Renewable Fuels Association Releases Key Information on Ethanol Use in Motorcycles

RFA2The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) released a fact sheet specifically for motorcycle owners answering common questions about E15 (85 percent gasoline/15 percent ethanol) and motorcycle engines. The document entitled “E15 and the Motorcycle Industry” makes it clear that E15 is illegal to put into a motorcycle engine, but E10 is approved for use.

The fact sheet addresses questions such as: • What is the concern with E15 and the motorcycle industry? • What is being done to assist the motorcycle industry with these concerns? • How will consumers identify the appropriate fuel for their vehicle/engine.

“A motorcycle is more than just a vehicle to get from point A to point B, it is a unique experience and a treasured pastime for motorcycle owners,” said Bob Dinneen, RFA’s President and CEO. “We understand the important role motorcycles play in many peoples’ lives and are working on multiple fronts to make sure there is accurate labeling at gas stations and up to date information on E10 and E15 so there is no confusion whatsoever on what type of ethanol blend can be used in motorcycles.”

Additionally, RFA has put out a similar guide for ethanol use in classic cars, “Gasoline Ethanol Blends and the Classic Auto.” E15 was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for vehicles 2001 and newer only. The document specifically addresses the concerns of classic car owners and the proper use of E10.

22 Responses to “Renewable Fuels Association Releases Key Information on Ethanol Use in Motorcycles”


  1. 1 rodent Jun 29th, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    Ethanol is no good for the internal combustion engine. It’s a scam by the Midwest politicians to suck up to farmers.

  2. 2 domino Jun 29th, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    What a freeekin clusterf@#*

  3. 3 Woody's Jun 29th, 2013 at 7:11 pm

    Like Rodent said. Everytime we manage to get clamp on one Government teat, another grows.

  4. 4 cyclereckr Jun 30th, 2013 at 11:31 am

    FOOD to Fuel, people may starve, but we can still Limo them to there grave!

  5. 5 flh Jun 30th, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    Nope don’t like the stuff

  6. 6 fuji Jun 30th, 2013 at 4:27 pm

    RE :Rodent. You need to do a little research . Use your computer to learn instead of fictional quotes.

    1. Government working for the farmers. Farmers who grain feed cattle especially milk farmers . If it is to their benefit its a better compromise than getting your food from abroad because our farmers went bankrupt.

    2. Alcohol based fuel has far better burn characteristic [ next time you have pinging in your engine think about what kind of fuel you are using and the damage ] than fossil fuel among other features.

    3. Alcohhol is harmful to componets leading up to engine. [ rubber, plastics. That could be changed

    4. To state alcohol is harmful to engine is incorrect

    Why do Indy cars use alcohol ? To go slow

  7. 7 fuji Jun 30th, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    To clarify – Government working for the farmers. Really !

    Farmers who grain feed cattle especially milk farmers. Farmers now pay much more for their grain.

  8. 8 Woody's Jun 30th, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    sorry fuji, this time you need to take your own advice. It’s been a boondoggle from the start. Counting all the energy used to grow and transport the corn, electricity (mostly from coal-fired plants) used in the alcohol production process, and finally the reduced mileage in the final use vehicles-it doesn’t do anything green except inflate grain prices. On top of that it costs so much more than oil-based fuel that it has to be subsidized with tax money to make it “work”. Farmers get bumped up prices for alcohol-intended use and that raises it’s pricing for everybody else. Bad enough we screw up the fuel pricing, but now even steaks cost more. Social engineering fails once again.

  9. 9 fuji Jun 30th, 2013 at 9:25 pm

    woody .

    You need to reread what I printed both statements. Not once did I say alcohol was cheaper or more expensive.

    1. My main point is that “alcohol is a better burning fuel ” in an internal combustion engine.

    2. Government helping farmers. I stated that if the government is helping one type of farmer they are hindering another. Farmers have been subsidised for years. When it comes the day we no longer have farmers we are in trouble.

    3. Lets take a look at where the coal comes from and the grain for the alcohol versas the oil imports that we use in our American motorcycle so we can ride up and down the road in harmony and complain to one another about the government.

    4. Cheaper [ alcohol ] probably not or is it depending how many young lives we can afford to keep Oil cheap. When China and India become more developed.alcohol will look a lot more interesting.

