Many gas stations carry gas with up to 10% ethanol added.  For motorcycles, the higher the ethanol content, the worst it is for your ride.  The government is currently considering making that percentage higher which would be terrible for our motorcycles and may actually cause serious damage to the engine and/or parts.

Have you ever heard of Ethanol free gas?  It increases the performance on your bike with the added benefit of better gas mileage.  It is a bit more expensive, but well worth the cost.  There is a website www.pure-gas.org that will list out the benefits of ethanol free gas as well as listings for stations in your area nationwide.  They have an iPhone app for finding these stations with an Android app coming soon.  It is not only for bikes though, it is also great for your high performance car, try it and see.  You may find you get more miles per gallon than you are getting now.  The benefits far outweigh the cost.  In addition, for those who have plastic gas tanks, it keeps the issue of expansion to a minimum.  Some motorcycle manufacturers are going to aluminum tanks to avoid this problem in future models of their bikes, check to see if your tank is made of plastic or some type of metal.

If you live on the Eastside in Washington state there is a station in Issaquah, WA called The Grange.  It is located at 145 NE Gilman Blvd., Issaquah, WA 98027 and their website is www.grangesupply.com. I schedule my rides sometimes to hit the station on my way back to the house so that I am filled and ready to go the next day.  I also tend to keep a 5-gallon jug just in case, for the times I can’t go out of my way.  There are several stations in Snohomish, Everett and Seattle look them up at www.pure-gas.org.  Our rides take good care of us, let’s return the favor…Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter