I kept all receipts except one, and for that I restored how much I pumped from my bank statement. So here's the plot. Horizontal axis is how many gallons I've used. Vertical axis is mileage actually converted to miles. Yes, the "mileage" meter on the dashboard uses kilometers. Divide that reading by 1.602 to get miles.
That's a very consistent 70mpg mileage. Just think what we could have if scooters got popular enough that the manufacturers could economically use fuel saving technologies. Like better materials, fuel injection with exhaust oxygen sensors and so on.Converted back to kilometers, that's about 115 km per gallon. This is rather convenient - I know I'll have to visit the gas station once the meter clocks another hundred.
Mostly for an experiment, I only use so-called non-oxygenated gas, which is plain gasoline without any ethanol added. As the story goes, there are three reasons named to use ethanol-free fuel.
It doesn't dissolve your engine
Plain gas is supposed to be better on your engine, though I am yet to come across actual evidence for this. Supposedly, alcohol in the gas can soften and dissolve plastics, especially in the carburettor but also in all the piping, fuel pump etc. Of course ethanol can do that, the only question is whether this scooter is made with plastics designed to tolerate some amount of ethanol. All the new cars in America are of course made to handle it well, but this thing is made in China and I have no clue whether it is OK to use "usual" pump gasoline with 10% of ethanol in it.
It does not clog or rust your engine
Water cannot dissolve in gas, but it can do so in presence of alcohol. So the usual, ethanol-enriched gas will soak up any ambient moisture that it is exposed to starting at the factory, traveling in the truck, then sitting in an underground tank at the gas station. If you leave this in your tank long enough, the gas will dry up, the carburettor will clog up whatever can do so will start rusting from within. Rusting is in fact what you call oxidizing iron.
The truth must be somewhere between the first and the second argument. Non-oxygenated gasoline is only legal to be used in Minnesota in boats, motorcycles, collector vehicles (old stuff with carburettors!), and small engines such as lawn mowers. I am sure they would have banned that as well, if only it was possible to feed it with the "oxygenated" fuel.
By the way, they call it non-oxy and non-oxygenated because the oil companies were sued when they tried to advertise it as "ethanol free". This supposedly implied that ethanol is bad and so amounted to defamation. Pretty weird, huh?
Non-oxy fuel gives you better mileage
This one is supposedly true. Mileage is supposed to go up by as much as 30%. Well, not that I am complaining at mine :)
How to find the stuff
I get mine at the gas station hosted by a company that repairs boats. I found it online, and you could perhaps Google it up for your area. If you do, please leave a comment! I will also post the stuff that I found for Minnesota.
11 comments:
Hey,
Your info. has been most helpful.
I have a couple of problems with my '05 Baron 150cc.
First of all I bought it used. a few months ago. It was running just fine but now it is having a few issues.
First of all I left out of a bar the other night and I had no headlights. All of the other lights worked just fine but the headlights (they have been replaced) do not want to work. I followed your instructions on disassembly for the dash and took off the front but could not track down any loose connections.
Go figure. All other lights will run just not the headlights.
2. It will run at 45. loves 45 but really struggles/looses power when accelerating any faster.
Any clue about the headlights?
David
Hi David!
I think the first thing to do with the headlights is to check the voltage coming at them. There's a large connector that connects all the wires going to the headlights. Run your scooter on center stand and check if some 12V show up between pins on this connector. Or you could reach directly at the headlights. You could also try switching your meter to AC voltage scale.
One of my headlights burned almost immediately and I had since replaced them with standard ones. I had trouble with these ever since, so I don't have a good advise on this. Still, it may be that your bulbs just went off simultaneously.
As to the speed, I would say start with basic maintenance. Change your gear oil - this has to be changed every year. Check your air intake - filter has to be clean and there should be no junk in the intake duct. The next thing would be to clean your carbs.
Thanks for the advice. I just purchased a meter and will work on it
in the next couple of days.
