February - Treasure State ATV Association

WHEEL TRAKS NEWSLETTER
Plan Calls For Road Closures, New Motorized
Loops in Bitterroot National Forest
Inside This Issue:
Avenza Systems
February 2015
2
EDWARD O’BRIEN
MONTANA PUBLIC RADIO
BY:
A Trail Closed is
Never Reopened?
3
Bad Gas Blues
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A Bitterroot Valley environmental group is skeptical of a Forest Service plan to improve watersheds near Darby.
Local motorized offroad users, meanwhile, are
supporting the 29,000 acre
Darby Lumber Lands Project.
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The area is made up of
lands previously owned by
several different organizations and eventually acquired by the Forest Service. It's been extensively logged and also partially burned during
the fires of 2000. As a result, Bitterroot Forest hydrologist, Ed Snook, says too much sediment is getting into local waterways.
"So, these road systems are basically unraveling before our eyes. It's an opportunity for
us to downsize the road system so that it's more sustainable over the long run and we dial
back the accelerated erosion associated with them."
The Forest Service wants to decommission or close roads and open and tie others together. Snook says the plan also creates a sustainable motorized access system, including
three dedicated looped trails: one 25 miles long, one 50 miles and one 100 miles long.
Club Meeting
Thursday, March 19
Elks Club
6:30 — 8:00 p.m.
Dinner available at: 5:30 pm
"So it will give the single track guys about 100 miles
of motorcycle and it gives us access to those three
loops so that people do have the access and the fun."
But not everyone is as enthusiastic. Larry Campbell of Friends of the Bitterroot just obtained a copy
of the Forest
Bitterroot continued on Page 2
“Dedicated to the preservation and use of public lands”
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Bitterroot continued from page one
Service’s plan. He says it does have some good ideas.
"But in fact there's what I'd say is a poison pill in there. They are proposing to build new
roads in an area where both Sleeping Child and Rye Creek are listed as impaired watersheds
by the state."
Campbell wonders if there aren't more appropriate areas in the forest for the new motorized
access loops.
"They haven't analyzed enough to know that if the need is there, where else that need might
be satisfied, that should have been done within the context of the travel plan, which, like I say
has been due out any day now."
Off-roader Mike Jeffords says the Darby Lumber Lands plan isn't going to make everybody
happy, but is glad the Forest Service listened to his group’s concerns.
"A lot of people finally realized that the Forest Service is not our enemy. The same with
them; they realized that off-road users are their friends, their neighbors, maybe somebody they
sit next to in the pew at church."
The plan also includes areas of Aspen regeneration which would be thinned out to reduce
competition.
If you would like more information please contact Ed Snook at (406) 363-7103 or
esnook@fs.fed.us.
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It Out!
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Officers
President -
John Berns ( bdjrb@bresnan.net )
(C) 661-9333
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Secretary - Carol Turbes ( turbesmt@bresnan.net )
(C) 661-7376
Treasurer - Charlotte Dowdy ( charwbthg@gmail.com )
(H) 656-2668 © 698-2210
(H) 671-0869
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Director - Bob Turbes ( turbesmt@bresnan.net )
(C) 661-7376
Director - Rob Kinney ( Rob.Kinney@gmail.com )
(C) 839-7680
Director - Bruce Reierson ( auzziepaws@aol.com )
(C) 860-1660
Director - Clint Buck ( redneckmt@msn.com )
(H) 254-0748 (C) 860-0760
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A Trail Closed Is Never Reopened? BRC Legal Opens Trail 38
BRC: Media Release
CONTACT: Paul Turcke - 208-331-1800
DATE: February 2, 2015
BOISE, ID (February 2, 2015)-When the snow clears in the com-
ing spring, Wyoming riders will again enjoy the opportunity to
traverse Trail 38 on the Bighorn National Forest, thanks to the
Inyan Kara Riders-BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) legal effort.
Trail 38, a 4.5 mile section of rare Wyoming single-track, was
closed in the Spring of 2012 through a Tongue District Ranger
letter purporting to change the Trail's designation to nonmotorized. Following unsuccessful outreach and correspondence
to the Forest Service, local riders contacted the BRC to evaluate
their options. On August 6, 2014, the BRC Legal Team filed a
lawsuit in the U.S. District of Wyoming, alleging that the nonmotorized designation of Trail 38 violated federal laws and regulations. Rather than answer the complaint, the Forest Service
withdrew its designation, and Trail 38 reverted to its earlier motorized status.
"We are pleasantly surprised by the Forest Service's quick and decisive choice to avoid protracted litigation," said J.R. Riggins, a
named plaintiff in the suit and leader of the Wyoming rider's effort. "Cynics sometimes think that litigation is an expensive exercise in symbolic futility, but our ability to resume summer trips on Trail 38 serves as a tangible reminder that a well-designed
courtroom effort can make a difference on the ground," Riggins observed.
