Clarksville, TN – I recently posed the question on my Dodging the Roadkill Facebook page about what grade of fuel do most bikers use? I have always pumped “high grade” octane. Knowing that most pumps have up to 10% Ethanol.
I also learned that a lot of bikers don’t use high grade gas. They use regular gas, but also put additives in their tank.
The American Motorcycle Association has voiced it’s opposition to any increase in the amount of Ethanol in gas as higher blends of this corn based product could damage motorcycles, ATV’s and smaller engines.
The Government disagrees. Or maybe they don’t care.
The AMA is fighting to ensure a safe fuel supply for bikers, ATV riders and users of other small engines. As the volume obligations continue to rise, even as fuel consumption declines, the risk of added Ethanol is still real.
The risks include voiding the warranty on the bike, and misfueling the bike. The EPA doesn’t seem to have any concern about the the change in the fuel blend would have on motorcycles and other machines that it could affect.
The AMA contends that the Renewable Fuel Standard is broken and Congress need to address it with a long-term fix. All concerned parties are urged to visit the AMA Action Center and to find and contact their representative.
On the streets, I haven’t seen or heard any concerns over the amount of Ethanol that’s in the gas we put in our motorcycles. I’m not that smart to figure what could go wrong, and I find it hard to believe that the Government would just let something like that just destroy motorcycles and the machines that could be affected.
The most widely used fuel is E-10 but if E15 is approved, then that blend could cause serious damage to motorcycles. Some serious changes would have to be made to older bikes or there could be damage to the bike.
With a mix of bikers who say they use regular grade gasoline, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for them. If the ethanol blend goes higher, then the possibility of damage is great.
My problem with it is, I’m not hearing a whole lot of concern from the manufacturers of motorcycles. I promise you, if this was as big a deal as it’s been presented, they would be raising cain over the changes they would have to make to their motorcycles.
I just haven’t heard it. Haven’t seen anything about it being that bad.
And bikers I spoke with were rather cavalier about the gas they pump and weren’t to worried about it.
I side with the AMA and if they’re concerned about it, then so am I, but I think there are many miles to go before we’re done.
What do you think? Feel free to leave me a comment here.
