Should Fuel Stabilizer be used during winter months while riding or just for storage?
Question. I have a 2003 RoadKing. I live in NY. I had my bike stored in the garage w/ a full tank and added your Spectro Fuel Stabilizer. I took the bike out for a long Ride and It ran beautifully! When I re-filled the tank I noticed that the bike did not run as good (no stabilizer). Do you recommend that I use Spectro Fuel Stabilizer even though my bike is used throughout the winter, or only for storage? The additive smoothes out the idle and I feel it burns much better
Answer. Spectro fuel stabilizer is a great product to keep fuel fresh (at least 12 months) but it also counteracts the damaging effects of ethanol. Our fuel stabilizer also contains a lubricant that helps keep carburetor parts moving freely, and with fuel injected bikes it helps lubricate fuel pumps and throttle bodies.
Many people have been using our fuel stabilizer year round with the same benefits you mentioned below. Using it year round won’t damage anything, and will provide enhanced protection from ethanol.
Just curious. . . what damaging effects of ethenol does this product counteract?
Their bottom line is damaged if they don’t convince bikers to burn their product year round.
@Chris. If you’ve ever had to tear down the carb on a small engine (lawn mower, garden tractor) that has been fueled with ethanol then stored for long periods, you’d know it at a glance. Ethanol is a sugar based product. Over extended periods it turns into a rock hard glaze that coats virtually every interior surface of the fuel system. Imagine pouring lacquer paint in your tank, rolling the engine over a few times then just letting it sit and harden. Fuel stabilizers keep the ethanol in suspension so they don’t become attached to and plug jets, needless valves, float assemblies and idle passages.
Good description, Zoomer.
I use Marvel Mystery oil and Star Tron with every fill up on everything, even on my 2.3 Honda outboard!
This looks an awful lot like Stabil brand fuel stabilizer with a different name and probably a different (higher) price. I’d be curious to know what’s the difference (if any) — until then I’ll keep using Stabil (with good results) from my local Walmart.
It does seem a waste to use it in every tank, but if it’s something with carbs that might sit a few weeks it is cheap insurance. I keep a 5 gal can with a Stabil mix to feed my lawn mower, snowblower, etc since it may take 1-2 months to go through 5 gallons.
@Zoomer McDougal, thank you.