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RFA partners with motorcycle designer Paul Jr. to promote ethanol
Motorcycle designer Paul Jr. brought his custom-built E85 motorcycle to the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Omaha.
Ethanol is receiving a boost from a celebrity motorcycle designer.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) commissioned Paul Jr. of American Chopper fame to build a high-performance motorcycle that runs on E85 fuel. RFA’s Robert White says they’re hoping to convince motorcycle enthusiasts and other small engine owners that ethanol is safe to use.
“The small engines and off-road engines are about three percent of the market—but they’re about 90 percent of the negativity,” White says.
Paul Teutul, Jr.
Paul Jr. had the RFA E85 motorcycle on display Tuesday at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Omaha. He tells Brownfield that, before the RFA partnership, didn’t know much about ethanol.
“I had just heard things about ethanol and motorcycles that weren’t really good,” he says. “So until we built the bike and we got it running on ethanol, it wasn’t until then that I realized that it’s actually a really great product for motorcycles, especially the air-cooled ones that I ride and build, because they run so much cooler than pump gas.”
RFA’s White says their partnership with Paul Jr. is part of their Fuel Your Knowledge campaign, engaging groups who have expressed reservations about the use of ethanol.
“The other thing is they (motorcycle owners) all own bigger vehicle at home. So it’s not just the motorcycle volume—it’s also all the SUVs, cars, trucks, lawn mowers, snowmobiles and weed whackers that they own at home,” White says. “So it’s a compounding effect. If they’re safe and comfortable with putting it in one of their most coveted possessions, they’ll definitely put it in their car.”
AUDIO: Paul Teutul, Jr.
AUDIO: RFA’s Robert White
Hey Paul, did you forget about the Fagen, Inc., Bike you built “Ethanol Kicks Gas” in 2007?