I've got an 07zx6r... will it hurt anything if i run E85 fuel thru it? Neighbor has a 05 SV1000s and he runs a 50/50 mix of e85 and regular fuel and says he has no problems

 

You should only put Super/ Premium in your bikes. The compression ratio is too high or supersport bikesfor low octane fuels. I have seen the damage caused by low octane gas to the pistons & rod bearings. It's not worth the few extra cents you save.Don't do it!

 

I ran some of that crap in my 14 last summer by mistake.I couldn't figure out why it started runninglike crap till I got home and talked to some other people that did the same thing.I lost alot of power.And when your a few hundred miles from home it scared the crap out of me.By the next gas fill up I was o.k.

 

What happens is the knock sensor senses the knocking and retards the timing (a safety feature in cars but not in bikes). On bikes, the knocking is due to the detonation/ pre-ignition and the motor is actually fighting itself. Most newer sportbikes are noisy anyway so most of the time you don't hear the knocking. If you do, then it's pretty severe and are causing damage. The manufacturer recommends running 91 octane minimum for a reason. On cars it's no big deal because they run 9.5to 1 compression ratios so they can use regular unleaded. Some High Performance/ high compression engines require Premium or Mid-Grade at the very least. Heck, my little 93 Honda Accord Station Wagon (Sex Machine) rattles like a can of rocks on regular unleaded. I have to use Mid Grade 89 octane. On my bikes, I try to put 91 Minimum but most often 93 octane whenever possible. (Exxon)

 

Besides to risk to your engine, you're not saving any money... the cost per-gallon may go down slightly but you get less energy per gallon of E85 which means fuel consumption increases...

Also you're not really saving the environment any... Per gallon E85 will release less greenhouse gasses, but due to one gallon not getting you as far per mile you're polluting almost as much as you would with premium... Moreover, E85, due to its alcohol content, cannot be transported via pipeline because water that invariably leaks into all underground pipes would mix with the fuel, as opposed to separating like it does with regular gas. So each gallon of E85 needs to be transported from refinery to storage and then to the station by trucks (which burn diesel the entire way...). Not to mention the fact that E85 requires a lot more energy to be refined from its original source than regular gasoline does...

Being a college student I've had to write a few research papers and I did one on Ethanol... If you would like some sources I'd be glad to get some to you...

 

Yes, please post that info! I agree that you definitely don't get all theHP with E85 as with "Full" gasoline. Plus even after they transport and store the gas at the gas stations, the Ethanol in E85 still absorbs water which is why so many people have driveability problems with their vehicles. Cars don't suffer as much because they have bigger engines but with bikes, a little bit of water in the system can really cause them to run rough or not run at all. That is why I recommend using the RXP in your tank at least once a month. It blends with the water so it can be burned, cleanes your injectors and removes carbon from the combustion chamber. You will have more power and get better gas mileage. I've used RXP to fix a lot of cars in my auto diagnostic business! Since the Ethanol came out, there have been a lot of problems with cars. The manufacturers of Ethanol were sending Auto mechanics to special courses for free just to make them aware of all the problems with Ethanol. I was invited also.

 

ethanol but our current means will not work -- now if they redesign the pipelines to trasport it efficiently and can get the technology down to produce it from the grass rather than corn (7-8 times more efficient production of ethanol) then MAYBE it would be practical.

they really should be focusing on better electrical storage devices like super capacitors etc for fast recharge systems and work towards eliminating combustion from the process. i know i know fuel cells. i still don't think they are the best option but bring em on, atleast get them to market.

sorry for the rant.

on a side note ethanol itself has an octane rating somewhere around 115 - so you can get your power back out of it by raising the compression ratio on the engines

 

use high test gas bro, unless you want to be replaceing pistons and rods, i rather spend alittle now at the pump than spend a whole lot later in engine repairs

 

i dont know if any of you know this but the main reason to me for not usingE85 in a regular vehicle made for gasoline use only is b.c gas vehicles fuel delivery system cant handle E85 and the pcm cant recognize it and your fuel injectors cant handle it either. E85 is corrosive to plastics and rubber, so if you use E85 in a gasoline vehicle your doing serious damage to your fuel delivery system. E85 is ok for your engine but since your normal pcm cant "understand" it then thats what makes it dangerous to the engine of a gasoline engine. thanks. check out www.e85fuel.com i actually learned all this when E85 first came out where i live.

 

unless you have a flexfuel vehicle where it comes standard with the correct plastics/metals/and o-rings that aren't harmed by high concentrations of alchohal and they use a fuel sensor to change the flow to the injectors.

a carbbed system using the right rubbers, stainless tubing, and a coated gastank could be easily jetted to run it. but its just not practical.