Making the switch to ethanol (E-10) free gas

DaBlue1 · January 11th, 2012, 08:40 AM

A little while back I posted a thread about ethanol blended gas. http://www.ninja250forum.com/index.p...6&topic=4674.0 . One of the interesting things about the article in the thread stated, "....what the EPA failed to do was inform the public about the problems that ethanol can create. It didn’t mention that the fuel mix is only approved for certain vehicles. It didn’t mention that putting this fuel in your lawn mower, weed whacker, leaf blower, ATV or motorcycle also has the potential for damage."

This statement got me to thinking, what if some of the start up and performance problems of the Ninja 250 are caused by ethanol blended gas? So, I began to read more into ethanol and its affect on performance and gas mileage, two things that the Ninja does well at. But could it do better? I mean, who couldn't use a little extra umph out of their 250?

See what I and a few others have found out...http://www.ninja250forum.com/index.p...36053#msg36053

Nemesis · January 11th, 2012, 08:48 AM

It's a 250 for pete's sakes!

DaBlue1 · January 11th, 2012, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemesis

It's a 250 for pete's sakes!

Yes it is, but if you read the whole thing it's not just about the 250. It could possibly benefit cars and trucks as well. Think positive man!

redline0889 · January 11th, 2012, 09:04 AM

I would agree that ethanol definitely has negative affects on gas mileage. I'm not sure about the affects on the engine itself as I've been using it in everything I own for as long as I can remember (I live in Iowa and you have to really search for a station that carries anything but ethanol blended gas).

I have noticed though when I travel that the non-ethanol gas does get usually ~5mpg better than the ethanol blend in a normal car.

Nemesis · January 11th, 2012, 09:18 AM

*sigh*

Have fun with it guys.

gt_turbo · January 11th, 2012, 10:11 AM

pretty common knowledge that E10 equals poorer mpg and power. imo, to do a true comparison you'd have to get a 250 that never ran e-10 gas and compare it to a 250 that normally uses e-10. who know's if the e-10 has already started to damage your engine. also run through at least 10+ tanks of each fuel to log mpg for consistency and then a few dyno runs to measure the power difference.

koenigcitizen · January 11th, 2012, 10:17 AM

I run ethanol free gas in my ninjette since I got her. Can't really say anything else much, but I feel it has got to be worth it

FrugalNinja250 · January 11th, 2012, 11:33 AM

I've got over 38,000 miles on my '06 now, E10 the whole time with one exception. That one time I put E0 in and my gas mileage dropped from the mid-60's to the mid-50's. I suspect the reason why is that unlike most modern era cars with fuel injection my bike's carbs can't adjust for the change. I run E10 in my car, my bike, my lawnmowers, string trimmers, etc, and have yet to see any negative effects. The small engines get carb overhauls every spring mainly because I can overhaul a carb in 15 minutes and it's cheaper than putting stabil in the tanks for winter storage. I've noticed no plastic or rubber parts degradation in the last 5 years in any of these machines. The bike got a carb overhaul at 2,000 miles when I bought it in '09 because it had been left sitting for years in an apartment complex parking lot, been running great since. The car's fuel injected so no issues there, even though it is a 1980's model.

My personal experience is that a significant amount of the E10 hysteria is just that, hysteria. There is a slight loss in fuel economy for many cars, a few percent, but that alone isn't enough IMO to condemn it. Good reasons for condemning ethanol center around subsidies and net petroleum consumption costs to produce it, as well as the fact that using food-growing lands for making corn-based ethanol drives up food costs.

Asspire · January 11th, 2012, 06:01 PM

hmmm, dunno bout the states, but i'm pretty sure gas sold up here has up 10% ethanol, and it been like that as far as i can remember. I'm sure if it was gonna do damage, someone, somewhere, would have blown the whistle on it. I don't think there's an issue with it, i'm running the same gas for everything, hell i got a 10 gal jerry can in my shed in the back with gas thats at least a couple years old that i use for my lawnmower (thing is over 20 years old) and powerwasher, they all run fine.

now, e-85 i would be worried about. e-10(or regular gas for us up here) i wouldn't worry about.

