or so puttering around the neighborhood. Maybe 20mph but mostly about 5-10mph and idling.

Does the Sea Foam fall into that,"don't do it" additive warning with the 230crf?

I run nothing but non ethanol trough all my small engines now, mowers, blowers, chain saw, etc, after, finally, learning the disasters that that crap does to small engines. It screwed up everything that I have but finally getting each back doing good.

SF is a quick cleaner that does not get used at high RPM - should be fine.

[Hammer]

just my 2 cents but four stoke motors do not benefit from hi octane fuel. rather they produce better performance from oxygenated fuels.

you should try looking at vp fuels or another race fuel company, or try marine gas. they don't have ethanol because the ethanol attracks moisture.

[riddler9]

just my 2 cents but four stoke motors do not benefit from hi octane fuel. rather they produce better performance from oxygenated fuels.

you should try looking at vp fuels or another race fuel company, or try marine gas. they don't have ethanol because the ethanol attracks moisture.

Unless a bike requires higher octane, the benefits of race fuel is mostly consistency in...

quality from one tank to another
start-to-finish during a ride/race as the temp changes
performance of the fuel after sitting (in a fuel container, not the bike) for a few weeks

I run pump gas in my bikes, with the exception of my sons 250X that I now run a 3:1:1 mix of 91 pump gas : VP U.4.4 : VP T4. The blend is what I have found keeps his bike consistent in power and engine temp through a race when air temps are high, while keeping the octane level from being extremely high.

[Hammer]

I understand what your saying riddler9. even a factory mx bike at best might use 103 octane.

If you run more octane than your bike needs it can hurt performance.

This is a very informative read. it compares all the big race fuel companies and dyno readings for each fuel.

You'll be suprised by the results, I was.

[KXing]

Just call around to small gas stations in your area, I'd bet you can find a small mom and pop one that has ethanol free gas, there is a couple around me

[riddler9]

Just call around to small gas stations in your area, I'd bet you can find a small mom and pop one that has ethanol free gas, there is a couple around me

The problem we have with E0 around here is 1 station that sells 110 does not sell that much so confidence in the freshness of the gas is near zero, and the other station only carries 88 octane.

--just something to keep in mind.