K11 Owners Group

[Ernie-NH]

Hello all...

ie: What's your experience ??

Ive been riding the ultra-rural back roads ( ie: partial asphalt ) here in NH, VT and ME a good deal this Summer on both my K1100LT as well as my '76 R100/7 Airhead. On our Airhead "forum" we always bemoan the lack of ethanol free gas and the degraded performance of our machines as a result. In fact I have even seen mention of that here on K11OG as well.. In this part of the country however, I know of one station on the VT, NH, Que border that offers "ethanol free 91 octane" in limited supply and at extra high premium prices... usually more than $4.60 to $4.95 per US Gallon. Whenever I pass that way on my R100/7 I usually stop, swear at the price, and ask the attendant to "fill 'er up" ! I do have to say after that fill, for an old bike, I do get markedly improved "wind in your hair" acceleration and instant throttle response !!

OK... well this last Thursday, I happened to be in that same neighborhood on the K1100LT and said to myself,,"hey, lets do it with the Eth.Free 91 gas"... In I went to "fill 'er up"... I now expected to get performance rivaling the Saturn-V off the launch pad in Cape Canaveral... but to my surprise, quite the opposite. I dont think the K has ever run as poorly or as unresponsively ! At times I even felt that I should help the acceleration along by stomping on the ground with my foot as one does with a kid's scooter. Needless to say I could not wait to get this gas gone or into someone else's tank !

When I got home I did indeed pump out the gas in the tank and re-fill with my normal "Mobil 91, 10%Ethanol" and I can only say " WOW...what a difference,""... its back to normal escape velocity for the K ! Lesson learned.

My question here to anyone who knows gas... is: How come ? The K does so well on the "new fuel blends" and sucks on the Eth/Free.... whereas the 38 year old machine ( 170,000 km ) is just the opposite ??

Anyone ??

Best regards all.......// Ernie in NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

[N41EF]

Just my thoughts, but there is a huge difference in the two bikes, not bad, but a difference. The airhead is carb and points, if it is tuned and adjusted to run on E10 and you but good gas in it, it will run better, more power, acceleration etc.

The K bike uses a dinosaur computer controlled fuel injection system. With the O2 sensor it runs in a closed loop and monitors the exhaust output and controls the injection to maintain air/fuel ratios. It also "learns" and adjusts as fuel changes and any sensors age, or when we make changes.

It might be that if that is the first time the K has gotten straight gas it might of needed time to learn it. You might of also gotten a bad tank since most places that are E free don't have a lot of volume around me.

I buy E free for all small engines lawnmower, trimmer and such, since E tends to gum and eat plastic fuel lines.

My K bike gets 91 or 93 octane E10 and does ok on it, but if I was going to winterize it, I'd drain the tank.
_________________
2014 R1200RT Water Cooled
2001 R1100S Light
1993 K1100LT. Nissan Ice Blue.(Gone)

[Jim]

Ernie - I've used ethanol free lots of times - with no problem. I always use mid-grade - unless I have to buy premium. The bike is made to run on mid grade. I buy ethanol free every chance I get. Pay a little more for it, but since it isn't available here and I can only get it in rural areas, it's still about the same price or cheaper than regular is here.

If you have an iDevice that has apps, get the PURE gas app - although the app is only as good as the people who report stations that sell ethanol free, it works pretty well.
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

[Ernie-NH]

Hi Jim... Hi N41..

This was the first time the K had tasted the Efree so maybe it was just that, trying to get itself into shape with an odd fuel.. but as much as I like it for the R bike ..dont think I'll ever try the Efree in the K again. I do buy the midgrade ( 89 ) for the K most always, but for some reason I went 91 on the re-fill for the K.. ( no special logic )... The R bike however almost demands the highest octane possible since there are no spacers at the bottom of the 'jugs' thus it is at it's highest compression ratio,, whereas some R bikes have spacers in place in order to utilize lower/cheaper octane gas...( ie:87 )

The station where I get the Efree is very rural, in fact the Efree is only there because of the older agricultural vehicles in that area .... the price is high however at least there. and always has been!

Anyway... that was my most recent "hoof in mouth" experience..but I really did think the K would take off like a lion in heat ! Maybe I'll give Nitro-Methanol a try... or better yet an AF Surplus JATO !!

Best regards all, ride safe,,,,// Ernie in NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

[N41EF]

Adaptation wise, you might try stepping the K from 87 to 89 to 91 then to E-free. Usually a couple of hundred miles will let it catch up. I have no idea if you can do it on a bike but most cars can be reset from their learned adaptations.

Oh, and as an Embry Riddle grad I must point out that you need TWO JATO packs, one for each saddle bag.

Mental image of passing a Harley rider, then lighting the Jato's and his bike being engulfed in flames.

Or how about while on a spirited ride and you see blue lights. Hit the Jatos and you are on your way to the international space station.
_________________
2014 R1200RT Water Cooled
2001 R1100S Light
1993 K1100LT. Nissan Ice Blue.(Gone)

[carp]

I ran ethanol 87 for 60,000 in my K75 and 40,000 in my K11LT. I find when running premium 91 with no ethanol I smell some gas. On the ethanol I don't. I store my bikes in winter with non ethanol gas.
_________________
93 K1100LT
07 Bandit 1250S