| Author | Message | ||
     Badrap |
I was wondering what octane you are running in your bike. The owners manual says to run high octane but these motors don’t have what I consider high compression so why do we need to run high octane fuel? | ||
| Bads1 |
They Don't??? News to me for a motorcycle. | ||
| Froggy |
Whats wrong with running the 91 minimum? It costs only a few cents more to fillup vs 87. 87 can work in a pinch should you find yourself in the sticks. | ||
| Spiderman |
If it was water cooled and 10 to 1 comp then 87 would be fine. But you are running air cooled and 10 to 1... | ||
| Sloppy |
For me it depends on the weather. Hot weather demands highest pump octane - and even then it pings sometimes. During the coldest weather I can get away with mid-octane. You "should" use a minimum of 91 octane. But you "can" get away with using lower grades as long as you're easy on the throttle... but that's not exactly why we ride motorbikes, is it?  | ||
| Firebolt32 |
I used NASA approved rocket fuel myself.... | ||
| Jabaniz |
From what I know of octane, is that it also has a lot to do with heat, and controlled burn of the fuel, not always because of an engines compression rating. engines are engineered to run a certain octane rating and knocking and pinging can still occur based on how an engine uses fuel/air if the wrong octane is used I know many people on this site are much more knowledgeable, and will more than likely correct me if i'm wrong I know from adding exhaust, air filter, and messing with ecm maps, is that lower octane fuel definitely acts different for me. | ||
| Cycleaddict |
in VA. reg. is 87 octane , mid grade is 89 octane, and hi-test is 93 octane. its a no - brainer ..... the manual calls for 91 octane soo HI-TEST IT IS !!! | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I simply go with the highest available. I like 93, and use it most of the time (since they have it everywhere around here). But if I'm out riding and need gas, I'll take 92 or 91 or even 89 if that's all that's at the station. I just try not to romp on it too hard if I know it has lower octane in it. | ||
| Sloppy |
Octane rating is an indication of how unlikely it will self ignite under pressure / temperature. One determination is by running a fuel sample in an engine that can vary its compression ratio. Do a Wiki search on "octane" and you'll learn more in 5 minutes than in 4 years of public school Whether your fuel self ignites is determined by temperature / pressure, charge percentage, ignition advance and combustion shape. A significant change in any of these will change what octane fuel you should use. General rule is run the LOWEST octane in your engine that does not detonate (ping). For most folks that will likely be 91 octane. YMMV. | ||
| Iyaoyas |
Has anyone run 114 racing fuel in their bike? I ran it in my sportster when I would drag it, but not sure the fuel system on my xb12 can handle it. The owners manual says no, but does anyone have any experience with it? | ||
| Dallasb |
I just run whatever the manufacturer states that I should run. As many of you have already stated there are times where this cannot be done...in that case I just fill up asap with the correct fuel and try to keep it topped off until I think most of it is burned off. Be careful with race fuel since it can ruin your fuel system. I used to run it in 2 stoke dirtbikes which have a higher HP/Lb ratio and it really didn't make enough of a difference to justify the cost. | ||
| Jonzin |
I used to occasionally fill up with race fuel until my O2 sensor went bad at 6,000 miles. 14,000 miles later, using only 91 octane, and I have not had any problems. | ||
| Froggy |
If it is unleaded, all it will do is drill a huge hole in your wallet. If it is leaded, it will ruin your O2 sensor while drilling a huge hole in your wallet. | ||
| Chessm |
while we're on the subject of fuel, can anyone recommend a good full synthetic one? | ||
| Froggy |
Depending on how you define synthetic, technically all pump gas is synthetic. Ethanol especially. | ||
| Chessm |
but i heard that some of the synthetics have friction modifiers that can cause a problem with the clutch. Also, can you recommend a viscosity for me to use in my blinker fluid reservoir? | ||
| Dallasb |
I thought that we were talking about gasoline not oil  | ||
| Swordsman |
Oooohh.... sarcasm. Duh. ~SM | ||
| Azxb9r |
Also, can you recommend a viscosity for me to use in my blinker fluid reservoir? 90W...If you use 140W the turn signal blinks too slowly. | ||
| Rhun |
Depending on brand and advertising hype some racing fuels are designed to burn at the speed of premium station fuel. Some aren't. One of the functions of determining ignition advance is burn rate. Most race fuels are oxygenated. Thus your AFV will be off on the lean side, not good. 114 race fuel doesn't mean much without a brand associated with it. Kind of saying vanilla. there are 20 + vanilla flavors. Also is the 114 Motor octane, research octane or R+M/2? You might have lucked out with your Sportster as the carbs could have been set too rich. Rule of thumb as others have told me anything over the octane your motor needs is a waste. Oxygenating confuses that a little. | ||
| B00stzx3 |
93. Now I know what a BMW owner feels like. Even though its only 3 gallons  | ||
| Azxb9r |
Just to be on the safe side...the owners manual specifically says NOT to use "racing fuel". |
