This week's post affects all ATV and motorcycle riders, since it is about the increasing amounts of ethanol being mixed into our gasoline. It is about fuel and how our engines react to that fuel--this is a topic dear to Pete's Cycle and all our riders.
According to a recent American Motorcyclist Association press release, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has publicly acknowledged that ethanol in gasoline can damage internal combustion engines by increasing exhaust temperatures and indirectly causing component failures." To make a long story short, this is not good news for ATV and motorcycle owners who use fuel from the pump.
The Federal Trade Commission has recently proposed a rule that would require more labeling at the gas station for fuel blends and mixtures over 10% ethanol. However, the proposed rule would exempt the new EPA’s E15-approved label (15% ethanol, 85% gasoline).
The AMA is clear that this is not really a solution. The AMA claims that:
- the proposal will cause more confusion given the introduction of E15
- E15 can cause engine and fuel system failure; and can void manufacturer's warranties
- gasolines with higher than 10% ethanol are bound to enter the marketplace with greater frequencies
The AMA press release cites language from the EPA. According to the EPA: “[e]thanol impacts motor vehicles in two primary ways. First … ethanol enleans the [air/fuel] ratio (increases the proportion of oxygen relative to hydrocarbons) which can lead to increased exhaust gas temperatures and potentially increase incremental deterioration of emission control hardware and performance over time, possibly causing catalyst failure. Second, ethanol can cause materials compatibility issues, which may lead to other component failures.”
Another issue is where the label will be at the pump. To play a part in this issue, the AMA says that June 2nd is the deadline for comments.
Here is what the AMA recommends:
1) To submit comments, please copy the prewritten comments below (on their website here).
2) Then go to https://ftcpublic.
Read the AMA press release here.
If you have any other information, please visit Pete's Cycle website or post a comment on this blog. Thanks.
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