How helpful is Seafoam?

[bluewing]

I have seen seafoam work many times, try it because it may help and it won't do any harm.

[Guest]

Okay, ill give it a try. Easier then rebuilding the carbs. Thanks

[maestro319]

Ok all you Seafoam guys. my Honda mechanic said do NOT use Seafoam IF you are going to use Stabil for winter storage as the two mixed together will form a thick gooey sludge. True? Not true?
I want to try a can of Seafoam in my gas to (hopefully) clear up a rough running 1200. But when it goes into storage Stabil will most likely be used. Any ideas? Thoughts? Help?

[Granpah]

Ok all you Seafoam guys. my Honda mechanic said do NOT use Seafoam IF you are going to use Stabil for winter storage as the two mixed together will form a thick gooey sludge. True? Not true?
I want to try a can of Seafoam in my gas to (hopefully) clear up a rough running 1200. But when it goes into storage Stabil will most likely be used. Any ideas? Thoughts? Help?

Not true.

I'm a professional chemist.

So I dare to say that StaBil is a tertiary amine (that's what gives it its fishy smell) -- a nitrogen compound that scavenges what are called "free radicals" which cause some minor gasoline components to form polymer gels. SeaFoam is a very clean petroleum fraction (the manufacturer freely say so) which acts as a good solvent for the polymer gels that gunk up small openings in carburetors or fuel injectors.

So far as I know, mixing StaBil, SeaFoam (plus Marvel Mystery Oil -- another petroleum based solvent) cannot harm any engine components. I've used 2 oz each per 5 gal of fuel during 4-5 years in two GL1000s and my present GL1200 and performance improved and stays that way. Can you think of a better way of burning money? :d

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Here's a simple garage science experiment: Mix equal parts of StaBil and SeaFoam in a small CLEAN glass jar, and keep it in your garage or basement for a year. [Maybe you noticed, a year goes by very quickly :d ] Then open it and report here what you find. I'll bet you a full can of StaBil and SeaFoam that nothing happens. Maybe the mixture will get discolored because the radical scavenger StaBil may change color as it does its thing. But there'll be no gel!

[maestro319]

Thanks grandpah,
(Hmmm...seems funny calling someone who's probably close to my age "Grandpah", since that's what my 10 grandchildren call me!! And I LOVE IT!!! :lol: )
I am going out today to buy a can of Seafoam and put 'er in the tank and then...drive, drive, drive!!! Let's hope those carbs get clean before winter so I'll be ready next spring.
What a great forum!!

[Granpah]

Thanks grandpah,
(Hmmm...seems funny calling someone who's probably close to my age "Grandpah", since that's what my 10 grandchildren call me!! And I LOVE IT!!! :lol: )
I am going out today to buy a can of Seafoam and put 'er in the tank and then...drive, drive, drive!!! Let's hope those carbs get clean before winter so I'll be ready next spring.
What a great forum!!

Welcome, Maestro,

And by the way, formally it's "Gran'pah" (without the 'd') 'cause that's what four small people -- my grandkids -- call me. So you're ahead of me by a multiple of 2-1/2. But I had to fill in a space here saying "name" with something, and at the time in 2009 I had just come from being held hostage by two of them for four days at the city Zoo. Whenever they wanted me to buy them a souvenir or see some other animal it was: ""Gran'pah" this and "Gran'pah" that! @-) So in addition to being held hostage at the Zoo, they brainwashed me. I think nowadays the psychiatrists call it the Patty Hearst syndrome because in the 1960s after the granddaughter of the newspaper tycoon was kidnapped and held hostage (but not at a zoo) by the Symbionese Liberation Army in California, after awhile she fell in love with them (or so she claimed), and even held up banks for them (but they didn't call her "Gran'pah"). Am I getting off topic here? hock:

Anyhow, Maestro burn up your money in a GL1200 in the form of StaBil and SeaFoam and not only will you not form a gel but you'll become a happy man to boot -- and pretty soon your 10 small people will be calling you Gran'pah (or Gramps for short) without the 'd' too. @-) @-)

Also, by the way, drive safe! :d

[DannoDeManno]

Back after a long absence. #-O

2 tanks of gas with Sea foam was remarkable! As a matter of fact, I could tell that my performance improved pretty much as soon as I started using it.

Did have carbs rebuilt this summer and that Knocking sound is much better. It's not gone, but it's better. And better acceleration too! Mechanic commented that the rubber covers he had to move to access the carbs had NO signs of ever getting removed (nary a scratch) so he believed that my carbs had never been rebuilt in the 25 yrs of my wing! hock:

So, performance is better, but he found an exhaust leak under the engine and we'll get to that in the Spring when I put on new tires. He felt that the loss of compression from that leak (likely the gasket connecting the pipe) is why I've had poor acceleration and maybe why I'm still getting lousy mileage. So, after getting carbs rebuilt, I'm still getting about 35 mpg and from what I read, that should be closer to 45 mpg.

