RCinNC
Well-Known Member
Here's where I wonder about all that, Oldrider. If ethanol is the culprit, then shouldn't every engine on the road be suffering from these issues, and not just motorcycle engines? And not just select motorcycle engines, but almost all bikes (excluding any that have never used ethanol)? If it was as harmful a substance to modern engines as is said, and it could be proven by unbiased studies, I would have expected some enterprising attorney to have filed a class action lawsuit against the ethanol manufacturers on behalf of every car/motorcycle/truck owner who has had their engine damaged by ethanol use. It would be the classic product liability lawsuit; selling a product that's inherently harmful for the purpose that it's being sold. Based on the number of potential litigants in the class in the US alone, that lawsuit would be 10 times bigger than the ones filed against tobacco manufacturers. It's hard to fathom that some enterprising attorney has missed a product liability opportunity like this; surely there are at least a few of them out there who ride bikes and know something about engines? And wouldn't you expect there to be an ethanol producer's version of whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand by this point? An insider from the ethanol industry who testifies that ethanol, as it's designed, is dangerous to your engine? Or maybe a disgruntled engineer from Yamaha, Suzuki, etc who "blows the lid off" the idea they they've been producing engines that they know are being damaged by the fuel that's commonly used to power them?
I'm certainly willing to believe that ethanol could pose more substantial risks to vehicles built during the last century, since they would have been designed without the use of ethanol in mind, and used components that would probably be far more susceptible to damage from the corrosive properties of ethanol. But designers have been building engines now for about 20 years (at least) with the idea that ethanol is in widespread use; wouldn't they have replaced components that might have been prone to damage with newer versions that weren't?
Is there a scientifically conducted study out there (like by a group of actual petroleum engineers, or engine designers) that establishes that ethanol is inherently damaging to a modern engine? I'm not being snarky, I'm genuinely curious. There is a Society for Petroleum Engineers, a not for profit group that it seems like this question would be right up their alley.
I'm certainly willing to believe that ethanol could pose more substantial risks to vehicles built during the last century, since they would have been designed without the use of ethanol in mind, and used components that would probably be far more susceptible to damage from the corrosive properties of ethanol. But designers have been building engines now for about 20 years (at least) with the idea that ethanol is in widespread use; wouldn't they have replaced components that might have been prone to damage with newer versions that weren't?
Is there a scientifically conducted study out there (like by a group of actual petroleum engineers, or engine designers) that establishes that ethanol is inherently damaging to a modern engine? I'm not being snarky, I'm genuinely curious. There is a Society for Petroleum Engineers, a not for profit group that it seems like this question would be right up their alley.