Rebuilt Carbs From Ethanol Damage

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Do bikes often need to have carbs rebuilt or fuel pumps replaced from ethanol damage?
 
I have seem eroded parts in a SU carburetor when the owner 'only' used a brand of gas that had 10% alcohol.
A metering needle was visibly pitted.
 
I just wanted to say that I'm referring to motorcycle carbs, not car or truck carbs, in case anyone didn't realize that I posted this in the cycles section.
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Originally Posted By: Lurch
I just wanted to say that I'm referring to motorcycle carbs, not car or truck carbs, in case anyone didn't realize that I posted this in the cycles section.
smile.gif



Is there a significant difference?
The SU bares a close relationship to many/most bike carbs
 
Originally Posted By: expat

Is there a significant difference?
The SU bares a close relationship to many/most bike carbs


I don't know and I really don't care as far as my post is concerned. I posted this in the cycles section and hoped to talk about cycles, not cars or other vehicles, but if you feel compelled to anyway, I can't stop you.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
MY 1990 KLR250 has had California's fuel in it all it's life. I have not had to do anything to the carb yet.


Some people on a motorcycle forum were saying that ethanol can cause all kinds of expensive carb rebuilds, fuel pumps to fail, etc. In 42 years of riding and owning 12 to 15 bikes, I've never had a carb rebuilt or a fuel pump fail, but ethanol wasn't sold then..
 
Originally Posted By: Lurch
Originally Posted By: expat

Is there a significant difference?
The SU bares a close relationship to many/most bike carbs


I don't know and I really don't care as far as my post is concerned. I posted this in the cycles section and hoped to talk about cycles, not cars or other vehicles, but if you feel compelled to anyway, I can't stop you.


Sorrrrrry I thought my experience may be of help to you.
The fact that your vehicle has two wheels and my experience is with vehicles with Four, in your mind , obviously makes my observations on the effects of ethanol fuel on the carburation system irrelevant.
 
Originally Posted By: expat


Sorrrrrry I thought my experience may be of help to you.
The fact that your vehicle has two wheels and my experience is with vehicles with Four, in your mind , obviously makes my observations on the effects of ethanol fuel on the carburation system irrelevant.


Well, maybe you can tell us more then if you want to. I guess I was afraid this thread was going to get "hijacked".
 
Ethanol has been used in Canada for quite a while now to deal with condensation/water in fuel in winter. I doubt that it was at 10% initially. Regardless, I've never had a motorcycle/atv/OPE or any other type of carb problem as a result of ethanol in the fuel.

Maybe there's something going on in warmer climates that causes ethanol to have detrimental effects?

If anyone is really that concerned, take an old carb and soak it in pure ethanol for a few months. Let us know what the results are.
 
Originally Posted By: boraticus


Maybe there's something going on in warmer climates that causes ethanol to have detrimental effects?



Some of the people that told me of these issues are from Houston, TX, Florida, Arizona, etc., so there may be something to that, I don't know.
 
SU carbs have a Yellow metal needle in a main jet that is raised by a piston to adjust fuel in relation to airflow. Much like the needles and sliders on M/C carbs.
When the engine is at rest, the needle sits mainly submerged in fuel.
Mohawk Gas in Canada for many years, advertised that their gas had added Methanol and Ethanol as 10% of the gas. My Buddy got a discount at Mohawk and over an 8 year period ran his MGB (with SU carbs) on this gas exclusively.
Over time he found that the car began to run quite rich, especially at idle (Black smoke) When the carbs were dissembled, a 'pronounced' ridge and pitting was found on the needles of both carbs, starting at the area where they meet the fuel.
I have never seen this before! I HAVE seen needles worn over many years from use (some needles were Biased, spring loaded) But the Pitting I can only put down to Fuel erosion or corrosion.
 
I'm in the St Louis area and we've been running ethanol-laced fuel for 20+ years.

I don't see a correlation to carb or fuel systems failure.

I have a Genuine HONDA riding lawnmower for 15 years now and use the same ethanol-laced fuel. Never had the carb off of that thing. Same for a 10 year-old push mower with a HONDA motor. Although - I DO use Sea-Foam.

I've always owned a few motorcycles, various brands. Not had to remove n clean a carb (yet). Although - I DO use Sea-Foam.

I don't know if the Seafoam is doing anything for me, but it doesn't appear to be detrimental.
 
Interesting.

The reason I asked is because someone posted a link to a used motorcycle listing the other day, and the listing said the carbs had been rebuilt and the fuel pump replace, and the guy said he'd buy the bike if he could afford it. I replied and said I'd rather find a nice clean well maintained bike that had been garaged, etc., and all stock, rather than one that's been all taken apart, etc.

Some of those guys talk so badly about ethanol and what it supposedly does but I personally have not seen it do these things to my machines yet. Maybe they have poor quality fuel in their part of the USA, I don't know, or maybe they don't use Sea Foam enough.
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We've had ethanol here in CO since about 1991, but not all year around normally, but still quite some time. I have one old Kawasaki 650 with 168,000 miles, a KZ1000 with 80,000 and another KZ650 with 70,000 miles and none of these have had any carb problems other than the normal stuff expected. All these are slide mikunis. My dad had a 1984 GL1200 and all 4 CV diaphrams went bad. I have no idea if ethanol was to blame or just old age.
 
Wow that's a lot of miles of those Kawasakis. I'll bet you changed the oil regularly in them. Is the one with 168,000 miles on it without a engine rebuild?
 
Originally Posted By: Lurch
Wow that's a lot of miles of those Kawasakis. I'll bet you changed the oil regularly in them. Is the one with 168,000 miles on it without a engine rebuild?


I did a top end at 30,000 miles, then swapped it a used engine at about 165,000. The old engine was so full of sludge oil wouldn't even drain. Looked just like some of the horror stories you see on the forum of guys that never changed oil. but I changed it every 2000 miles. Castrol GTX sludged bad, but the majority of miles was done before 1990. Oil seems better now, particularly the Rotella HD type.
 
I guess the only problem I have had with ethanol in gasoline is increased consumption.
Fuel mileage on my motorcycle and truck has dropped since I started using it. Truck dropped from 18 to 19 city to 15 mpg. Motorcycle dropped from 50 mpg to around 40-45.

In fact, even in my Craftsman mower, I used to cut my 2 acres with half a tank....now it takes 3/4.
 
Originally Posted By: ddrumman2004

Fuel mileage on my motorcycle and truck has dropped since I started using it. Truck dropped from 18 to 19 city to 15 mpg. Motorcycle dropped from 50 mpg to around 40-45.


Gosh, that's reason enough to run non ethanol right there. My Kawasaki seems to run a little better on non ethanol.
 
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