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Gasoline

Started by kyleGS500, March 01, 2012, 12:37:54 PM

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kyleGS500

What grade gasoline do yall use in your bikes? A buddy of mine said its best to use super unleaded in a motorcycle. Which I dont have a problem with since it is such a small tank. But if its ok to use regular than thats what I would use.

Roxtar

user manual says regular (87octane on the M+R/2 scale)
2009 GS500F

Bluesmudge

Use regular. If you read your bike's manual you would see thats what it recommends.

Your buddy probably has a super-sport or some other motorcycle with a high compression ratio that needs the extra octane in higher "grade" fuel to prevent pre-combustion. The gs is low compression and is perfectly happy with regular fuel.

Funderb

compression in these bikes is 9:1, i believe. This is at the upper middle end of typical. You will never get preignition from improper octane rating.


use regular. it will save you money.
Black '98 gs500 k&n Lbox, akrapovic slip-on, kat600 shock, progressive sproings, superbike handlebars, 40/147.5/3.5washers

"I'd rather ride then spend all my time fiddling trying to make it run perfectly." -Bombsquad

"Never let the destination cast a shadow over your journey towards it- live life"

burning1

Raced the bike on regular. It's better gas than premium anyway.

seamax

87 octane. I can attest that on my bike when I ran it on 89 (because 89 is cheaper then 87 in Iowa) the bike had erratic idle.

J_Walker

Only problem with gas now days, is that the ethanol thats in it... Good lord. We pay almost $4.00 a gallon yet its alright to them to put 15%+ ethanol in our gas... And the ethanol destroys engines over time.

Not to start anything. but did you know almost 80% of our gas that we use in the states actually comes from THE STATES. the 20% is imported.. so what does that tell you? That the "war in the middle east" is a bunch of BS on gas prices.. And it's just giving them a reason to raise the prices. Just my 2 cents
-Walker

trojanone1

like J_walker said just use 87 w/o ethanol. I've tried putting 91 w/o ethanol but i didnt notice a difference

kyleGS500

Thanks guys. I figured it would be regular fuel. Blue smudge if I had a manual I would read it. Plus I have all you fine people to help me out.


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slipperymongoose

My advice would be get fuel from a place with a high turnover of fuel. Fuel is like fruit and veg, the fresher the better.
Some say that he submitted a $20000 expense claim for some gravel

And that if he'd write a letter of condolance he would at least spell your name right.

SS Adrenaline

#10
I personaly would run 87 all summer.  However a few tanks befor storage I run 91 to get the 87 out of the tank.  I also put fuel stabalizer in just as a precaution.  With 87 in the tank for long periods like winter storage it starts to smell like varnish and can clogg up the jets.  With 91 and fuel stabalizer its good till spring.   m2c
2006 Suzuki GS500F
-Clocks For Bikes Temp/Time Gauges
-Jetting: 22.5,65,147.5 (3 Turns Out)
-Custom Underseat Storage
-Blue LED Gauges WLED-X5
-NGK Iridium DPR8EIX-9
-Jardine RT1 Full Exhaust
-K&N Lunchbox RU-2970
-K&N 62-1320 Vent Filter
-Custom SS Chain Guard
-Custom Rear Hugger
-Fiamm HK9 Horn

Dizzledan

Quote from: SS Adrenaline on March 01, 2012, 07:13:08 PM
I personaly would run 87 all summer.  However a few tanks befor storage I run 91 to get the 87 out of the tank.  I also put fuel stabalizer in just as a precaution.  With 87 in the tank for long periods like winter storage it starts to smell like varnish and can clogg up the jets.  With 91 and fuel stabalizer its good till spring.   m2c

87+a fuel stabilizer (Stabil, or Seafoam) will hold just as well as 91. Not sure why you choose that over 87.

