MXA TECH SPEC: DO YOU NEED TO USE FUEL STABILIZER?

Did you know that after a few weeks of downtime, the fuel in your bike’s fuel system turns into something you would only run in your lawn mower. As a matter of fact, the moment the race gas leaves the gas-station pump, it begins breaking down and losing power. If you run fresh gas every weekend or even every other week, you probably don’t need fuel stabilizer, but the use of a fuel-storage stabilizer can greatly reduce fuel degradation over time.

It is important to note that fuel stabilizer does not interfere with the performance of your bike’s engine. In truth, if you don’t ride every week, fuel stabilizer can improve the performance of the old gas in your bike’s tank—not by making it better, but by not letting it get worse. Adding a small amount of fuel stabilizer to your gas can will help older fuel maintain its freshness between rides. Fuel stabilizers work with leaded, unleaded, oxygenated, reformulated and regular gasoline.

As a rule of thumb, you should add fuel stabilizer to your gas can prior to putting gasoline in it. That way, the instant you fill your bike’s gas tank, the fuel stabilizer is well mixed and ready to maintain the freshness of your overall supply of fuel. By adding it immediately, you prolong the life of fuel from the second it leaves the gas pump to the time it combusts.

Don’t think for a second that fuel stabilizer will boost your engine’s horsepower. It is not a hop-up. Fuel stabilizers will not increase the octane of fuel and will not affect operating conditions. In action, you will not even know that it’s mixed in the gas. Fuel stabilizer is just an insurance policy for riders who let gas sit for longer than a couple of weeks or couple of months. It maintains the fuel’s original integrity, consistency and performance.

A four-stroke has more to gain from a fuel stabilizer than a two-stroke. Four-strokes don’t have the protection that comes with the natural anti-corrosive qualities of ester synthetics and other components that are found in a two-stroke premix oil. As you know, the ethanol in pump gas is hygroscopic, which means the fuel will actually absorb atmospheric moisture into your gasoline. This water dilutes the fuel and causes corrosion. The MXA wrecking crew prefers to use Maxima Fuel Storage Stabilizer to preserve older gas, but Sta-Bil, Amzoil, Yamalube, VP, Klotz, Lucas, Motul and others sell it.

The best thing you can do, whether you ride every weekend, once a month or once every three months, is to invest in a metal gas can. Metal cans do not breathe like plastic gas cans. The combination of a metal fuel can and fuel stabilizer can make 5 gallons of gas last for a year. If you live in a winter climate and have to store your bike for months on end, then fuel stabilizer is a must. The more humid the environment, like winter weather, the bigger the benefit. If you can’t ride your bike for an extended time, the best strategy is to run fuel stabilizer through your system before putting the bike away. This ensures that the stabilizer treats the gas tank, fuel filter, fuel lines, carburetor and combustion chamber. Then, drain the fuel from the gas tank (and float bowl if your bike has one). Because the stabilizer has been run through the engine, it has coated all the internal fuel system parts with a corrosion-resistant protective layer. When the bike is uncovered at the first sign of spring, the fuel system will still be good.