[ezman671]

Very unscientific top speed test.



1996 TW - New 15/50 o-ring chain and sprockets a week or so ago. TW31 / TW34 tires with less than 1000 miles on them.



Rider about 200 lbs. Course I-95 in Florida. Altitude change +- 0.75 inches, Very calm wind. 85 degrees. Little traffic it was early Sunday morning.



No crouching or seat hugging. Just riding in upright position.



Wide Open Throttle over about 5 miles. Speedo indicated 68 mph. GPS 65 Very steady with only needle width wobbling a few times.



TW ran great with no problems during or after the run.



The secret to running high RPM on these engines is to just do it.



At first it sounds like it will explode any second but after the rider gets use to it the high engine speed just sounds normal.



Ear plugs also help!

 

[Dark Sol]

Sounds about like mine.



2001 TW, 14/47 gearing with o-ring chain, TW203/204 road tires. 160 pounds no hugging, no wind - 75 degrees - 70 mph maximum. The speed gauge is 100% accurate so this is a true 70 mph. I hit 75 down a steep hill, but I'm almost certain this would never happen on any flat land. A long enough steep enough hill would definitely let the bike hit red line in 5th, which should be 79-80 mph.



With the right amount of wind and/or hills, the bike may struggle to hit 55-60, which really sucks and kills the bikes highway ability for real-world riding in any condition - that'sn why I say screw the highway and use the TW as a backroad blaster!

 

[elime]

The tach says 9,000 rpm and the speedo says 60 mph on my TW. 14/55 sprockets. I have gone many miles doing this and it doesn't seem to hurt anything, at least not yet.

 

[qwerty]

15/47, 203/204, downhill, behind a semi, tucked, 84mph.

15/50, 203/34, flat, no wind, sitting, 68mph.

15/50, 203/34, flat, no wind, tucked, 72mph.

15/50, 203/34, flat, no wind, tucked, following SUV, 78mph.

Running on E10 instead of E0, minus all speeds ~6mph.

Little things make a lot of difference.

 

[ezman671]

I was running E0 fuel.



Will try it someday when I have E10 in the tank.



I am lucky. I have a local station that only sells E0.



The E10 knocks my gas mileage down to about 60 mpg or less. E0 is up 70 mpg+

 

[ericj]

Very unscientific top speed test.



1996 TW - New 15/50 o-ring chain and sprockets a week or so ago. TW31 / TW34 tires with less than 1000 miles on them.



Rider about 200 lbs. Course I-95 in Florida. Altitude change +- 0.75 inches, Very calm wind. 85 degrees. Little traffic it was early Sunday morning.



No crouching or seat hugging. Just riding in upright position.



Wide Open Throttle over about 5 miles. Speedo indicated 68 mph. GPS 65 Very steady with only needle width wobbling a few times.



TW ran great with no problems during or after the run.



The secret to running high RPM on these engines is to just do it.



At first it sounds like it will explode any second but after the rider gets use to it the high engine speed just sounds normal.



Ear plugs also help!

Someone I think on this forum described the engine sound as an old sewing machine... which is what it reminds me of, and that's when it's running good. The weird thing I think is that at least mine has sounds that seem to come and go sometimes, but it runs great and I think non-ethanol gas helps a bit.

 

[phazer]

whats the E10 and E0 that people are talking about? i dont see any labels on the gas pumps up here in CT that have those codes on them.

 

[rm_hm]

There are several common ethanol fuel mixtures in use around the world. The use of pure hydrous or anhydrous ethanol in internal combustion engines (ICE) is only possible if the engine is designed or modified for that purpose. Anhydrous ethanol can be blended withgasoline (petrol) in various ratios for use in unmodified gasoline engines, and with minor modifications can also be used with a higher content of ethanol.



Ethanol fuel mixtures have "E" numbers which describe the percentage of ethanol fuel in the mixture by volume, for example, E85 is 85%anhydrous ethanol and 15% gasoline. Low ethanol blends, from E5 to E25, are also known as gasohol, though internationally the most common use of the term gasohol refers to the E10 blend.



Blends of E10 or less are used in more than twenty countries around the world by 2011, led by the United States, where almost all retail gasoline sold in 2010 was blended with 10% of ethanol. Blends from E20 to E25 have been used in Brazil since the late 1970s. E85 is commonly used in the U.S. and Europe for flexible-fuel vehicles. Hydrous ethanol or E100 is used in Brazilian neat ethanol vehicles and flex-fuel light vehicles and in hydrous E15 called hE15 for modern petrol cars in Netherlands.[sup][1][/sup]





E10 or less

E10, sometimes called gasohol, is a fuel mixture of 10% anhydrous ethanol and 90% gasoline that can be used in the internal combustion engines of most modern automobiles andlight-duty vehicles without need for any modification on the engine or fuel system. E10 blends are typically rated as 2 to 3 octane higher than regular gasoline and are approved for use in all new US automobiles, and are mandated in some areas for emissions and other reasons.[sup][2][/sup] The E10 blend and lower ethanol content mixtures have been used in several countries, and its use has been primarily driven by the several world energy crises that have taken place since the 1973 oil crisis.



