2005 Sportster 883c manual
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Manassas, VA
RE: 2005 Sportster 883c manual
Try the 87 octane (I use it all the time in my '05 883 and '03 Softail, but not in my OL's '04 1200). If your bike runs without pre-ignition, "pinging", then the only thing higher octane will do is put a large hole where your $ used to be. Higher octane fuel is refined further than lower octane. It's igniting point is higher than lower octane. High performance engines, ie. high compression and/or high cylinder temperatures, will causelow octanefuel to ignite before it's supposed to. Hence the "pinging" sound that is technically calledpre-ignition. Pre-ignition is horrible for your engine. However, if there is none present, than low octane fuel is perfectlyfine. Google "octane", "preignition" or "pinging" and sift through the results. Or, take my word for it.
I'm not trying to be a smart ***. We all learn some time and good on you for asking. I didn't understand this untill somebody told me the dynamics of internal combustion engines and fuel. Before that, I thought higher octane would produce a "bigger explosion" and "burn cleaner",therefore more power. That generalization simply isn't true.
You can order an owner's manual for your bike through your local Harley dealer. About 22 bucks.
I'm not trying to be a smart ***. We all learn some time and good on you for asking. I didn't understand this untill somebody told me the dynamics of internal combustion engines and fuel. Before that, I thought higher octane would produce a "bigger explosion" and "burn cleaner",therefore more power. That generalization simply isn't true.
You can order an owner's manual for your bike through your local Harley dealer. About 22 bucks.
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