Passes & Canyons Blog

How badly do you suppose ethanol would gum up this old engine?

It’s pretty well established that motorcycle engines and ethanol do not play nicely together, particularly when the proportion of ethanol in the gas get beyond a certain point. And using high-ethanol gas can reputedly even invalidate your warranty on the bike.

So it should not be a surprise that ABATE of Colorado opposes E-15, which is a newer ethanol fuel that has 15 percent ethanol, vs. the 10 percent we have had for many years. E-15 crosses the line.

I got the following alert from Stump, who keeps track of legislation for ABATE and does what he can to promote or oppose bills. That is to say, he’s a lobbyist, our lobbyist.

On Monday, 3/28, SB16-175 (E-15 Gasoline Income Tax Credit For Retail Dealers) was introduced in the Senate and assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate Finance Committee Members are: Sen. Neville (chair); Sen. Hill; Sen. Holbert; Sen. Johnston; and Sen. Kerr. I requested a meeting with the sponsor of the bill. I also plan to get a letter out to the Senate Finance Committee members and possibly meet with a couple of them before the committee meets on this bill which is scheduled for Thursday, 4/14. Now would be a good time to write / e-mail the Senate Finance Committee Members and urge them to oppose SB16-175. I’ve attached some talking point about E-15 Fuel to use in your letters. Please forward this to your district members ASAP and encourage them to e-mail the Senate Finance Committee Members.

Thanks,

Stump

You can read that letter with talking points that he mentioned here.

There are two issues as far as I see it. First there are the detrimental effects, of which Stump lists four:

PROBLEM 1: DEBRIS IN FUEL
Gums rapidly form in the fuel tank and fuel delivery systems as ethanol fuels age. However, ethanol is also a powerful solvent that will strip away and disperse this build up back into the fuel as large, performance-robbing particles. This leads to clogged filters, injectors and carburetors.

PROBLEM 2: EXCESSIVE WATER IN THE FUEL AND PHASE SEPARATION
Ethanol attracts moisture from the atmosphere, forming an ethanol/water solution mixed in the gasoline. Ethanol-blended fuel will naturally hold .5% water in suspension, but when water levels exceed this threshold, or when the fuel cools significantly, the water/ethanol mix drops out of suspension. This is phase separation. Excessive water in the fuel tank causes engines to run rough, stall, and can lead to internal damage to engine components. Ethanol provides a significant amount of the fuel’s octane, so when the ethanol/water solution separates and drops to the bottom of the tank, the remaining fuel is left without enough octane to properly operate the engine. Additionally, the ethanol/water solution can become partially combustible, which can lead to engine damage.

PROBLEM 3: ETHANOL FUELS BREAK DOWN QUICKLY
Over a short period of time ethanol fuel begins to break down. As ethanol and other components evaporate, the fuel loses octane and becomes “stale.” This causes hard starts, pinging and engine knock, which robs your engine of power and can cause damage.

PROBLEM 4: ETHANOL CAUSES LOST POWER, PERFORMANCE AND DECREASED FUEL ECONOMY
Ethanol fuel does not produce as much energy as traditional fuel. This results in inefficient combustion, decreased performance, reduced throttle response and poor fuel economy.

–Reprinted from StarTron fuel additive info brochure–

The other is that the only reason this whole ethanol thing has not died is because of the political pull of the corn farmers. Like so many other people I supported the idea of adding ethanol to gas originally, but like so many others I have now come to see that the whole things is a waste. It takes nearly as much energy to produce the stuff as you get from burning it and it’s not good for your motor. We tried it. It failed. Let’s kill the program and move forward. Oh, no–now we have vested interests.

At least if we could get SB 16-175 killed we wouldn’t be giving a tax credit to the stations that sell the stuff.

Biker Quote for Today

Gone riding, be back whenever . . .

By law, motorcycles are allowed to use HOV lanes at no charge.

