E15 Gas Coming to CA Soon ?

[KTMrad 508]

E15 Gas will NOT be good for our bikes ! We need to hit CARB with as many letters as possible...please send one now !

California: E15 coming soon?

"]Take Action! E-mail or Printed Letter HERE

Please urge the CARB to oppose!

On Oct. 16, the American Motorcyclist Association sent a letter to Chairwoman Mary Nichols of the California Air Resources Board. The letter requests the CARB not approve the use of E15—a gasoline formulation that contains up to 15 percent ethanol by volume—until the concerns expressed by the AMA are adequately addressed. Specifically, our concerns are with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Misfueling Mitigation Plans that mandate consumers purchase at least four gallons of fuel from certain blender pumps that dispense both E15 and E10 gasoline-ethanol blends.

With other interest groups pushing the CARB to approve the use of E15, the motorcycle and ATV riding community must tell the CARB that we oppose introducing E15 into the California marketplace until the EPA comes up with a better solution for handling misfueling concerns.

The current mandate to buy four gallons simply will not work because of the small size of many motorcycle and ATV gas tanks. Furthermore, the AMA supports an independent study to determine whether E15 is safe for motorcycle and ATV engines.

As the American Motorcyclist Association previously reported, the EPA revealed the requirement to the AMA in a letter dated Aug. 1, responding to AMA concerns that E15 could be put in motorcycle and ATV fuel tanks inadvertently when consumers use blender pumps. A blender pump dispenses different fuel blends through the same hose.

“With E15 gasoline, our members who make a concerted effort to fuel their motorcycles or ATVs with E10-or-less gasoline may be unknowingly refueling with residual fuel left in the hose,” Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, wrote in a June 20 letter to the EPA.

“Unlike an automobile or SUV with a large fuel tank, the residual fuel left in a fueling hose could be detrimental to the performance of motorcycle or ATV engines due to the small size of their fuel tanks and the higher concentration of ethanol that would, therefore, be present in the fuel,” Allard wrote.

“In addition, the use of E15 will lower fuel efficiency and possibly cause premature engine failure,” he wrote. “Use of E15 fuel voids many manufacturer warranties. In off-road engines, the effects can even be dangerous for users.”

Byron Bunker of the EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory responded to the AMA.

“EPA requires that retail stations that own or operate blender pumps either dispense E15 from a dedicated hose and nozzle if able or, in the case of E15 and E10 being dispensed from the same hose, require that at least four gallons of fuel be purchased to prevent vehicles and engines with smaller fuel tanks from being exposed to gasoline-ethanol blended fuels containing greater than 10 volume percent ethanol,” Bunker wrote.

“Additionally, EPA is requiring that retail stations that offer E10 and E15 from the same hose and nozzle use additional labeling to inform consumers about the minimum purchase requirement,” Bunker wrote.

The AMA has repeatedly expressed concerns to government officials and federal lawmakers about possible damage to motorcycle and ATV engines caused by the inadvertent use of E15 when the new fuel becomes widely available, and has asked that motorcycles and ATVs be part of any scientific study into the effects of E15.

In October 2010, the EPA approved the use of E15 in model year 2007 and newer light-duty vehicles (cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles). Then, in January 2011, the EPA added model year 2001-2006 light-duty vehicles to the approved list.

Riders should pay attention to this list because no motorcycles or ATVs are currently listed.

The AMA is concerned about E15 because it burns hotter than gasoline that contains a lesser amount of ethanol. In engines not designed to dissipate that extra heat, damage in the form of premature wear may result. Although this is a concern in all motorcycles, it's particularly problematic for air-cooled engines found in many motorcycles and ATVs. Moreover, use of E15 may even void the manufacturer warranty.

Please send a prewritten message to the CARB asking Nichols to not allow the use of E15 gasoline until the concerns of the motorcycling community are adequately addressed regarding the recent decision by the EPA to mandate consumers purchase at least four gallons of fuel from certain blender pumps that dispense both E15 and E10 gasoline-ethanol blends.

Also, please join the AMA to help us fight these efforts. More members means more clout against our opponents, and your support will help the AMA fight for your rights – on the road, trail, racetrack, and in the halls of government. To join, go to AmericanMotorcyclist.com/membership/join.

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