Just curious on what everyone puts in their bikes? I've been running BP 93 octane, but theres a local station that sells VP 110 been thinking of running that every now and then.

 

I just do the 93 octane, and I have passed a station or two on reserve to get it. I have no idea on the 110, its not a street gas for sure. I'd research manufacturers specs on the ride and the content of the fuel before I tried a race fuel in my ride, especially if you have a newer beast, as some of the sensors and electronics can be tempermental. In all likelyhood you would be good for a tank or two with no mods, but dont quote me.

 

They sell 110 octane at a BP?? The highest I have ever seen was 103 at a Sunoco.

That 110 octane must be like $5+ per gal.

 

Its a different station that has a pump that sells VP110. Its 6.50 a gallon!

 

None of my street bikes have owner manuals, which I really don't need anyway. I run what the bike engine "tells" me to run. The Zephyr has no detonation running 87 octane so I run 87 octane. The KLX when it was a 650 would detonate under load unless I ran 92/93 so I did. Now with the Vulcan piston big bore (678cc) it will run with very light detonation on the hottest days under load with 89 octane, so I still run 92/93 octane most of the time. In the late fall I've gone to 87 because it will tolerate it and that octane will ignite faster, working well on the really cold days. It's just a bit of a hedge against cold weather running issues, whether real or imagined.

I don't just throw the highest octane in the tank as possible because if it is more than needed it is a waste. Remember higher octane doesn't add power like some kind of magic, it only stops detonation if it is there and that is the only thing it really does, stopping loss of power due to detonation. Good if you need it, a waste if you don't.

 

i run 87 pump & my bike has been tune for it & it made more power on 87 than premium pump, 110 octane is a waste of money it wont do anything for you actually it hurt performance unless your sprayin or have motor work done

 

wow, 110? I do not have that available so I use the standard vp which is maybe 100 for my track bike. The other bikes, I do put in superunleaded which is maybe 93? That is all you need. (any ride with over 11:1 stock is questionable on the 87 octane) As mentioned, tuning is key.

 

Was just curious cause I see alot of bikes there when I get fuel for my car. I drag race a mustang and run this fuel when I dont have C16 at home. I have only ran 93 octane in the bike since i've had it, but may start running 87.

 

What's the bike?

For most road bikes anything over 87 (91 RON in the EU) is just wasting money. Higher octane fuel delivers less power than lower octane. With highly tuned engines it's needed to prevent pre-ignition with high compression and agressive ignition advance curves which would otherwise hole the pistons or damage the valves, but if your bike isn't knocking you get (a very tiny bit) more power from lower octane fuel.

As the lowest readily available fuel in the EU is 95 RON (about 90 - 91 PON in the States) some higher performance bikes and cars do need this, but hardly any stock motor needs a higher octane than that.

Just to add a bit of confusion, I've noticed recently that 95 RON is being called premium in a lot of filling stations, and 98 RON (US 93) is being called super. It used to be regular and either super or premium for the 98 RON.

Rob

 

I would suggest running the fuel your manual specifies. If you are spec'd for premium; run premium. You can run on a lower octane, certainly, but you'll likely burn more of it. You may also damage any O2 sensors or electronics (as Prom already mentioned^.) You can run premium if spec'd for regular, but probably no need or benefit.
Now, if you've significantly modified your engine and changed compression specs, I'd still suggest some testing data so you know WHY you're twiddling with what you're combusting. (Again; already mentioned^.)

Ask yourself: Are You Smarter Than Your Spark Plug Deposit? Get your facts straight before you potentially ruin your engine by playing "Shell Answer Man" and dumping E85 or B20 or Turbo Blue or some other go-fast potion into your tank.