Stump is the lobbyist at the state capitol for ABATE of Colorado and he has been busy. It looks as though this whole issue with motorcycles being required to have transponders to use HOV lanes will be resolved soon. I’m just going to paste in Stump’s latest email on the topic.
___________________________________

This week was another busy week down at the Capitol. HB16-123 (HOV / Transponders) is more involved than I originally thought. The part of concern to us, motorcycles needing transponders, is the easy part. Everyone involved, CDOT, HPTE, Senators, and even opponents of the bill at the Senate Transportation Committee Hearing, understand that motorcycles are HOV per Federal Regulations. The discussion now is, “How do we go about giving motorcycles “free access” to the HOV lanes?”

The rest of the bill about switchable transponders is a lot more complicated. The bill was scheduled for 2nd reading on the Senate floor on Tuesday, 2/23. It got laid over to Thursday, 2/25. I talked to a few Senators on Wednesday, 2/24, to get a feel for the bill. I’ve heard in the past that a bill is sometimes laid over if the sponsor feels he doesn’t have enough votes to carry the bill. That morning there was also a meeting with CDOT, HPTE, and a few Senators. After much discussion, a compromise was offered by CDOT, but not accepted by the sponsor. (I wasn’t at the meeting so I don’t know the exact offer). Wednesday afternoon, I did have a meeting with Senator Todd, Scott Spendlove (lobbyist for HPTE & E-470), and Andy K. (lobbyist for CDOT). While a lot of the discussion was about the bill, all of us agreed that motorcycles shouldn’t need transponders. Scott said he would take the issue directly to the Director of HPTE and work on a solution. Sen. Todd emphatically stated she wants this done ASAP and if it isn’t handled soon and SB16-123 gets killed, she would sponsor a bill specifically about motorcycles not needing transponders.

So on Thursday, 2/25, the bill was read on the Senate floor. Senators Lundberg, Jones, and Neville gave some very strong arguments in support of the bill. (The bill wants to get rid of the switchable transponders and go back to how the HOV / HOT lanes operated before July 22, 2015). Senators Todd and Heath opposed the bill. After much discussion and confusion about the ramifications of the bill, it was voted to lay over the bill till Tuesday, 3/1. There’s a meeting on Monday, 2/29, with the same people that met Wednesday morning. Since the motorcycle’s issue seems to be separate and already agreed upon, I wasn’t invited to the meeting. I’m sure there will be more compromises offered. FYI, I talked to Andy on Thursday and he said he’d send me an e-mail to the effect that CDOT is working on a solution to the motorcycle / transponder issue. (I haven’t gotten it yet).

There’s other bills happening but I just wanted to bring you up to date on SB16-123. I’ll let you know what happens next week and if we need to contact our Representatives.

Stump

Biker Quote for Today

The only date I need has two wheels, can be full on under $10, always goes all the way, and definitely screams on top.

A handful of the 30-40 bikes that showed up at the Grizzly Rose.

Yeah, it’s cold out there today (Thursday) but that’s not going to stop you from riding, is it? Today was the Last Brass Monkey Run, the ABATE event that closes out each year.

There were indeed people who rode their bikes, as you can see in that photo. And actually there were quite a few more than those guys, that was just the most interesting photo I got so that’s the one I used. Altogether I’d guess there were about 30-40 bikes that showed up.

Was mine one of them? No. Our streets are still covered in ice and snow and there was no way I could get out.

“You’re not going to try to ride your bike, are you?”

No, too much ice on the street.

“Well, you wouldn’t ride even if you could would you? It’s too cold out there!”

Yes, I would ride. That’s why I have heated gear.

But until they make heated tires that melt the snow and ice I have to bow to the whims of winter.

So most of the folks at the Grizzly Rose got there in their cars, including me. And presumably because of the cold there was not that large a crowd. I estimated about 150 in the building at the point when I left. Lots of parking available. The last time I went was a warmer day and I rode, as did many hundreds of others. The parking lot was jammed with bikes. Not today.

