Gas Treatment - Should I Or Shouldn't I?> Heres the question should you use gas treatment? If so what kind and how much!!!!
> And what about oil treatments??? I've had some people tell me the're ok but i'm alittle scared to put it in my Venture !!!!! My 91 Royale is my baby and i want to take care of her!!!!!!!! Glenn W. Bristerbristerg@theriver.com
AnswersGlenn I guess by gas treatment you mean like stp carb cleaner etc? I use them occassionally especially if the bike has been sitting for an extended period. You are suppossed to add then run the tank dry as soon as possible. In that regard I have no problem.
As to adding like stp/rislone/teflon additives DON"T. All those are designed for engines only. You have a wet clutch and the additive may cause slipping or other problems with it. Use a quality oil and change regularly (I use 3000 miles) with new filters and you shouldn't need any additives..............Ride ez, ride safe. Hank
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Here's a long answer for a short question!!
Gas is an area I worked in many years ago (in fact, 1972), when I was working for ESSO. I am sure that there have been improvements since then, but this is what I learned working for ESSO (variously taken over since by Gulf/Texaco/Exxon).
Gasoline products are tailored to the ambient temperature and humidity of that week, and their volatility is made very much higher in the winter (when it is cold) than in the summer. Too much volatility for the ambient temperature causes vapour lock, and is a significant contributer to smog. Too little volatility for the temperature makes fuel atomization more difficult, and makes starting more difficult. Gas companies spend a great deal of effort to produce fuel that is more than satisfactory. They paid well too - I bought a new 650 Yamaha and a new 500-4 Honda that year.
I would frequent those kind of gas stations that obviously sell large volumes of gasoline, since the right fuel is a very temperature sensitive issue. Also, fuel is designed to absorb some water - and if it spends a month in the gas station tank, then it's water absorbing capability will be worn out by the time you purchase it. I would not provide any additives to your normal gasoline. When I worked at ESSO, we had a tractor trailer deliver fuel every single day (night actually). As an aside, this is why you see the guy next door, who tuned up and filled his snowblower in early September has such trouble starting it in the first snowfall of January. The fuel volatility is too low for the temperature, and the water absorbing capability may also have been overwhelmed by condensation in those four months - leading to water at the bottom of the carb.
For winter storage of 6weeks or more, especially for Venture tanks that cannot be emptied, fuel needs both a stabilizer (so it does not turn to jelly), and it needs additional assistance in absorbing water (methyl alcohol). I add both these products to my fuel for the last fillup of the season. When you buy these products, correct dosages are provided on the labels.
If you find that you are going to leave your bike unridden for just a month or so, I would just add the methyl alcohol (also known as gas line antifreeze). It will make sure that condensation does not overwhelm the gasoline, sink to the bottom of the tank and start the rusting process. Seems this gasoline "procedure" has done fine for me, and it will do fine for you as well.
As for oil, although I personally use car 20w50 oil many times, I recommend that the Yamaha/Honda/Suzuki oils be used in your motorcycle. This is partly because I change my oil far more often than others (around every 2000 miles), and partly because I am aware that car oils break down very much more rapidly in a motorcycle engine (because of the crushing of the oil "chains" in the gearbox), and partly because if you asked about additives, then you are looking for an improvement.
Motorcycle engines contain clutch packs, which means that the oil in motorcycle engines must not be too slippery, but must be slippery enough. Some additives acceptable for cars would ruin your clutch because they are too slippery. Other additives will have no effect other than making the manufacturer rich. I recommend very strongly that no additives be put in your oil. As a recent motorcycle publication pointed out in their letters section- if there was a performance gain (reliability/power) to be had by a simple low cost additive, the Motorcycle manufacturers would be marketing it.
If you want the very best possible maintenance for your bike's engine, change your oil frequently (3months or 3000 miles - whichever is first), use a satisfactory grade (either 20-40 or 20-50), and consider using Brand Name motorcycle oil. Almost all modern motorcycle engines (certainly the Venture) will survive just fine with much less oil maintenance. However, if you are looking to run near redline many times per week, and are aiming to get 200,000 miles without needing a piston/ring job or needing to have the valves adjusted, then the above maintenance plan is a much better choice than additives.
You will find very many strong opinions about oils, gas, and additives. I hope that the high mileage on my current Yamaha (and previous Yamaha750-3 and Honda550-4) provide you some security that my advice is credible..............Yours Truly, Scott MacMartin
Gasline Anti-Freeze - NOT!
Please note: Do not use gasline anti-freeze in a Venture Royal as it eats the diagphrams and makes holes all over. I know this as we have very cold winters here and tried it, it cost me four (4) new diagphrams and my dealer told me why............John Howard
Last update: 12:36 PM Sunday, September 26, 2004
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