Curious what type of petro everyone is running in their scooter?

I've been running premium in mine thus far, I admit I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the octane just get premuimn from Shell or Chevron if I have an option. Just a little chit-chat for a slow Fridya afternoon.

Jason

 

What the Owners Manual calls for. For your (pre EFI) 883 it's 87 octane, for 1200's it's 91+. Running higher than required octane, does not equate to better performance.

 

I run mid grade in my '08 1200c.

 

I need to pick up an owners manual... I have the Clymer and it probably tells me too, actually I just need to read it!

I didn't think much about preformance but, I was thinking that higher octane would burn/run cleaner... Is that just my vivid imagination?

Will running higher octane hurt anything accept my wallet?

Thanks cHarley, you are about 10x better (more knowlegeable) than anyone I've spoken to at any dealer/service place. have a nice weekend!

Regards,
Jason

 

On page 31 of my '08 owners manual (with EFI) it states 91 Octane. I always use 91 unless it's not available. And since it's only 2-3 gallons anyway, I'll spend the extra $.30 per fill up.

 

I use the premium, not too bad when you're only getting a few gallon. This has always been debatable as to whether it's necessary. My understanding is higher compression motors casue the gas to ingite earlier than wanted and you end up with a knock. Higher octanes are harder to ignite so it delays the ignition just bit to eliminate this preignition.
That being said, I also understood the Harley motor to have lower compression ratios than the metric bikes. Do they also call for premium?
So is it necessary...good question?

 

+1 c'mon yall, being on a bike gives us one of the best mileage out there on any vehicle...spend that extra couple of bucks and keep your motor clean "Love thy Harley"

 

Assuming you ride 10,000 miles per year @ 40 miles per gallon, that means you will use about 250 gallons of gas. At a difference of 20 cents/gallon, you would pay about $50 more for gas over the course of a year.

Any repair related to using cheap/lower octane fuel would be a helluva lot more than fify bucks.

So, why cut corners on fuel. Get the best/recommended fuel for your bike and don't worry.

 

There's actually a place up the street from me that has 101 octane! Too expensive for me though. I'll stick with premium.

 

If running higher than required octane makes you feel better, then do it. After all, at 3-4 gallons for a fill-up, money's not much of an issue.

Name brand, premium octane fuels often contain a better additive package for keeping your fuel system clean vs regular octane grades. Of course you can do the same thing by adding a few ounces of Seafoam to a tank of gas each time you change your oil.

However, a motor that's designed and tuned (that means ignition timing) to run on 87 octane typically performs better and gets slightly higher mileage than the same motor running a higher than required octane.

It is also true that if you live in a colder climate you can often get away with running a lower than recommended octane fuel. But transport that bike and tank of fuel down south in the summer and the valve clatter (detonation) will likely make you think the motor's coming apart.