Other common blends include E5 and E7. These concentrations are generally safe for recent engines that run on pure gasoline. As of 2006, mandates for blending bioethanol into vehicle fuels had been enacted in at least 36 states/provinces and 17 countries at the national level, with most mandates requiring a blend of 10 to 15% ethanol with gasoline.[sup][3][/sup]



One way to measure alternative fuels in the US is the "gasoline-equivalent gallons" (GEG). In 2002, the U.S. used as fuel an amount of ethanol equal to 137,000 terajoules (TJ), the energy equivalent of 1.13 billion gallons (4.3 billion liters) of gasoline. This was less than 1% of the total fuel used that year.[sup][4][/sup]



E10 and other blends of ethanol are considered to be useful in decreasing US dependence on foreign oil, and can reduce carbon monoxide(CO) emissions by 20 to 30% under the right conditions.[sup][5][/sup] Although E10 does decrease emissions of CO and greenhouse gases such asCO[sub]2[/sub] by an estimated 2% over regular gasoline, it can cause increases in evaporative emissions and some pollutants depending on factors like the age of the vehicle and weather conditions.[sup][6][/sup] According to the Philippine Department of Energy, the use of not more than a 10% ethanol-gasoline mixture is not harmful to cars' fuel systems.[sup][7][/sup] Generally, automobile gasoline containing alcohol (ethanol or methanol) is not allowed to be used in U.S. certificated aircraft.[sup][8][/sup]









E15



E15 contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. This is generally the highest ratio of ethanol to gasoline that is possible to use in vehicles recommended by auto manufacturers to run on E10 in the U.S.[sup][47][/sup][sup][48][/sup]



compared to the miles per gallon achieved by the gasoline only (E0) test vehicles. In March 2009 a lobbying group from the ethanol industry, Growth Energy, formally requested the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow the ethanol content in gasoline to be increased to 15 percent from 10 percent. Organizations doing such studies included the Energy Department, the State of Minnesota, theRenewable Fuels Association, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research, and Stockholm University in Sweden.[sup][51][/sup]As a result of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which mandates an increase in renewable fuels for the transport sector, theU.S. Department of Energy began assessments for the feasibility of using intermediate ethanol blends in the existing vehicle fleet as a way to allow higher consumption of ethanol fuel.[sup][49][/sup] The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted tests to evaluate the potential impacts of intermediate ethanol blends on legacy vehicles and other engines.[sup][49][/sup][sup][50][/sup] In a preliminary report released in October 2008, the NREL presented the results of the first evaluations of the effects of E10, E15 and E20 gasoline blends on tailpipe and evaporative emissions, catalyst and engine durability, vehicle driveability, engine operability, and vehicle and engine materials.[sup][49][/sup][sup][50][/sup] This preliminary report found that none of the vehicles displayed a malfunction indicator light as a result of the ethanol blend used; no fuel filter plugging symptoms were observed; no cold start problems were observed at 24 °C (75 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F) laboratory conditions; and as expected, all test vehicles exhibited a loss in fuel economy proportional with the lower energy density of ethanol, for example, with E20, the average reduction in fuel economy was 7.7%

 

[qwerty]

whats the E10 and E0 that people are talking about? i dont see any labels on the gas pumps up here in CT that have those codes on them.

http://www.fuel-testers.com/state_guide_ethanol_laws.html



I can tell gasoline from gasohol with 2.5% ethanol or greater by the smell. Remeber that pro-ethanol parties make unsubstantiated claims, often with phrases like "under certain conditions" and "in many cases". Fact is, polluting the gasoline supply with ethanol actually increases the amount of real gasoline consumed, increases all types of life-cycle pollution over that of gasoline, increases the cost of food, causes damage to vehicles that use the tainted gasoline, causes damage to vehicles that transport the ethanol to retailers, increases the national debt, etc. Facts show ethanol as forced on Americans is a boondoggle that enriches farmers, corporations involved in manufacturing ethanol, and the politicians they own.

 

[ezman671]

I am surprised the station near me is able to sell it at all and expect the gas police to shut him down.



I think in Florida they passed a law that all stations will sell e-10.



I believe the only legal way for a station to sell real gas is to only allow it to be pumped into temp containers. Not directly into autos.



Any station who allows cars to fill up directly from the real gas pumps are breaking Florida law.



I hope I am wrong on all this, but I think this is the case.



What a sad situation we have put our self in on so many fronts. I fear for our grand kids.

 

[TuggerHiller]

Dont know if this helps anyone. Locations where you can ................Buy Real Gas

 

[qwerty]

As long as people own vehicles that cannot survive ethanol-contaminated fuel, there will be gasoline available somewhere. Ethanol is prohibited in aviation gas. Good thing, too, from the damage I've seen ethanol do to vehicles. It would not be good to have airplanes falling from the skies.



