Fuel Injection ATVs

[DrRod]

I suspect that the evils of ethanol and the carb problems that follow have been discussed at length in here. But I wanted to get some comments on fuel injection and how it might end the problem once and for all. I have a '99 450ES and a '01 Recon. I've had them both in the shop about once a year to get the carbs cleaned out and sometimes the gas tank cleaned out. At the moment, the 450ES periodically backfires [always exciting] and the Recon stalls when idling. Everyone says its the ethanol in the gas that's doing it. Then someone said that the new fuel injected ATVs would help end the problem -- maybe not eliminate it but greatly reduce the frequency of repair needed.

Has anyone out there bought a fuel injected four-wheeler? Has it reduced the bad gas problem? And how do you like the model you bought?

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[tamu94]

Ethanol will still cause water in the gas and the gas to go stale much faster than "pure" gas. I imagine the newer ATV's will be more resistant to their fuel lines and any plastic/rubber fuel system parts being destroyed by the ethanol (a huge problem on older ATV's and small engines).

I hate ethanol. Its worse for the environment, nations economy, fuel consumption, and food supply. The only reason it exists is to appease the corn producers in Iowa during presidential election years.

 

[timswi]

I have an EFI Polaris 570 Sportsman Touring that I bought this past summer...No problems yet although there are only a couple of hundred miles on it.

 

[firemech]

The issue is the fuel not the fuel delivery (carb versus EFI). While EFI has advantages these are not related to poor fuel, ethanol or otherwise. We have a marina in Ontario Canada and see boats, sleds and ATV's both with carbs and Fuel injection, the carb units may show problems sooner, but the EFI's do to it just takes longer and unfortunately; costs more to fix. Our practice and suggestions to our customers are to use good quality fuel stabilizer in anything that is not used regularly or stored for long times. If you can't; then drain the fuel and put it in your car or truck. Don't know a better answer; the new fuels suck regardless if the contain ethanol or not.

 

[dpb800]

I bought a 2008 rancher with efi and it has ran great for all these years. It's awesome for cold starts. It's been great. All my friends with ATV s wish they got one.

 

[Tig]

What exactly do they clean out of your tank or carb? Any pictures? Whatever is fouling things up will probably foul an injector too.
My toys are ten years older than yours and have used e10 for the last 10 to 15 years. I've had no problems.

 

[timswi]

What exactly do they clean out of your tank or carb? Any pictures? Whatever is fouling things up will probably foul an injector too.
My toys are ten years older than yours and have used e10 for the last 10 to 15 years. I've had no problems.

None of my equipment has seen any ill effects from Ethanol either.

 

[PapaPerk]

Questions for you... How long does atv sit with gas in it? Do you shut off the fuel valve EVERY day after using? Do you add stabil or seafoam to fuel? What is source of fuel? Is tank kept full during the winter?

Your issues will continue with fuel injection in my opinion. Those Hondas are pretty forgiving in my experience.

 

[dpb800]

We also have a carb rancher in Missouri that will sit for months on end. We took it in several times after it was hard to start and would run rich. The dealer said the last time that the seals were falling apart. We replaced all seals and it has been running much better. Sitting for extended time is hard on them.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have a 2008 Yamaha 700 Grizzly with efi. 4200 miles and no problems so far.