And while I knew a few folks there, ABATE members, they were all working the event so I got a bowl of chili and a hot dog and sat down by myself to eat. About then a guy with some pretty interesting facial hair came over and asked me if I’d like to be a judge in the chili contest. Sure, why not? He told me after I ate to go around the corner and do so. So I did but when I got there they told me they had already had 10 judges and 10 was all they needed, so OK, no big deal.

I hung around a bit longer but had other things to do, so I left. Other folks were leaving, too, I could see. Maybe next year the weather will be more cooperative.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it’s about learning how to ride in the rain.

Good weather is not all you need to be able to ride.

It’s that time of winter again. We’ve had some very nice days, good days to be out riding, but with our neighborhood streets covered in snow and ice I can’t get out. The forecast at this time suggests that before the sun does its job on our streets we’ll be having more snow. That’s exactly why I made a point to get out on all three bikes on about December 3 while it was still nicer weather. Who knows if I’ll get out again this year.

Some people are getting out, though. Obviously they don’t live on an inner neighborhood street. I mean, the main streets are clear if you can get to them.

What really amazed me, though, was a couple days ago I was out in my car and on Hampden I saw a guy on a bike. No big deal, except this was during the first melt after the snowstorm and while there was no snow or ice on Hampden, the entire road was very wet and sloppy. This was the sort of condition where your car gets coated in dark brown grime and if you don’t clean off your headlights, when you go to use them you find they don’t cast much light.

So this guy was out riding in this. Which means he was getting himself covered in all this gunk. Yow!

He was on a sportbike and had a helmet and leather jacket but unlike cars, helmets don’t have wipers to continually be clearing that stuff away so you can see. You’re more hard core than me, fella.

The next day I saw someone out, too, but by then the streets were much dryer. But at that point we were only starting to see a little asphalt show through on our street. It would take two or three more days like that to be clear and we’re apparently not going to get those days.

If there’s any way at all that I can get out, though, I will do so on December 31. That’s the day when ABATE of Colorado is having its annual Last Brass Monkey Run. This is intended to be the last riding event of the year but as you can imagine it is not always amenable to riding. So fine, if you can’t ride you go in your car. And I will. But I’d sure like to ride.

This thing has four starting points and the end is at the Grizzly Rose:
North–Rocky Mountain Saloon, 4329 CO Hwy 66, Longmont
East–Flying J Truck Stop, (I-70 Exit 285), 16751 E 32nd Ave, Aurora
South–Big Train Family Restaurant, 3050 N. Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs
West–In the Zone, 15600 West 44th Ave, Golden

If you’re going to participate the idea is to sign in (and sign your waiver) between 10 and 11 a.m. Or, finish line registration begins at the Rose at 11 a.m. Then they have food, music, and a chili cook-off, among other things. Plus an inside-the-Rose poker walk.

Then there’s usually a ride set for January 1 by a BMW group–the first ride of the year–but I’m not sure if that’s on this time around or not. I went looking for info but found none. Whatever.

So–bottom line: ride it if you can. Maybe I’ll be out there, too.

Biker Quote for Today

All I want for Christmas is you . . . Just kidding. Get me parts for my motorcycle.

This would be a potential opportunity for lane-splitting, as these bikes could move up to the front and get off ahead of the cars once traffic starts moving again.

Stump is the Legislative Affairs Officer for ABATE of Colorado and he has been working with the state to ensure that motorcyclists are treated appropriately–in regard to federal law–when it comes to this whole thing with HOV lanes and the requirement to have a transponder on the bike.

Stump can’t do it all. The more people who speak to their elected state officials the more they will pay attention. Here are 10 talking points Stump has put together that sum up the argument pretty well. If you have the opportunity to say anything to your state rep–or if you choose to do so on your own initiative–these are the kinds of things you might want to say to them. (I’ve tweaked a couple for grammar and clarity.)

1. Motorcycles are considered a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) under all conditions per 23 USC 166 (b) (2) (A).

2. Federal funds were used to build the HOV/HOT lanes, qualifying the use of motorcycles as an HOV per #1 above.

3. Adding a requirement/restriction for motorcycles to use an HOV lane is not necessary for the federal law to apply.

4. Charging a motorcycle to use an HOV lane if it doesn’t have a transponder and not charging if they do is a double standard and restricts/prohibits/fines motorcycles for using a lane they are entitled to used under federal law.