Since 1997, the BRC Legal Program has appeared across the nation to fight recreation closures and defend pro-trail agency decisions. Many cases involve defense against attacks from anti-access groups. Some, like Trail 38, are efforts to go "on offense" and
establish or restore access opportunities which has occurred at least 14 times. The BRC Legal Program total investment in access
is at 1.7 million dollars spent and counting.
The plaintiffs in the Trail 38 effort were represented by Paul Turcke of Boise, Idaho, who has been lead counsel for BRC since the
Legal Program's inception, and local counsel Harriet Hageman and Stacia Berry of Hageman Law in Cheyenne. These lawyers
previously joined forces to represent recreation interests in support of the State of Wyoming's challenge to the 2001 Clinton-Gore
Roadless Rule. The parties to the suit have reached an initial agreement on a settlement, which is undergoing final approval by
federal government officials.
###
The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) is a national non-profit organization that champions responsible recreation and encourages a strong conservation ethic and individual stewardship, while providing leadership in efforts to keep outdoor recreation alive and well -- all sports; all trails. With
members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership, outreach, education and collaboration among recreationists. 1-800-BLUERIB - www.BlueRibbonCoalition.Org
Where would YOU like to
ride this year??? Let us
know!
4
Bad Gas Blues -- Fuel Primer
Be aware of what you're putting in your tank!
Written by: Pete Bengel
Courtesy of ATV Illustrated.com
Submitted by: Chet Groves
So you’re riding along on your favorite off-road toy, whether it's your
ATV, motorcycle, snowmobile or watercraft, when suddenly things
take a turn for the worse. Maybe you start to lose power and hear a
rattle before the eerie silence, or maybe it just up and quits with no
warning. Either way, you’re left powerless in the middle of the track,
trail, or water. You’ve just become a victim of bad gas… and all the “Bean-O” in the world isn’t going to help you now!
This past winter, while snowmobiling in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, less than 6 miles past our latest gas fill up, my trip came
to an abrupt end. What happened to an engine with less than 600 miles on it since a routine rebuild could happen to anyone,
and was the result of a “perfect storm” of circumstances. First of all, I’d violated one of my own cardinal rules. In my quest for
that little bit of extra performance, I had my midrange jetting closer to “optimal” than I normally would. I normally like to see a
somewhat dark chocolate color on my plugs, but I’d shimmed my needles to clean up my midrange performance a bit. The
second part of the storm was that the Citgo station we’d filled up at last uses a blend of 9% ethanol (confirmed by MDA testing) in their fuel as do the majority of stations these days. Ethanol blended fuels, which are sometimes referred to as
“oxygenated” fuels, cause your mixture to be leaner than it would be on 100% gasoline. The third, and most damning of the
ingredients of my engine failure, was something far more common than you’d expect… water. In addition to the 9% ethanol
that I really didn’t care for but couldn’t avoid, my latest fill up had a gratuitous helping of water in it.
While any of the above factors can cause damage to your engine by themselves, combining any of them is a recipe for sure
disaster. Read on, and we’ll give you some helpful hints to keep your engine safe from surprises in your fuel tank.
Don’t Be an Alcoholic
Unless you’re a serious horsepower junky with an engine built specifically to run on it, alcohol is a very bad thing for your fuel
system and engine. Ethanol, the form of alcohol that is commonly and widely blended into all grades of fuel these days, has a
few qualities that can cause major headaches when used in your power sport vehicle engine. Ethanol is an oxygenate, which
means that it contains or draws in oxygen. This has the same effect on your engine as an air leak in your intake tract or seals,
causing your engine to run considerably leaner.
Another bad quality is that it is hygroscopic, meaning that it ingests water. The ethanol in your fuel will, by nature, draw moisture from the atmosphere. The longer it is exposed to air, the more it will ingest until it gets to the point that the alcohol/water
mixture becomes heavier than the gasoline that suspends it. At this point something very bad happens… phase separation. The
mixture of alcohol and water falls out of suspension in the gasoline and becomes a blob of nasty crud in the bottom of your fuel
tank, float bowl, or gas can.
Phase separation causes two very bad problems. One problem is the blob of crap that will inevitably find its way into your engine where it will wreak havoc, but the underlying problem can cause just as much trouble or more. When phase separation
occurs, the gasoline that is left behind loses its octane rating. Ethanol naturally has a higher resistance to self-ignition than gasoline. This resistance to self-ignition is the basis for your octane rating. The higher the number, the more a fuel will resist selfignition. For example, if your blended fuel had a rating of 87 and you take away the octane benefits of the ethanol, your rating
will drop considerably. If you’re already playing tight to the fence of your octane requirements, this could signal the end of
your engine’s lifespan.
