Quote:
Originally Posted by mister c
I'm not too worried about ethanol, these were always designed to run on unleaded anyway.
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Ethanol is not
directly related to octane/or knocking. The problem with ethanol is twofold:
1) It attacks rubber and plastic parts causing them to disintegrate which plugs jets and causes leaks.
2) It's hydrophylic - it likes water and will absorb it from the atmosphere. The water/ethanol mixture then separates from the petrol and causes rust or even worse a gel-like gunk that plugs up everything.
Keeping your tank full helps but the problem usually manifests itself in the carb float chambers.
Modern vehicles have synthetic rubber and plastics designed to tolerate ethanol which 40 year old bikes do not.