The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a mandate directing consumers to purchase a minimum of four gallons of gasoline from gas stations that dispense fuel of different blends through the same hose.
The mandate is issued in response to a letter from the American Motorcyclist Association expressing concern over the inadvertent mixing of E15, the ethanol-gasoline blend consisting of 15% ethanol, in the fuel meant for motorcycles and all terrain vehicles (ATV) as a result of using the same hose at gas pumps.
Motorcycles or ATVs are not designed to function on E15 fuel and require E10 or less. Owing to the small size of fuel tanks in ATVs and motorcycles, even the residual amount of E15 left in the hose could be damaging to the engines. The use of E15 also reduces fuel efficiency and makes all warranties from the manufacturers null.
In order to address this problem, EPA has directed gas stations to either dispense E15 through separate hose pumps or ensure that the consumer purchases atleast four gallons of gasoline to bring down the concentration of ethanol to less than 10%. Gas stations dispensing E15 and E10 from the same nozzle are also required to inform customers of the minimum purchase requirement via additional labeling. The mandate has not been received well by the AMA because the fuel tank capacity of most motorcycles and ATVs is less than four gallons. The AMA expects the EPA to provide a better solution and also to carry out an independent study to analyze the impact of E15 on ATV and motorcycle engines.
Source: http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/
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