I recently bought a used ATV that will probably get sporadic use. I know that gasoline can "go bad" if it sits too long. My question is, can you run an ATV solely on stabilized gas, or will prolonged use of a stabilizer eventually harm the engine. The ATV is a 2 stroke. Thanks.

I don't consider myself an "expert", but you have the added problem of the lubricating oil in the gas loosing some of it's qualities over time, once mixed. If you have oil injection, it should'nt be as much of a problem..You did'nt say how long it may be dormant..more than a few months throws all kinds of other problems in as well..

Meplat-

Stabilizer (and I've only used "Sta-bil") keeps gas from going bad by adding a lot of alcohols and varnish strippers to the mix.  The alcohols (like "HEAT") trap/mix with the moisture, and the other hydrocarbons keep varnishes from building up in the carbs/FI.  A serious petro-chemical engineer could be a lot more specific (accurate?), but that's the gist.

As for 2-strokes, I've never popped in additives under the cheapskate assumption that the oil-gas mix would solve all problems during the winter.  That being said, my 2-strokes consit of a weedeater and a couple of $500 scooters [:)]  YMMV.

Always do an oil change...there's so little oil, it's worth the extra hassle just to be able to say to oneself that "I did all I could".  Except for 2-strokes, of course [:)]  If you have a 2-stroke, there's probably no good way to "change" oil.  That's the way it's on my scooters, anyway.

I've been running my Nighthawk (4-stroke) on winter-stabilized gas for a little while.  I do add new gas every gallon or so, so take from that what you will.

I forgot to mention that the ATV has a separate gas and oil tank, the "Yamalube" system.