Ethanol okay?

Just bought a 2005 Kawasaki KZ1000 Police. The manual says it runs on regular gas. My question: is it okay to use the 10% ethanol fuel that most gas stations have nowadays? (This is when I'm actually using the bike; during the off-season I will, as usual, try to store it with the petcock turned off, with the gas tank full, and with both ethanol stabilizer and Sta-Bil in the gas in the appropriate ratio.)

I use regular. No problems.
Steve

10% ethanol works fine in my KZ650. That's all that is available here in MD unless I go to a marina that's 100 miles away. :laugh: Ed

This was just recently discussed.

kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/603464-10-ethanol?limitstart=0

The web site provided has helped me find 3 stations in my area convenient to me.

Short answer, IMO no problem if driven regularly. For occasional use and storage it can cause some issues....

Ethanol is o.k. if you use the bike on a regular basis. Two biggest problems with ethanol for bikes (and other "toys")...

Storage life - ethanol regular starts to degrade in three weeks. Stabilizer takes care of that.

Ethanol attacking some plastic and fiberglass components - many Ducati owner's fuel tanks have been ruined by ethanol fuel

Kray-Z wrote: Ethanol is o.k. if you use the bike on a regular basis. Two biggest problems with ethanol for bikes (and other "toys")...

Storage life - ethanol regular starts to degrade in three weeks. Stabilizer takes care of that.

Ethanol attacking some plastic and fiberglass components - many Ducati owner's fuel tanks have been ruined by ethanol fuel

Older rubber parts in the fuel system suffer as well, watch the inside top of the tank, condensation builds due to the ethanols ability to absorb moisture, I have seen some rusty tanks due to ethanol, usually on stored bikes but it can have a effect on bikes that don't often fill the tank.....

I use it when I am running the bike regularly. Before winter I switch to non ethanol and store them with just that in it. No Stabil.

We ride a lot, but when it looks like it is going be a long cold snap going into Winter I add some of this and ride for a while

10%E is all we have had for decades.

Thanks everybody. That confirms what I had suspected. I have been storing my bikes (over the winter) with the 10% ethanol fuel in the tanks, but with ethanol stabilizer and Sta-Bil added. Maybe I'll store them now with non-ethanol gas (there is one gas station near me that has that), and add just Sta-Bil.

I extract and drink ethanol from gas. Me and my bikes feel good! Most of my posts were typed after drinking...

Tector wrote: Thanks everybody. That confirms what I had suspected. I have been storing my bikes (over the winter) with the 10% ethanol fuel in the tanks, but with ethanol stabilizer and Sta-Bil added. Maybe I'll store them now with non-ethanol gas (there is one gas station near me that has that), and add just Sta-Bil.

I understand the need to keep the tank full in storage to prevent rust. Lucky for us it isn't needed here.
Steve