Anywho, remove ethanol from some 91 (R+M)/2 E10, and you'll have a perfect pure gasoline for your TW and a bit of very effective weed killer. Odd thing is, your fuel efficiency with the decontaminated gasoline will probably go up enough that you go further on 0.9 gallon of pure gas than you would on 1.0 gallon of E10, and you'll gain 5-6mph in top speed.

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

The one station near me with "good gas" just downgraded to only having 0% ethanol 87. Not that I used a 89 or 91 0% ethanol in my TW but I did in my VW Golf 1.8t.

It is now only in 1 pump and cost 12cents more than the regular 10% ethanol 87. Guess the lesson here is never take it for granted. Seems now I will have to drive around 10 miles to fill my car up with the good stuff. Pain in th a$$ but it's worth it!

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

Anywho, remove ethanol from some 91 (R+M)/2 E10, and you'll have a perfect pure gasoline for your TW and a bit of very effective weed killer.

How do you remove ethanol from gas?

 

[ezman671]

Be real careful. Read about a guy doing it 5 gals at a time to keep it safe. Wonder if he has any idea how dangerous and powerful 5 gals can be.



Easier way is to find a station that sells it.



Many marine type places have it.



Search for real gas on the web. There are sites that list by state where you can buy it.

 

[qwerty]

Mix 10 parts gasohol to 1 part water. Stir well. Allow to settle. Stir again. Allow to settle. Either skim pure gas off the top or drain the water and ethanol mixture out the bottom, which is what I do.



I have a 30-gallon drum with the bottom dented down and a bung welded for a brass gas valve. After the valve is a pipe nipple and a 4-foot piece of transparent 1/2-inch gasoline safe siphon hose. The top of the drum is dented down and a bung is welded to allow closing air tight. An old gas can with the bottom cut off makes a dandy funnel, especially since the spout cap has a built-in screen. I use a 1-inch wooden dowel to stir. Other than the drum, nipples, and valve, all parts are non-metallic so there will be no sparks.



Decontaminating gasohol is no more dangerous than filling up a lawn mower. THINK!!!



Be sure to start with gasohol rated 2-4 octane higher than what you need because the decontaminated stuff will loose a couple points of octane. Pro-ethanol propagandists claim ethanol raises the octane of gasoline so you get more than you pay for, but in the real world the oil companies just mix it with a lesser (cheaper) grade of gasoline, which is why the oil companies support the ethanol mandates. Money talks.

 

[SickPuppy76]

When I rode the other day I wanted to see what my top speed would be on my new TW. Unfortunately guy in front of me was doing 50 in 55mph zone. I slowed down, to let him get ahead, and then i rolled the throttle, and got up to 60 very easily. At the rate I was accelerating I think I will break 70 with it. I used to drive about 8 or 9 miles to this country gas station to buy their zero ethanol premium to fill my 5 gallon can I use for all my lawn and garden equipment. But I keep seeing signs lately at Stewarts shops (there's a Stewarts on every corner in upstate NY) that say they now have no ethanol premium. That would be handy.

 

[GaryL]

When I rode the other day I wanted to see what my top speed would be on my new TW. Unfortunately guy in front of me was doing 50 in 55mph zone. I slowed down, to let him get ahead, and then i rolled the throttle, and got up to 60 very easily. At the rate I was accelerating I think I will break 70 with it. I used to drive about 8 or 9 miles to this country gas station to buy their zero ethanol premium to fill my 5 gallon can I use for all my lawn and garden equipment. But I keep seeing signs lately at Stewarts shops (there's a Stewarts on every corner in upstate NY) that say they now have no ethanol premium. That would be handy.

I sure would love to see non E gas here in NY but regulations prevent stations from carrying it. Airports and some Marinas can sell it. Just over the border in PA we did have one station that advertised non E gas but he was having a very hard time finding a supplier local enough to make it worth while.

Ethanol is nothing more than a political pawn and we consumers are getting smoke blown up our asses by the entire elected base. Follow the money and it is easy to see who is benefiting from this farce. Aircraft engines cannot afford to have fuel related issues and therefore no ethanol is used in aviation. That should tell us all we need to know. They don't want planes falling from the skies due to lousy fuel but it is perfectly acceptable for all land based engines to use crap fuels.

For those here who fully support the use of ethanol, I do understand some of the reasoning, but as far as I am concerned you are welcome to drink all the ethanol you want. Argue it all you care to but with our TWs and most of our other small engines the vast majority of poor performance comes from carburetors and fuel tanks that don't do well digesting this garbage. Even the politicians who know better have been brow beaten to continue supporting the ethanol industry. To this very date I have yet to read any study that shows ethanol to be beneficial in any way other than to make lots of money for those involved in it production.

GaryL

 

[oilhed]

What is the min. Octane I should put in my TW?

 

[GaryL]

What is the min. Octane I should put in my TW?

87 is basic regular gas and OK. 89 would be what we call mid grade and might be a little better. The book says you can use between 87-91 octane. IMO if you can find 89 non ethanol you will have about the best you could ask for.

BTW, I see a lot of guys posting that High test 91-94 does not have ethanol in it. I wish this was true but here in NY even the high test pumps at all of the stations say right on them they contain ethanol.

GaryL