best fuel?

I don't have a manual handy, what octane fuel do you recommend for general riding? I chose 89 the other day, thought 87 might be no good.

 

regular 87 (R+M)/2.

 

87 is all that's required and they work just fine on it. If you feel the need to run higher octane because it makes you feel better, go ahead. But not necessary.

 

Great, 87 it is then! There probably aren't too many vehicles that require higher octane anymore. Thanks for the input guys.

 

The only thing you need to be concerned about is knocking. If you ever hear your bike knocking, go up one grade of gas. What is referred to as octane anymore is really only a gauge of how high the compression is needed before combustion happens. Premium doesn't burn better or cleaner than regular.

 

I did a little experiment and tried the different grades of gas, 87, 89 & 91 for several tankfuls and over several weeks. I did not notice any significant difference between the grades so I have just kept up with 87 Octane.

 

One more vote for 87. Anything less and the engine will suddenly stall, specially at high altitudes.

 

ethanol free 89 gas is magic in my '97 but it has carburetors. Fixed a host of low rpm rough running problems, also got maybe 1-2 mpg more on a tank. Only 2 stations in my area sell it and at $.20 more than 93. I make sure I'm around one of them when I need gas worth every penny.

 

+1

I run ethanol free in all my carbureted machines when available. This includes the lawn equip, power washer, etc.. Well worth the extra .30 IMO.

 

Wow don't know where I can find ethanol free gas near me

 

Whatever grade you run, the blue enzyme based fuel treatment is a must for ethanol treated gas.

 

Sorry....but it always make me laugh (well a little, inside) when I hear Americans talking about '87 octane' as being regular...

Here it's:
1. 91 Octane (often called 'Unleaded' or 'Regular')
2. 95 Octane (called Super)
3. 98 Octane (Premium)

As for how the bike goes with the different breeds or fuel, well sort of depends if it's tuned for it right?

 

But what is the octane rating method used to obtain these numbers? I think the values are different based on the method used. Out of curiosity, what are you paying for your "regular"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

The last time I got some (95), it was AU $1.45 a litre, or about US $4.40 a gallon.

As for the method of calculation, .....ummmm....you're not gonna say there's a UK, US and rest of the world methods are you?

Ours is RON here, so if the US uses MON then I guess 'my' 95 is actually 85?

 

Yeah, not a US vs the rest of the world but more of a RON vs AKI (R+M)/2 method, which is often a much lower index than all the other methods. (See Wikipedia link). Right now we are experiencing a drop in gas prices, our regular is avg. $2.50/US gal. I often hear from friends and family in the UK how lucky we are for what we pay for our gas prices. Just wondered how we compared to those in OZ.

 

"regular gasoline" in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US 91–92 RON 82–83 MON 87 AKI or (R+M)/2

 

I've only ever put in 87 and it works just fine.

 

Just to put this in perspective. I pay $2.40/1 US Gallon. $0.64/1 Liter... And that is for Premium (93) by US AKI rating fuel.

 

This may help

http://pure-gas.org

Or this

http://www.buyrealgas.com

 

Fuck ethanol.

The good news about Jersey is we have some of the cheapest gas in the country, and we don't even have to get out of our cars to pump it. Actually against the law. But it is widely accepted that all riders will pump their own gas.

The bad news is nowhere in Jersey can you buy ethanol free. Not even at a marina. On the opposite end of the spectrum, no where in Jersey can you buy E85.