Do you think getting the exhaust leak fixed will improve mileage as well as better performance with acceleration? Is that engine knock on deceleration just gonna be there on a bike that's 25 years old?

[Granpah]

Back after a long absence. #-O

2 tanks of gas with Sea foam was remarkable! As a matter of fact, I could tell that my performance improved pretty much as soon as I started using it.

Do you think getting the exhaust leak fixed will improve mileage as well as better performance with acceleration? Is that engine knock on deceleration just gonna be there on a bike that's 25 years old?

'Glad to hear Sea Foam improved performance -- it always does. Another possibility is a partly clogged fuel filter (easy to change). If your carbs haven't been touched in 25 years maybe the fuel filter is historic too. Each little thing adds up. And while you're changing the fuel filter, may as well clean out the fuel spigot (it also has a mesh filter that can get gunked up).

So far as an exhaust leak, I believe the engine is designed to operate against a back pressure -- so a leak would reduce that. On the other hand, decades ago I used to know bike hot rodders in New York City who would run "straight pipes" (NO mufflers; illegal in NYC because of noise) and swear they'd get a power boost from it. Go figure,

[BladeRunner]

I used it in my '84 Standard; It wouldn't run very well without the choke on 3/4. after I ran two cans though it it was idling 200 rpm lower, AND with only 1/4 choke, so I'm still going to rebuild the carbs,but, Sea Foam really did a great job cleaning out the carbs so far. BTW, I've read in several posts that there was a lot of smoke while running Sea Foam..I never had ANY smoke while running mine :-\
I wonder why?? :-\

[DannoDeManno]

No smoke from my Seafoam use either. I think if a bike is REALLY gunky and the seafoam is cleaning out some significant goop, then maybe there can be smoke.

Granpah: thanks for the comment, I'm referring to the exhaust leak as the underside of the bike, directly under the front seat. Fumes really reek and my cloths smell about the same when I get off the bike (and indoors, :oops: :roll: . . . whew) Seems that it's the gasket where the pipe connects to the engine.

How about starting a thread here of "basic maintenance for the mechanically inept?"

And no matter HOW simple you think it is, explanations on how to get to item to change (such as the filters)

I'd love to see a list of lil' projects.

I'll get that started as long as Y'all will fill it up with your wisdom!

[Granpah]

Granpah: thanks for the comment, I'm referring to the exhaust leak as the underside of the bike, directly under the front seat. Fumes really reek and my cloths smell about the same when I get off the bike (and indoors, :oops: :roll: . . . whew) Seems that it's the gasket where the pipe connects to the engine.

SOUNDS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS!

If "Fumes really reek and my cloths smell about the same when I get off the bike" you could be breathing in carbon monoxide -- at much higher concentrations than from street traffic alone** -- when ever the engine is running, you are seated on it, and your bike is stationary. Logically, if your clothes smell from your bike's fumes so do your lungs! :-SS

Ride Safe!

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** About 5-1/2 decades ago when I regularly commuted on a Honda 305 Dream between Hoboken, NJ and New York City through the Lincoln or Holland Tunnels, rush hour would nearly kill me! After once in awhile getting stuck 1/2 hour in the tunnel -- with all those car engines running -- I felt dizzy (I'm pretty sure it was CO poisoning 8-X ) coming out at the other end. And, yes, my clothes smelled from the fumes.

Get the leak fixed!

[CrystalPistol]

Seafoam is GOOD STUFF, but so is Marvel Mystery Oil.

SeaFoam has been around sibince the '30s, MMO since back in the '20s.

I've used both products, seen people who swear by one over the other but I've had them both save me a headache several times.

[Granpah]

I've noted this elsewhere but here goes:

For over two years (since I first bought my somewhat sluggish Wing that had been in storage for 1-2 years), I've been adding the following cocktail to 5 U.S. gallons of fuel with great results:

2 oz. Sea Foam + 2 oz. Marvel Mystery Oil + 2 oz. StaBil

True, I also LATER installed a new set of Iridium plugs , changed to Amsoil in the crankcase and Evans (waterless coolant) .... and just two weeks ago changed my final drive oil to Amsoil but it at least combined feels to me like higher performance than Honda had anticipated. :d

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Notes: Sea Foam and Marvel are simply highly purified petroleum fractions that act as solvents to dissolve gunk deposits from fuel ... while StaBil is a synthetic (tertiary organic amine that by scavenging free radials) inhibits impurities in gasoline from polymerizing, which form gunk. The Iridium plugs are supposedly longer lasting and produce uniform sparks before each ignition, while EVANS coolant is nothing more than propylene glycol [the conventional anti freezes are the more toxic and less heat absorbing (and transferring) ethylene glycol mixed with an equal part of water. When buying "pre-mixed" coolant you're paying about $4-$6 per gallon for slightly impure water!]. Also, ethylene glycol + water is a much more metal corrosive mixture than propylene glycol alone, and adding silicates as inhibitors to:"anti-freeze" eats up the water pump inside.