50:1 2 Stroke Fuel

This past Friday, which was a very cold day, I couldn't help but get the motorbike out of the garage and ride it up and down the street. I got so cold so fast, that I only made a few attempts to start the engine up, and every time it was a fail. I gave us quickly.

I've got a new engine on order, even though the only real problem I have with my current motor has a broken right rear motor mount stud. Through creative engineering I've been able to strap the engine down and keep her rolling. Never really trust it, though.

Through my connection, I was able to score about a quart of that pre-mix ethanol fuel. (50:1 ratio) Free. Sometimes, the containers will get banged up on shipping and for the carriers and retailers, it is a hazmat issue. Better to give it away that to pay for proper disposal.

Today was significantly warmer - enough for a short ride anyway - so I decided to pour in about 10 ounces on top of the very little fuel resting in the cold tank. It took a few tries but - BAM! - when she kicked, she kicked. Motor ran as good as ever! All it needed was a little throttle input.

I rode quite a few miles, emptying the tank. It was wonderful. Hate to remove this engine!

so are you praising the engine or the fuel?

Both!

I am still just a noob, learning and experimenting all the time. When I got into this, the word on these fora was that the HT engine had a very short life, around 1200 miles / 2000km. At the time, that sounded like a fairly high number. I've crushed that with a fair estimate being 4k miles (I rode my pedal bike over 8k miles!) - and the engine is still good!

I've been running 32:1 since break in, erring on the side of a bit heavy. I was a bit concerned running 50:1 but I think the motor is pretty much soaked with 2 stroke oil. And with temps not far above freezing, it would be fine to make a run of 4 to 5 miles.

I read this forum most days: a CDI upgrade would be a good test!

Cheers!

Timbone