Harley converted to use E-85

By Steve Miller, Journal staff | Friday, May 23, 2008

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Although many Harley-Davidson owners avoid using ethanol, Craig Ammann of Sioux Falls not only uses ethanol, he had his Harley converted to run on E-85.

Ammann is director of marketing and distribution for KL Process Design Group, a company based in Rapid City that operates corn ethanol plants in South Dakota and Nebraska and a wood-waste-to-ethanol plant in Upton, Wyo.

But Ammann said his 2004 Electra Glide Standard runs even better since the conversion to allow it to run on an 85 percent ethanol fuel.

And he said the E-85 conversion did not require any special parts for his fuel system.

Some motorcycle and other small-engine mechanics caution against using even E-10 ethanol because they say it can damage plastic, rubber and aluminum parts (see related story).

"A lot of that is myth," Ammann said.

The key to converting his Harley was remapping the fuel-injection system. "Because the E-85 has higher ethanol content, it runs at a much higher octane, but it runs much cleaner and burns more completely," Amman said.

Before the E-85 conversion, Ammann had made modifications to the bike, which included a big-bore kit (increasing the size of the engine from 88 cubic inches to 95 cubic inches), a new exhaust system and a high-performance air intake, all aimed at making it more powerful.

Then, master service technician Chris Myers at Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Rapid City spent several hours remapping the bike's fuel-injection system.

Ammann said he has put about 3,000 miles on his Harley since converting it to run on E-85 in July 2007. He said the revamped bike now makes about 100 horsepower. That compares with the 62- to 68-hp of stock Harley engines, Myers said.

"It just helps that engine do what it's supposed to do better," Myers said. "It's probably not going to suit everybody."

Ammann said he didn't lose any more gas mileage after the E-85 conversion than he had already lost from the earlier modifications. He gets about 35 miles per gallon, he said, down from about 40 mpg before the upgrades.

Myers said he doesn't know if he will have to put stainless steel parts on the bike to accommodate E-85. "We're on a learning curve," he said.

Myers said the bike probably can handle a limited amount of regular gasoline since the remapping, but it needs to stay on a fairly steady diet of E-85.

He said he is cautious about switching Harleys over because of the difficulty of finding E-85 in some parts of the country.

And he acknowledged that most owners of older, carbureted Harleys are wary of using ethanol. "I can't argue with that," Myers said.

Harley-Davidson officials say later-model Harleys can safely burn E-10.

Myers said ethanol, because it burns cooler, should burn better in high-compression engines, such as those in Harley-Davidsons. Also, it helps in air-cooled engines like those in most Harleys.

"There's a myth that ethanol causes excess heat or causes engines to overheat," Ammann said.

He says the E-85 makes his engine run more smoothly and even smoothes out the sound from the exhaust. "It's not an obnoxious, loud sound," Ammann said. "It's more of a smooth purr."

The exhaust even smells better, he said.

Myers agrees that E-85 exhaust has its own aroma. "One time it smells like Jack Daniels, another time like Long Island Iced Tea," he said, referring to a strong mixed drink.

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com