Using gasahol in an old bike.

[AllanB]

I have a 30 year old Honda 400 and without thinking too much, have been running it on gasahol, does anyone know the effects of doing this?

I use 91 octane and I rarely see petrol for sale where I live.

[RubberSideDown]

You could have a problem with any rubber parts degrading (especially fuel lines) if they're more than a few years old and not made of a material that can handle exposure to alcohol (this is especially bad if the bike sits for long periods)- a carb re-jet probably wouldn't hurt either.

Edited December 11, 2013 by RubberSideDown

[biker Bob]

My 1999 Dragstar was not happy with gasohol, it was like having 25% less power compared to petrol. How about your Honda?

Jan

[AllanB]

My 1999 Dragstar was not happy with gasohol, it was like having 25% less power compared to petrol. How about your Honda?

Jan

I have only had the bike for a few months, rectified quite a few problems and never run on anything but gasahol, so don't know.

I still have this on going problem of rough running and hot start problem, which seems to occur when the temp goes above 1/3rd scale. Rode from Khon Kaen to Udon Thani and back yesterday and it went fine, if a bit rough, which I put down to a crudely built silencer baffle.

Gonna try a tankful of petrol, if I can find the garage where they sell it.

[seedy]

Ran my HD on it with no problems. All rubber fuel line changed to alcohol-tolerant.

Did not seem to lose power - but had bags of it so may not have noticed.

[biker Bob]

Sorry Allan i forgot to mention that mine was runnning rough as well. I think that if you try petrol that will solve that problem.

Jan

[DualSportBiker]

My 2007 GS is gasohol-intolerant. I use 95 benzine, but need to replace all the fuel lines and other seals before I allow myself to use the cheaper, more eco-friendly alternative

I get 2.5 hours riding at an average of 125 on around 14 litres, so it is a little expensive, but riding only 10-20 days a year it makes more sense to save the bike...