Here is the EPA’s list of vehicles that should not be fueled with E15 (a 15% blend of ethanol):
- Motorcycles
- Vehicles with heavy-duty engines, such as school buses and delivery trucks
- Off-road vehicles, such as boats and snowmobiles
- Engines in off-road equipment, such as lawnmowers and chainsaws
- Model-year 2000 and older cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles (later changed to model-year 2007 and older)
1) to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil;
2) to reduce production of greenhouse gas from vehicles.
ETHANOL IN GASOLINE: THE PROBLEMS
[1] Because ethanol contains one-third less energy per gallon than gasoline, adding ethanol to gasoline leans out the fuel-air mixture, possibly enough to cause damage. Several manufacturers of small engines have said they will not honor warranties if fuels containing more than 10 percent ethanol are used. Read #1 again and let it sink in.[2] Metal fuel-system parts can corrode as a result of exposure to alcohol. Fuel additives are sold to inhibit this. Solvency of alcohol in certain fuel-system plastics, rubber and seal materials used in older vehicles can lead to softening and swelling. Fuel additives cannot prevent this.
[3] Alcohol absorbs water from any source (even from the atmosphere). Once alcohol that is dissolved in gasoline has absorbed sufficient water, it can separate from the gasoline and settle to the bottom of the tank. If this separated water-alcohol mixture is drawn into the engine’s fuel-system, the engine will run lean and may misfire or stop running.
[4] Some fear that the E15 fuel remaining in the blender pump’s hose and pump, when mistakenly mixed into the small fuel volume of a motorcycle’s or other small engine’s tank, might result in a mixture lean enough to cause engine damage. To prevent this, EPA will require customers using the E15 blender pump to buy at least four gallons of fuel. This will dilute the fuel that remains in the hose and pump enough to make it harmless to your bike.
And there's the nitty gritty of Ethanol 15.
