Hey Niner

[Bwana]

A while back I asked for advice regarding ATV's and from what I recall as long as it says Honda on the side it is a good bet. The other thing I recall was that you had a web address/search engine for locating ATV's, don't suppose you have that handy, do you?

[Buckrub]

http://www.atvtraderonline.com/

http://www.atv.com/classifieds/atv-classifieds.html

a good resource:
http://www.atvrideronline.com/used_atv/index.html

[Chicken Dinner]

I just dropped mine off at the shop this morning. Went to go hunting with Matt this past Saturday and the damn thing just kept bogging down every time you hit the throttle. We didn't let it spoil our fun, but I was lucky to get it back into the bed of the truck. Freakin' ethenol has got the carbeurator all gummed up. Whose idea was that anydamnway?

[quercus alba]

I have a Yamaha that's 15 years old and only had to replace a vacuum line. Cranks and runs like a new one

[johnboy]

Ethanol blended fuel is death on small engines that don't get regular usage like ATV's, especially older ones. The ethanol will eat older rubber fuel lines and plastic gas tanks never mind what it does to aluminum components in your carb. I don't know if it's possible to buy non-ethanol fuel where you live (our marine gas is ethanol free) but if you can, do it and use a good fuel stabilizer (I always used Stabil Marine in my boats) as well.

Blending ethanol and gasoline was one of those ideas that sounded good at the time but turned out to create a lot more problems than it solved.

[Niner]

Yep. If ya run gas with ethanol in it, you must must must must treat your gas to help prevent crap buildup I the carb. That goes for ANY small engine. The best thing is to get you gas from an "ethanol free" pump. More and more stations have one nowadays.

[Chicken Dinner]

Mine is a 2005 Yamaha and this if the first problem I've had. (I can't really blame the machine, either.) My mechanic said the stabilizer would help, but is no substitute for ethanol free gas. My challenge is that the closest ethanol free pump is 30 miles in the wrong direction.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Sea Foam!

BKB

[johnboy]

It would be worth the trip for me. Couple of 5 gal gas cans with a shot of Stabil in them should last quite a while for an ATV, I would think. Fill up your truck, whilst your at it. Run some Seafoam or the Yammie fuel conditioner every once in a while, as well, to keep things clean.

[Buckrub]

Sea Foam actually helps a lot.

But you HAVE to find and use Non ethanol gas. Sorry it's hard to find, but you have to. In every engine except automobiles. Unless you want them to be useless in a few years.

http://pure-gas.org/

[BarryBobPosthole]

I've never used Sea Foam in my life. I only said it for Eddie.

BKB

[Buckrub]

I've used it a lot. It's amazing stuff. Can't use too much, though. It rights wrongs.

[Big Muddy]

Two words-------well, day'um, Phole beat me to it. ;)

[Thumper]

You know ... I've seen youse dufes trashing ethanol for ever, but I've never chimed in. The ONLY thing that's ever been in my tank is ethanol/gas. I took my 4-wheeler (Honda 4-Trax) to Canada for a bear hunt/fishing trip in '07. I brought it home and parked it in my shed. Then the economy dove into the toilet, I shut my company down the end of '07 and went to work driving a truck. The 4-wheeler sat in the shed as I drove that truck all through '08 and to the end of '09 when I went into the hospital. As you know, all hell broke loose with my health and needless to say, I never even LOOKED at that Honda during that time. Just last year, I decided I should probably sell it. It had sat untouched since I parked it upon my return from Canada.

My mechanic buddy at Toyota wanted it and made me promise to sell it to him. I told him it had been setting untouched for 5 years and would most likely need a battery, a carb. overhaul and possibly a tank/fuel line cleaning. (he's a mechanic, so it was no big deal) Just for shits & grins, I threw the battery charger on it and put an overnight trickle charge on it. I was totally surprised that it took a charge! It had about 1/2 - 3/4 tank of "old" fuel, so I simply topped it off with fresh fuel, turned the key on, hit the starter and it started in about 0.02 second! I warmed it up a couple minutes, cut the choke off and it dropped into a smooth idle.

Now, I'll admit I was TOTALLY surprised, but that's persactly how it went down. I put up my ramps, drove it onto the bed of my truck, slammed the tailgate and dropped it off with him at the Toyota dealership. He took it home from there and every time I see him, I ask him how the old 4-Trax is running. He lives in the country, drives it quite often and said it's been flawless since he's had it.

After listening to youse dufes trash ethanol like it's a product from Hell ... I'm totally baffled by my experience. Heck, I'd have expected a major problem even with NON-Ethanol fuel! I'm just sayin'.

[Buckrub]

You're on crack. Every mechanic I know says to keep it out. I've THIS YEAR seen, first hand, wheelies that guys had that wouldn't run, spittered, and sputtered, and died........and I drained the tank, put in Premium Ethanol, a cap full of Sea Foam, and they run like a new one.

It'll start many times. But later it won't run. Ethanol is death on small engines, NONE of which are built for it.

[Niner]

I never had trouble with it either, Jimbo..... Until I did.
Luckily I have a buddy that's a motor-head who rebuilt the carb on my old Honda for just the price of the carb rebuild kit.
In my case, the ATV would start and run WFO, but would not idle. I even tried spraying Sea Foam into the carb, but no luck.


That's the only problem I've had with Ethanol Gas....and the only one I want. I use E-free gas and/of use additives for my mower and such nowadays.

[Thumper]

Oh, don't get me wrong ... I'm not doubting there are and have been problems. It wasn't meant that way. My main point is how totally surprised I was with MY experience. BUT ... what fuel does NOT cause problems? Heck, ANY gasoline should have screwed up my 4-wheeler after sitting un-touched in a 120 degree (in the summer) shed for 5 years. In the pre-ethanol days, that old fuel would have turned into varnish and sludge. I just have no clue why that thing so much as sputtered much less started and ran smoothly. Heck, for that matter, 4-wheeler (motorcycle) batteries seem to be junk also and are only good for 2-3 seasons it seems, yet this one was dead as it could be, sat there through hot summers and even a couple of freezes (our 2-3 days winters) and actually took and HELD a charge. I don't get it .... but mind you ... I SURE ain't complainin'!

[Chicken Dinner]

Bucksnort, thanks for posting that link. I think I may have found a place out near my hunt club where I can fill up ethanol free!