January 11th, 2012, 08:40 AM	#1
DaBlue1 Long Time Rider Name: Blue Location: Charlotte, NC Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.	Making the switch to ethanol (E-10) free gas A little while back I posted a thread about ethanol blended gas. http://www.ninja250forum.com/index.p...6&topic=4674.0 . One of the interesting things about the article in the thread stated, "....what the EPA failed to do was inform the public about the problems that ethanol can create. It didn’t mention that the fuel mix is only approved for certain vehicles. It didn’t mention that putting this fuel in your lawn mower, weed whacker, leaf blower, ATV or motorcycle also has the potential for damage." This statement got me to thinking, what if some of the start up and performance problems of the Ninja 250 are caused by ethanol blended gas? So, I began to read more into ethanol and its affect on performance and gas mileage, two things that the Ninja does well at. But could it do better? I mean, who couldn't use a little extra umph out of their 250? See what I and a few others have found out...http://www.ninja250forum.com/index.p...36053#msg36053

January 11th, 2012, 10:17 AM	#7
koenigcitizen Russian Ninja :) Name: Andrei Location: Ocean City, MD Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Triumph Street Triple R, 2009 Yamaha FZ6, 2010 Kawi 250r (sold) Posts: 335	I run ethanol free gas in my ninjette since I got her. Can't really say anything else much, but I feel it has got to be worth it __________________________________________________ 2009 Fazer (2009 Yamaha FZ6), 2012 Triumph Street Triple R

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January 11th, 2012, 08:48 AM	#2
Nemesis CVMA #74 WSMC #750 Name: Nemesis Location: On the track Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): All of them Posts: A lot.	It's a 250 for pete's sakes!

January 11th, 2012, 09:04 AM	#4
redline0889 ninjette.org member Name: Jesse Location: West Des Moines, Iowa Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250R Posts: 47	I would agree that ethanol definitely has negative affects on gas mileage. I'm not sure about the affects on the engine itself as I've been using it in everything I own for as long as I can remember (I live in Iowa and you have to really search for a station that carries anything but ethanol blended gas). I have noticed though when I travel that the non-ethanol gas does get usually ~5mpg better than the ethanol blend in a normal car.

January 11th, 2012, 09:18 AM	#5
Nemesis CVMA #74 WSMC #750 Name: Nemesis Location: On the track Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): All of them Posts: A lot.	sigh Have fun with it guys.

January 11th, 2012, 10:11 AM	#6
gt_turbo ninjette.org sage Name: L Location: WI Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '09 250R, '13 CBR500R Posts: 709	pretty common knowledge that E10 equals poorer mpg and power. imo, to do a true comparison you'd have to get a 250 that never ran e-10 gas and compare it to a 250 that normally uses e-10. who know's if the e-10 has already started to damage your engine. also run through at least 10+ tanks of each fuel to log mpg for consistency and then a few dyno runs to measure the power difference.

January 11th, 2012, 11:33 AM	#8
FrugalNinja250 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Frugal Location: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): Several Posts: A lot.	I've got over 38,000 miles on my '06 now, E10 the whole time with one exception. That one time I put E0 in and my gas mileage dropped from the mid-60's to the mid-50's. I suspect the reason why is that unlike most modern era cars with fuel injection my bike's carbs can't adjust for the change. I run E10 in my car, my bike, my lawnmowers, string trimmers, etc, and have yet to see any negative effects. The small engines get carb overhauls every spring mainly because I can overhaul a carb in 15 minutes and it's cheaper than putting stabil in the tanks for winter storage. I've noticed no plastic or rubber parts degradation in the last 5 years in any of these machines. The bike got a carb overhaul at 2,000 miles when I bought it in '09 because it had been left sitting for years in an apartment complex parking lot, been running great since. The car's fuel injected so no issues there, even though it is a 1980's model. My personal experience is that a significant amount of the E10 hysteria is just that, hysteria. There is a slight loss in fuel economy for many cars, a few percent, but that alone isn't enough IMO to condemn it. Good reasons for condemning ethanol center around subsidies and net petroleum consumption costs to produce it, as well as the fact that using food-growing lands for making corn-based ethanol drives up food costs.

January 11th, 2012, 06:01 PM	#9
Asspire Fix It Till Ya Break It Name: Asspyre Location: T.Dot Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 08 250RRrrrr Posts: 623	hmmm, dunno bout the states, but i'm pretty sure gas sold up here has up 10% ethanol, and it been like that as far as i can remember. I'm sure if it was gonna do damage, someone, somewhere, would have blown the whistle on it. I don't think there's an issue with it, i'm running the same gas for everything, hell i got a 10 gal jerry can in my shed in the back with gas thats at least a couple years old that i use for my lawnmower (thing is over 20 years old) and powerwasher, they all run fine. now, e-85 i would be worried about. e-10(or regular gas for us up here) i wouldn't worry about.