SS Adrenaline

Quote from: Dizzledan on March 01, 2012, 08:21:39 PM
Quote from: SS Adrenaline on March 01, 2012, 07:13:08 PM
I personaly would run 87 all summer.  However a few tanks befor storage I run 91 to get the 87 out of the tank.  I also put fuel stabalizer in just as a precaution.  With 87 in the tank for long periods like winter storage it starts to smell like varnish and can clogg up the jets.  With 91 and fuel stabalizer its good till spring.   m2c

87+a fuel stabilizer (Stabil, or Seafoam) will hold just as well as 91. Not sure why you choose that over 87.

Only because storage can be a very long time.  You are prob right about the 87 with stabalizer but I have found that my machines start easier and run better on inital start up with 91 and stabalizer.
2006 Suzuki GS500F
-Clocks For Bikes Temp/Time Gauges
-Jetting: 22.5,65,147.5 (3 Turns Out)
-Custom Underseat Storage
-Blue LED Gauges WLED-X5
-NGK Iridium DPR8EIX-9
-Jardine RT1 Full Exhaust
-K&N Lunchbox RU-2970
-K&N 62-1320 Vent Filter
-Custom SS Chain Guard
-Custom Rear Hugger
-Fiamm HK9 Horn

Gunslinger

#13
Nothing but 93. Saying regular is better than premium...this is based off of what?
I don't care about saving less than a dollar per tank.

Dizzledan

Quote from: Gunslinger on March 02, 2012, 11:30:57 AM
Nothing but 93. Saying regular is better than premium...this is based off of what?
I don't care about saving less than a dollar per tank.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/autos/aut12.shtm

Regular is not BETTER than premium, it's the correct selection for the GS engine. It's not a high compression engine, and using premium fuel does nothing to help it. Technically you aren't hurting it either, just wasting your money.

kyleGS500

Thanks for all the advice.  :cheers:

burning1

Regular is better than premium, for our bikes.

An engine designed for a high octane gasoline will experience per-ignition or detonation when run on a low octane gasoline... A lot of cars and a few bikes have knock sensors to detect early signs of pre-ignition, and retard the intake timing to compensate, but in doing so will suffer a noticeable loss of power and fuel economy. Vehicles that take premium and do not have knock sensors will suffer damage, and reduced performance.

However, octane enhancers tend to increase the temperature required to ignite the fuel, slow the flame propagation speed, and don't tend to burn as well as more pure regular fuels.

Since the GS runs just fine on regular, you're paying more money for lower performing fuel. If you want to take advantage of premium fuels, you could advance your ignition timing, or install higher compression pistons. In doing so, you'll generate better power, and/or better fuel efficiency.

Premium fuels may have extra detergents such as Techron or V-power, but those don't actually benefit performance unless your engine is in need of a very good cleaning.


BaltimoreGS

Quote from: burning1 on March 02, 2012, 03:18:05 PM
Premium fuels may have extra detergents such as Techron or V-power, but those don't actually benefit performance unless your engine is in need of a very good cleaning.

Actually detergents vary more by supplier than between grades.  Most oil companies use the same additives in all grades of fuel and there is an EPA mandated minimum in the USA.  Toyota is part of the group of 6 auto makers that recommend using Top Tier Gasoline in their cars which contain more deposit cleaning additives in all grades of fuel.  Here's a list of Top Tier Gasoline suppliers:

76 Stations
Aloha Petroleum
Chevron
Conoco 
CountryMark 
Entec Stations   
Exxon   
Hawaii Petroleum   
Holiday Stationstores, Inc.   
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star   
MFA Oil Co.   
Mileage Stations   
Mobil   
Phillips 66   
Quik Trip   
Rebel Oil   
Road Ranger   
Severson Oil   
Shell   
Texaco   
Tri-Par Oil Co.   
U.S. Oil

87 Octane is what is recommended by Suzuki, 87 is what I use.  Another thing to keep in mind is the freshness of the fuel.  Fill up at a gas station that does a high volume of sales to make sure you don't get old fuel (or worse, water contaminated fuel).  And more people buy regular gas than premium so it tends to be the freshest   :thumb:

-Jessie

slipperymongoose

Every few tanks I have a slash in the tank helps keep spark plug point lubricated lol
Some say that he submitted a $20000 expense claim for some gravel

And that if he'd write a letter of condolance he would at least spell your name right.

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