Still another item on the negative side of ethanol is that it does not facilitate an oil mixture as well as gasoline… at least not for
long. Over time your two-stroke oil will separate from the alcohol just as the alcohol will separate from the gasoline. While it
may not be quite as big of a deal for oil-injected engines, it can be vital in a premix situation.
How do you avoid these problems? The best answer is to avoid blended fuels whenever possible. While it is no longer legally
required that a station discloses its ethanol content on the pump, most will be able to tell you whether their fuel is blended or
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not. If you can locate a station that still sells 100% gasoline, put them on your Christmas card list! You can avoid all of the above
mentioned problems by avoiding ethanol whenever you can.
Lean Really Can Be Mean
If your machine still uses a carburetor, make sure you don’t have your jetting too lean. Most OEM jetting is calibrated on the rich
side to avoid problems with blended fuel, but if you’ve adjusted your jetting on the edge for 100% gasoline, a 10% blend will
have you firmly planted in leanville. Fuel injected machines aren’t quite as susceptible to these issues, but they’re still not completely safe. Some EFI machines even have ways to alter the fuel mapping if you know you’re going to be running an ethanol
blend, usually as simple as disconnecting a wire.
Don’t Store Fuel
Due to the inherent problems with blended gasoline, it has a very short lifespan compared to 100% gasoline. Even when stored in
a sealed container it becomes questionable at 30 days. If it's in your fuel tank or another vented container, that lifespan decreases
even more. If you have gas that you think may be too old, it's best not to use it in your small engine. You can probably dump it
into your car or truck as those engines have much more complex fuel management systems as well as knock sensors to keep them
from self destructing from detonation. But don’t be so quick to burn pre-mix in your automobile. Two stroke oil + oxygen sensors
+ catalytic converters = big repair bill!
Dry Gas: Do or Don’t?
A lot of people are in the habit of using dry gas as a safeguard against water in their fuel. While this is a good idea to a point,
there is a large grey area. If your fuel already contains up to 10% alcohol, or higher in some states, adding more surely isn’t going
to help your cause. If you do use dry gas, use it sparingly! A couple of ounces to a tank full of gas will probably be just fine, but a
half bottle can cause more harm than good. And avoid methanol dry gas at all costs! Methanol can cause serious problems with
the materials used in your fuel system. If you have to use dry gas, always use isopropyl types.
Protect your fuel supply
Always keep your fuel protected from the elements and foreign debris. Keep your fuel in a sealed container, but don’t forget…
don’t keep it for long. Keep that sealed container in a clean, dry environment. Try not to let it get covered in dirt or other crud,
and don’t let it sit out in the weather. Anything that accumulates in or on top of your fuel container can easily find its way into
your fuel system. Also, be aware of what’s going on around you when you fill the tank on your ATV, snowmobile, etc. The wind
can blow an amazing amount of grit and dirt into your tank while you’re filling up, and remember that every snowflake that finds
its way into your tank is a drop of water. Keep your fuel tank opening shielded from the elements while you fill up, and only keep
the cap off for as long as it takes to fill it.
There is also a rather handy device that we’ve been using lately to help protect our fuel tanks. Mr. Funnel makes various sized
funnels that have a built-in filter and water separator. There are bigger models for higher flow rates, and convenient smaller sizes
that will fit right into your storage compartment of your machine so you can take them with you on the trail. They are a really
easy and effective way to make sure the fuel going into your tank is clean and free of water.
What about fuel additives?
There are about a million different fuel additives on the market, and short of having a testing laboratory on your hands, its just
about impossible to find out which one is the best, which ones work, or which ones don’t. Some of the more popular treatments
on the market are Sea Foam and Star Tron. Both of these additives claim to clean your fuel system as well as stabilize the gasoline, protecting you from crud buildup and phase separation. Of course, being vigilant to keep your fuel fresh and clean is the best
way to insure trouble-free performance without using additives.
The moral of this story is, protect your machine from circumstances that you have control over, and be prepared for those that you
can’t avoid. It is almost a complete certainty that at some point you’ll have to subject your engine to ethanol blended fuels, so we
suggest taking precautions against any damage it can cause by making sure your jetting is on the safely rich side. In the mean
time, try to keep your fuel supply clean and as fresh as possible, and avoid adding a cocktail of additives that may do more harm
than good. A little vigilance can be the difference between a successful ride and a costly engine failure.
PLEASE
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T r e a su r e S t a t e A T V
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P.O. Box 32055
Billings, Montana 59107
E-mail: info@tsatv.org
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MISSION STATEMENT: The purpose of the Treasure State ATV Association is to support and
promote the responsible use of Off Highway vehicles, to protect public riding areas, to actively
search for additional riding areas, and to provide a family oriented atmosphere at all events and
group rides.
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