5. The requirement of a “deposit” for a transponder is a collection of monies from motorcyclists by a governmental entity without the consent of the people being assessed.

6. HOV/HOT lanes are not both “toll roads” and must be considered to be two separate types of roadways.

7. HOV lanes were originally implemented to help relieve congestion, save fuel, address parking issues, etc. and provide a means for those who combined/shared vehicles to benefit from their actions. HOT lanes allow anyone who will pay a fee to receive an advantage based on money, not the original intent of the lane.

8. The Colorado Department of Transportation has stated that it is safer for a motorcycle in an HOV lane and the chance of a crash or injury is reduced, as compared to using a congested lane.

9. Requiring a transponder on a motorcycle requires those who only use the lane once or twice a year because of where they live in the state, or those motorcyclists from out of state who are unaware that a transponder is required, to pay a fine/fee to use a lane that is safer and, in the majority of states, is free.

10. Even if a picture is taken of a motorcycle and license plate, it would take only seconds to identify the vehicle as a motorcycle, discard it, and move on.

So OK, the second sentence in #7, in particular, is still a little murky to me, but in general I’d say this is good information. So if you have a chance to communicate with the people who represent you in the legislature, you’ll be doing us all a favor to bring out these points.

Biker Quote for Today

Is your motorcycle a 2 cylinder or 4 stroke?

That arced part at the bottom that reads "NO CLUB" is the rocker.

Let’s see if you understand what I’m referring to here.

You have a group of people who tell everyone else that regardless of whether or not they believe the same as they do, the others must follow the laws of this group’s beliefs or else they’ll do them bodily injury, perhaps even kill them.

Does that make you think of Muslim extremists and Shariah law? I’m betting that if you’re like most non-Muslim Americans the answer is yes. Maybe even if you are a Muslim American. I’m not saying that is an accurate description of what ISIS and Al-Qaeda are all about but I think that’s a fair statement of how most of us see it.

So what if I told you what I’m really here to talk about is a motorcycle “club”?

On the OFMC trip this past summer Ray was complaining that the Sons of Silence had made his VFW group of riders take the “Colorado” rockers off their patches. “Made” them do it. How can they make you do that, I asked him. Why don’t you just tell them to go take a flying leap? Ray never really answered that question but I think we all know the answer.

Now I was just at my ABATE of Colorado District 10 meeting on Sunday and it turns out the Sons had approached ABATE saying that ABATE cannot use the word “Colorado” on any patches it produces. Never mind it’s part of the group’s name. It seems in their minds that they own Colorado and no one else can lay claim to it.

Telling us about his meeting with two “club” representatives, ABATE of Colorado State Coordinator Bruce Downs said, and I paraphrase: Whether you agree with them or not, it’s their belief system. You put a territory name on a rocker and you’re saying you own that territory. There have been people who have died over this. That’s not what we’re about. I’m not going there. We came to a mutual understanding.

Did somebody say Shariah law? Oh, yeah, I did. Now, no one said anything about physical retaliation but Bruce’s remark about people having died over this issue makes it clear that such things can and have happened and that fact is always in the back of your mind. It leads to self-censorship. It leads to groups like ABATE and Ray’s VFW group giving in no matter how vehemently they despise doing so. And I agree totally with Bruce. This is not what we’re about. There are more important issues ABATE needs to address. It’s not worth anyone getting hurt.

Now here’s a funny thing. Bruce said this applies only to patches, and only to three-part patches, with a top rocker, middle, and bottom rocker. If you’re silk-screening onto a T-shirt it’s OK for ABATE of Colorado to call itself ABATE of Colorado.

I thought Judy summed it up well. When I told her about all this she remarked that it’s like a bunch of dogs going around marking their territory. Some people need to grow up. And I guess if the University of Colorado decides to produce patches they had better just call themselves the University. Because the Sons own Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but dirt bikes break them better.