The other problem this seems to have is after riding for a while, it just dies.
I put a new gas filter on it. I checked the houses and all seems well.
What is interesting is when it dies it is because it has no gas. This
is evident because you can see the lack of gas in the filter. I just
wait or kick start it a few times and you can actually see the gas
seeping back into the filter. Then.....it starts and runs until.....it
feels like stopping.
Kind of odd but I am going to drain the gas and see if there is just
something in the tank that settles and clogs the line. I am also going
to adjust the mixture screw on the carb. As soon as I break it down
enough for access.
Any suggestions?
David
I have found a list for stations that have the fule for our sccots. Today I am going to try T&T on 66th and Portland. 110 octane - no ethanol. Leroy's on 9oth and Lydale and Jim's on 54th and Chicago have lower octane ethanol free juice.
The owner's manual sayy to use 90 octane. Any one have an opinion on using 110 octane/ ethanol free?
Here's the link to the good gas in the twin cites http://www.mnssa.com/nonoxy.html
Typing too fast! I realize I misspelled a couple words in my last post.
Thanks for the list! The station on Chicago was sort of strange when I checked them some time ago -- there were no signs posted whatsoever about non-oxy fuel even thought they must do that if they are actually selling non-oxy.
Jim's on 54th and Chicago has a sign that advertises non-oxy or ethanol free, additionally it is 91 octane for $4.14/gallon. T&T on 66th and Portland has 110 octane oxy-free for $6.50/gallon. So far I am sticking with the 91 octane. Has any tried 110 octane in their scoot?
Note on the Plymouth Gas Station on 99th and Rockford - It is not a 76 station, but it does have the good juice. If you are out that way it is on the North side of Rockford next to a Burgerking and Holiday. This is the closest gas station for no-oxy out by the only Baron Dealership / Service Station in the Twin Cities,
Hello, I bought a '07 Baron 150cc about 8 weeks ago. Putting $4.00 in the tank a week beats the hell out of $40.00 in my truck. I wanted to let you know your information has been invaluable since the manual is a joke. Anyway, I had a couple of questions for you. First, do you know what kind of after market accessories will work with Barons? - front racks, windshields, crap like that. Second, do you go through the dealership in Plymouth for your parts or someone else. I live in Maplewood. Thanks for the help you've given me so far.
Hello Brion
No, I don't have much experience with commercial aftermarket gadgets but my understanding is anything that works with Chinese mainland scooters should fit. Just check the volume (i.e. is it for 50cc, 150cc or 250cc).
I've never been to Plymouth dealership. Instead I get all my stuff from my dealership which is now in Osseo.
Their website is
http://www.gomotomn.com/
I guess here's a full list of brick-and-mortar dealerships in Minnesota:
http://www.baronmotorcycles.com/find_dealer.asp?st=MN&state=Minnesota
All the gas stations around here have ethanol-added fuels. I really can't stand it, because part of the nation's food supply (which used to get sold for profit or donated to bolster our global goodwill) is now getting diverted to fuel.
Other folks have had reservations about ethanol-enhanced fuels, too, so I initially followed one guys advice to put in a capful of STP fuel treatment to every refill. Turns out there's some kind of resin crap in this stuff that just started gumming up the carb. Another scooter / motorcycle forum had folks raving about Seafoam fuel additive. I've been using that ever since. I tossed a few ounces in the bike right when I got it to clean things out, and it started running like new. Now I put about an ounce in ever refill. You can get a bottle for $7 or so at local automotive stores. I think there's 16oz to a bottle. It acts as a fuel stabilizer and prevents water from getting in. I also put some in my car, because I wasn't driving it as much. Tried starting it up after sitting for 2 weeks (because I was riding my scooter ;) ), and took 5 mins of cranking to get it going. After adding 1/3 bottle of seafoam, I let the car sit for another month and it still started right up.
Post a Comment