Just rode my TE 610 E for the first time in a long time and it was very hard to start in cold weather (needed start gas) and generally felt down on power. The bike has relatively low mileage and is in good condition. The penny finally dropped, the last time the bike was re-jetted was for riding in Colorado at high altitude and before the bloody ethanol containing gasoline became almost unavoidable in the U.S. so it is running way lean. Has anybody re-jetted a TE 610 E for ethanol containing gas and if so what jets/needle did they use?
Sure it does, 10 percent ethanol content in the gasoline gives you a 3.5 percent leaner mixture (3.5 percent less energy content in the fuel). In other words, 3.5 percent less overall power output from your engine. If you have a bike like mine that was already jetted for high altitude (like Colorado), it may cause a 6 - 8 percent loos of power which is noticeable. 15 percent ethanol content is correspondingly worse!
there are no ethanol free pumps near you? i keep several cans full to mix with race gas for my bikes or to use alone for any small engines i have. the only thing that sees ethanol are my vehicles. i have never noticed a difference in jetting switching over from ethanol to straight or vice versa. engines do run a little stronger on the pure stuff due to ethanols btu rating
There is ethanol free gas available in Las Vegas but less and less of it (except for pure race gas). However, when I go riding, I usually have to fill up in a small town that only has standard gas (10 - 15 percent ethanol blend). I can fix the problem by re-jetting the bike, I was just wondering if somebody had already done it and knew the size of the jets. I guess it's time to find that box of Del'Orto bits and get started :-)
3.5% less heating value does not necessarily mean it needs 3.5% less air/O2. The mixture is purely based on the stoichiometry. I didn't do the math so you can be right about it, but it has nothing to do with the fuel heating value.
So i did some math. Gasoline stoichiometric AFR is around 14.6. Ethanol stoichiometric AFR is 9.0. That means you were right in the end. It needs roughly 4% less air. (in case the fuel contains 10% ethanol)
Watch your fuel tank-ethanol makes them expand. In the US the in frame tanks on the air cooled Ducati Multistadas cracked. Prick of a fuel. On another matter just wondering if an octain booster would help with the lower power output.
No octane booster wont' make much, if any difference, the octane level in the gasoline/ethanol mix is actually higher than comparable straight gasoline. It's the lower energy content (within the same volume of fuel) that is the problem (power wise). Furthermore, I have also experienced issues with older plastic tanks expanding and water penetrating the plastic and accumulating under the paintwork (carried by the bloody ethanol). Fortunately it looks like that problem is not as prevalent any more, I believe this is because oil refiners have become better at making more stable gasoline/ethanol mixtures. However, if I have a bike that I know will be sitting for a while, I drain the tank as a precaution.
