| Author | Message | ||
     Punkid8888 |
not owning a Buell Yet what octane do the new bike take, namly the XB9 My current Bike (87 Yamaha Fazer) take 89 I believe but I almost always put 87 in it because I just commute back and forth to work and rarely get on it. If they take 89 or 93 does anyone put something like 87 in it with any problems. I am just thinking when I do get the bike it would be nice to run a little cheaper gas if I know I was just gonna be commuting back and forth durning that tank, if I would do any type of weekend riding I would run the recommended. Also anyone run higher octane like 100 or a booster with any luck? In eastern Mass you can only get 87 89 or 93, but in NH I think you can get 100 | ||
| Diablobrian |
91 pump octane, or higher is specified in the owners manual, and the service manual. Air cooled motors can run hot and therefore need higher knock resistance. | ||
| Cereal |
Agreed. I'd be frightened to put anything lower than 91 in my bikes. Especially in my S1. It so damn hot here right now that I could probably ride to work with the key in pocket. And at 50mpg, I'd say it's worth the extra 60-80 cents per tank. | ||
| Nasty73z |
Right now my bike has pump 101 octane in it. Main reason I put it in there was because I have exhaust and American Sport Bike open air box but didn't have my race ecm yet and didn't want to take any chances considering how lean it was running. There is only one gas station here that has it, most of the time it's used for higher compression cars that like to have fun on the street. It's $4.89/gallon and man does it smell great. Wish they would make that stuff into a cologne. | ||
| Kootenay |
I've run regular 87 in my XB9R in the spring, when it's cool, with no pinging and no problems. Once it heats up in summer, though, I purchase 91 at a minimum and 94 when I can (only Chevron carries that around here--and in a lot of the rural towns I ride through, it's not available). AFAIK, the only reason to run higher octane is to prevent pre-ignition or pinging; if it ain't doing that, you don't need the higher octane--it doesn't really run cleaner or anything (the idea of buying "high-test" every now and then as a "treat" for your engine is bunk). | ||
| Fullpower |
I have 20,000 miles on my XB12. 91 octane fuel, as specified in the owners manual is NOT available within a thousand miles radius. (Message edited by fullpower on August 01, 2006) | ||
| Rhun |
fullpower, So with all of Alaska's oil, which I know Japan not us enjoy, you only have crappy gas? Do you use any additives, etc.? | ||
| Davo |
HD fuel conditioner and/or retard the timing 3 degrees to prevent ping!!!!! | ||
| Xb9ser |
It has been said on this board said you can run lower octain on9s with no trouble and I have tried it.But if 93 or 91 is advalible I will use it. Not that much diffrace in price. I only tried 87 to see if it would ok in an emergancy and it did fine. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Nasty, a higher octane fuel will not prevent a lean condition. It does nothing to change the air:Fuel ratio. I would put the stock airbox back on until you either get the race ECM, or Direct Link programing. | ||
| Xring |
I run 89 most of the time. My XB9 pings on 87 in the hot months. Never had any problem with 89 octane. Good luck, Bill | ||
| Diablobrian |
octane is just a measure of knock resistance. If your bike isn't knocking/pinging you do not need a higher octane. Fuels with a higher octane rating resist burning more, so the fuel does not ignite in the hot motor too soon. Race/Aviation fuels do not perform better because of their octane rating. The additives used are very volatile and the higher octane rating is just a side effect of some of the additives. Race and Av gas have a relatively short shelf life just sitting in your (vented) gas tank allows them to start degrading almost immediately. Racers do not even leave the stuff in their tanks over night on a race weekend, or even leave the fuel jugs uncapped for longer than it takes to transfer it. That's not just for fire safety. Even the unleaded race fuels can have components that are not good for the rubber and plastic pieces in your fuel system. Remember, your fuel pump is immersed in the stuff. Bottom line if your bike is stock, using a high octane fuel is either a band-aid to cover a timing or fueling issue, or it is simply throwing money away. Not all high octane fuel is race fuel either. A dyno will tell you the difference.  If you are running a high compression motor, then you already know what octane you should be running, so this info aint for you  | ||
| Fullpower |
I did not mean to say that we have crappy gas, just that premium unleaded around here is 90 octane, but most one pump stations in rural areas only serve 87 octane regular.... thats all you can get most places. so the choice is: ride it or push it.......... you take what you can get. | ||
| Rhun |
didn't mean to offend. "good gas 93, bad (crappy) gas 85". |
