Octane Blunder!
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,221
Likes: 4
From: Annemasse (border of Geneva-Switzerland) facing Mt-Blanc.
There is a counter example:
Mazda sells a SUV called "CX5" and they announce a compression ratio of 13:1 using low octane gasoline to power their "SKYACTIV®-G GASOLINE ENGINE".
I sometimes ride in one and it and its perfectly quiet.
Apart from traveling in high altitudes, why spend extra money for a combustion retardant?
Mazda sells a SUV called "CX5" and they announce a compression ratio of 13:1 using low octane gasoline to power their "SKYACTIV®-G GASOLINE ENGINE".
I sometimes ride in one and it and its perfectly quiet.
Apart from traveling in high altitudes, why spend extra money for a combustion retardant?
Not a big deal. I try to only run 100% gas (no ethanol), sometimes it's only available in 87 octane. My tuner auto adjusts for it after a few miles.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,248
Likes: 7
From: Atlanta, Georgia
Didnt ride any different, did it? I bet not. I made the same mistake a few weeks back and my back has WAY more mods than yours. Know what happened? Nothing. Rode exactly the same. Needless to say, I still use premium octane (only because the difference in cost is negligible) but I wouldnt hesitate to use 87 if I needed it.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 134
Likes: 1
From: Oregon
Regular gas
This gas thing gets really nuts, I remember people on here having coronaries because the person filling before them pumped regular and some of that was still in the hose as they pumped their premium. Talk about ridiculous, no problem, they run fine on reg.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 361
Likes: 1
From: Wisconsin
90+ Octane burns a little tiny bit cooler than 87 Octane. You'll be fine unless you are riding in the desert during the day. Since about 2000, the EFI will automatically adjust for the lower octane and it won't even ping any more than it would have with the higher Octane. Even under 92, it should only ping when under 2000 RPM's and pulling a load. 
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Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
You should experience no problems with the 87 octane, as if you incur detonation the knock-sensing feature of the EFI will pull back on the timing to address it. That will affect performance, but it won't hurt anything as long as detonation isn't continual or frequent. In that case, which isn't likely, you would not want to run the bike for long in that condition and I would add some octane booster.