    Have a good day Mr Wood

  10. 10 Tommy Jul 1st, 2013 at 11:21 am

    ok girls, you’re both pretty, can we move on? sheesh…

  11. 11 Woody's Jul 1st, 2013 at 11:39 am

    …and to you fugi. btw Tommy, this site wouldn’t be interactive if it was intended to be read-only. If nobody had conversations here, fewer peeps would visit. I’m sure you’re pretty too, but no reason to be more bothered than Cyril 😉

  12. 12 Terence Tory Jul 1st, 2013 at 12:03 pm

    Woody’s:”Social engineering fails once again” Yeah right,…..like in China or Germany right about now soul brother.Never let history or the facts get in the way,aye.Time for “the People” to jump up and avoid everything the Govt does.like roads,a strong military or regulations for Nuke power stations.It’s obviously the time to go back to robber barons and media tyrants running the country?

  13. 13 gtlover Jul 1st, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    Alcohol isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s our attitudes about it that make it one way or the other. I’d rather we use corn squeezin’s to drink than to burn.
    One thing they seem to have right in Brazil, they use sugar cane as the feed stock for ethanol production. Uses 80% less energy to produce ethanol per gallon compared to corn. Yeah, I’d say the corn industry lobby might be at work here.
    Is it bad for your engine? It could be, if it’s not set up for it. Is it good for your engine? It could be, if set up properly. NASCAR uses E15, Indy cars use E100. Many new “Flex-Fuel” cars can run on E85.

    Yes, it’s renewable. Yes, it burns clean. BUT…it has lower specific energy output than gasoline. So, the final analysis is: What is the actual “carbon footprint” of a gallon of ethanol versus a gallon of gasoline, all the way from the ground to the tailpipe? That should be the yardstick.

    Also, the merits of fine Ketucky Bourbon.

  14. 14 fuji Jul 1st, 2013 at 2:32 pm
  15. 15 Kirk Perry Jul 1st, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    ~ What make of motorcycles are used in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the other sandy climates? ~

    Does what they ride function well for their needs? Or needing a sandy clim’ motorcycle of their own that’s cheap, whose parts can be swapped with a lot of the other bikes?

    Electric bikes would be cheap, with a power-station gird and sand-sealed bearings.

    There’s a guy in the paper from Clairemont this morning, “Turbo Bob”, that’s building electric motor-assisted bicycles out of his garage, which was chocked-to-the-rafters with models for export.

    What bikes stand up to the abuse over there now? The same 125cc Yamaha?

  16. 16 rodent Jul 2nd, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    Fuji,
    Are you involved in the farm, corn, ethanol, lobbying, government? Ethanol is not alcohol otherwise you’d drink it.

  17. 17 Terence Tory Jul 3rd, 2013 at 6:08 am

    Rodent,there are at least18 different types of alcohol.Isopropyl,methanol,ethanol,etc,etc.What are you drinking?

  18. 18 fuji Jul 3rd, 2013 at 7:05 pm

    Rodent I posted a site for you to read as to self educate please take the time to learn.
    Who in the hell turns your computer on and types for you.

    Here is a word for you.

    Rodent is a ” rube ‘. Talk about loose lips of an idle mind

  19. 19 Woody's Jul 3rd, 2013 at 9:34 pm

    fuji, I read your link’s article and I think we’re just on a parallel course. I’d have nothing against alcohol if it weren’t for the fact we’re getting less for more and driving up food prices for no good reason other than some feelgood green project that isn’t green. Corn is a terrible material for alcohol production compared to items grown nearer the Equator yet folks love to go on & on about how some South American countries are successfully using E-85 alcohol blah blah blah. They never mention it isn’t from hevily subsidized corn. Corn is yummy for people and tasty animals. Dinosaurs are for our fuel 😉

  20. 20 John E Adams Jul 5th, 2013 at 8:42 am

    Some states, including Florida now offer ethanol free gas at the pumps these days -;0)

  21. 21 Terence Tory Jul 5th, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Woody’s,Corn is a disaster for human and animal health from seed to S#@*.Obesity is the result of almost every U.S. meat animal relying on corn and humans being fed corn syrup in just about every processed food product.The corn food chain is a totally dysfunctional system.Avoid corn.

  22. 22 Woody's Jul 6th, 2013 at 12:04 pm

    @TT well, at least we agree on high-fructose corn syrup 😉

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Cyril Huze