Gas experiences?

[fawkes]

I just hit 600 miles and happened to grab the mid grade gas instead of regular on accident. The bike reacted completely differently. At low gear it felt smoother and I am also wondring if it was more quiet. Is this a figment of my imagination or has anyone else noticed differences in how supersport handled with various grades of gas? What about gas milege? My slow speed turns were even tighter I think but maybe it's all in my head or something.

[RichD]

Yeah, it's probably in your head...
A stock compression SS does not "need" premium.


..but don't let me change your mind,
save the 10-20 cents per gallon,
...and enjoy the increased performance!

[DucatiDom]

I have terrible gas after eating broccoli

Seriously:
Higher grade gasoline has more detergents, and higher octane. The higher octane prevents pre-detonation(ping/knock), mine sputters a little on regular grade gas(98 900SS),but not constantly, so I don't sweat it. Even with Premium gas the bike is cheaper to run than my SUV.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by RichD

Yeah, it's probably in your head...
A stock compression SS does not "need" premium.


..but don't let me change your mind,
save the 10-20 cents per gallon,
...and enjoy the increased performance!

He never mentioned premium, he said it runs better on mid-grade.

The manual recommends AT LEAST 95 octane which means higher than 90 octane in the states. Plus, the OP already said it runs better on mid-grade, not surprising since the fuel and ignition map is tailored to the higher octane. I say run whatever it runs best on, don't worry about the extra $15 or so more it might cost you every year. You want the best riding experience you can get.

[fawkes]

Originally Posted by Mike

He never mentioned premium, he said it runs better on mid-grade.

The manual recommends AT LEAST 95 octane which means higher than 90 octane in the states. Plus, the OP already said it runs better on mid-grade, not surprising since the fuel and ignition map is tailored to the higher octane. I say run whatever it runs best on, don't worry about the extra $15 or so more it might cost you every year. You want the best riding experience you can get.

Okay, so it wasn't just in my head! I always put regular in the tank because my last bike took it and I was shocked at the difference when I put the midgrade in it. First gear wasn't near as flippen choppy. I'm going to try both again and check the speed vs. rpms because it felt like it wasn't reving so hard either. More research is definitly in order. Thanks for the tip about the manual I looked for gas requirements but must have overlooked it.

[redpato]

I will normally run regular grade. But on the occasion I've used premium I find mine runs smoother and gets a tad better fuel milage.



"in accordance with the prophecy"

[jack]

It also depends who's gas it is. Some blends perform better than others. You may find a little more octane helps during hot summer riding on air cooled engines. I'd stay away from the generic no-name brand fuels and I hate using Citgo, but either is better than pushing.

I find a little Beano on the anchovy/guacamole/egg and spicy sausage pizza helps cut down on gas distribution issues .....

[racerboy]

Originally Posted by redpato

I will normally run regular grade. But on the occasion I've used premium I find mine runs smoother and gets a tad better fuel milage.

That's interesteing. I just switched over to running Shell regular grade in my 900CR (all stock except for a jet kit) and found the bike runs smoother and have been getting 50+ MPG. I was running no-name premium before that and never got that kind of mileage.

[xseal]

Originally Posted by Mike

The manual recommends AT LEAST 95 octane which means higher than 90 octane in the states. .

"the manual" don't ride. Screw the manual. Half the info in there is wrong (break in among it). You don't need high test w/ stock engine.

[supersparky750]

I get better mileage and smoother running with mid-grade than with regular or premium. When I tried running premium for a couple of tanks I figured I'd probably see no difference, but actually lost a couple of miles a gallon.