87 octane or 93 octane
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
Likes: 306
From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,126
Likes: 550
From: Springfield, IL
Yep, I have ran e-10 but try very hard to avoid it. Look for HyVees in our area they have ethanol free in 93, they are the only one I am sure of. Being in the middle of the corn belt they push that crap on us hard, I avoid it for my boat also, had ethanol completely eat out fuel lines in the past.
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 975
Likes: 315
From: Bolivia, NC
Don't mean to steel your post....
seems to know what he is talking about! My question is what does it do if every other tank full you change from premium to regular?
he H-D owners manual does not call for 91 it recommends it. There is a world of difference between a requirement and a recommendation.
Why don't they require 91 or higher? Because our nanny government dictates that any vehicle sold for highway use in the US MUST be able to run on 87. That is part of the job that the ECM and nine sensors to take care of.
I have many posts over the years about how I run 87 in 883's, 1200's, TC88's,TC96's, TC103's, TC103HO's, TC110's and TC120's with getting more power, mpg and cooler running.
Collectively I run them 30 to 40K + per year. No pinging no issues. I have over 10K on one TC120 with 87 octane from day one.
It is a process of setting the AFR, iridium plugs, oil cooler, tank lift (cooler heads) high flow intake and stock exhaust that facilitates using E1087 octane.
Octane is not power it is the measurement of a fuels resistance to ignition and burn rate. The higher the number the harder to ignite so less burns during the combustion cycle. The less burned the less BTU's produced the less power made and the more the engine is fouled.
However, if the compression has been raised over stock, the spark advanced as it is from a stage I tune on and the higher performance cams added higher octane becomes a must.
I have been messing with high performance engines for 60 years from muscle cars to Vettes and Vipers. Now I focus on getting the most mpg out of a V twin H-D engine. I have done 25 since 06 with 21 still in the garage. My latest effort is a new Roadster.
Why don't they require 91 or higher? Because our nanny government dictates that any vehicle sold for highway use in the US MUST be able to run on 87. That is part of the job that the ECM and nine sensors to take care of.
I have many posts over the years about how I run 87 in 883's, 1200's, TC88's,TC96's, TC103's, TC103HO's, TC110's and TC120's with getting more power, mpg and cooler running.
Collectively I run them 30 to 40K + per year. No pinging no issues. I have over 10K on one TC120 with 87 octane from day one.
It is a process of setting the AFR, iridium plugs, oil cooler, tank lift (cooler heads) high flow intake and stock exhaust that facilitates using E1087 octane.
Octane is not power it is the measurement of a fuels resistance to ignition and burn rate. The higher the number the harder to ignite so less burns during the combustion cycle. The less burned the less BTU's produced the less power made and the more the engine is fouled.
However, if the compression has been raised over stock, the spark advanced as it is from a stage I tune on and the higher performance cams added higher octane becomes a must.
I have been messing with high performance engines for 60 years from muscle cars to Vettes and Vipers. Now I focus on getting the most mpg out of a V twin H-D engine. I have done 25 since 06 with 21 still in the garage. My latest effort is a new Roadster.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
Likes: 306
From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
If nothing else, the bike will likely run worse on that every other tank of gas. Your sig. says you have a Power Vision Tuner and I assume you had the bike tuned when the Power Vision Tuner was installed. Was it tuned with 91+ in the tank or 87?
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 975
Likes: 315
From: Bolivia, NC
If nothing else, the bike will likely run worse on that every other tank of gas. Your sig. says you have a Power Vision Tuner and I assume you had the bike tuned when the Power Vision Tuner was installed. Was it tuned with 91+ in the tank or 87?
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
Likes: 306
From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
Back when my motor was stock (stage 1) I found that in cooler weather and higher elevations (NC mountains Spring & Fall), it ran just fine on 89, maybe even a little better. But it didn't like 89 octane at all (pinging) as the temps inched up towards the warmer summer months.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 105
Likes: 9
From: Oklahoma
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 237
Likes: 99
I have no doubt ih4x4 will simply pretend to ignore this thread since he can't prove something exists if it doesn't. (Even if he heard it from a guy who heard it from a guy..........)
If anybody's interested you can follow our last go around on this subject here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...l#post15180418
Last edited by greggreen; Jul 21, 2016 at 02:58 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,814
Likes: 5,120
From: SW Ohio
In fact he doesn't know what he's talking about. There is no government regulation that requires all vehicles to run on 87. He's claimed this before and it's simply untrue. He's known for posting complete falsehoods. Now he'll come post on this thread and challenge me to prove him wrong but the simple truth is you can't in a practical sense prove a government reg doesn't exist. So my challenge to ih4x4 is this. Prove it does exist. Shouldn't be difficult in this day and age. The government doesn't keep laws and regulations secret. They're all over the Internet.
If anybody's interested you can follow our last go around on this subject here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...l#post15180418
If anybody's interested you can follow our last go around on this subject here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...l#post15180418
*FIGJAM* also said there was a federal law that manufacturers had to produce parts for 10 years for all vehicles sold in the USA. (NOT true).
*F**k I'm Great Just Ask Me*
Run 87 in your bike if you want; just don't mention it when you go to sell it. Octane ratings, additives, compression ratio, ignition timing, pre-ignition and detonation (two different things) are all interrelated.
The internet is a really cool place. It's like being in a room with two guys; one of which is the smartest guy in the world and the other is the stupidest. The key is, for the first few minutes they both sound like they know what they're talking about. Your job is to figure out which guy you're talking to.
Last edited by Campy Roadie; Jul 21, 2016 at 10:19 AM.
