Im just curious, after reading though the "Whats Your Gas Price" thread, it seems alot of people (or at least more than I thought) are running premium in their bikes. It was my understanding that you should run the lowest octane fuel you can without pinging. Its not like the GS is a super high compression race engine that requires premium just to run properly. It runs just as well on regular, right? Why the premium?

Quote from: Chris_B... It was my understanding that you should run the lowest octane fuel you can without pinging. Its not like the GS is a super high compression race engine that requires premium just to run properly. It runs just as well on regular, right? ...

You're right, that's why i run regular

I run premium, and use silk scarves to clean up my oil spills.

I guess a lot of people think it is better for the engine for whatever reason.  Few days ago I was riding with my dad (I have GSE he has naked Goldwing) and we stopped at the gas station becuase we needed fuel; he said imma pump the good sh*t; which was premium gas.

Sometimes i buy octane booster from walmart, and when i treat it with my gas it seems like when I power shift it into second, my shocks jump up a lot higher than without it.  Dunno it could be all mental.

7 and a half  bucks for 2.9gallons of regular.  i'm gonna convert my bike to run on old vegetable oil.

jake

i thought the difference between the octanes was that they take more or less effort to burn and if you put the wrong stuff in it could be bad. i guess thats why high performance engines have to run the premium because it's easier to burn. i don't know, maybe i should do a google search and really find out what i'm talking about. either way i run the cheap stuff cause the engine still runs on it.

Octane is resistance to detonation.  Nothing more.  If you're not knocking, you have no reason to run higher octane.

But my bike feels a lot faster when I use those silk scarves.

Regular, filled with Premium once, by mistake, did not notice any difference, only the bill.

Maybe I would have noticed something if I wore a white silk bandana.

Quote from: RoadstergalOctane is resistance to detonation.  Nothing more.  If you're not knocking, you have no reason to run higher octane.

But my bike feels a lot faster when I use those silk scarves.

indeed... if you want to be obsessive about some part of your fuel choice, I suggest that you run 87 octane and pay more attention to the brand.  I put sheetz  gas in my R6 twice (proper octane rating, two different states, not sequential tanks), and both tanks the bike ran like crap.  I will never put that slop in any of my bikes ever again.

If your compression ratio is around 9:1, 87 delivers the best performance you are going to get.

putting 93 octane in a GS is like putting dropping a shot of Johnny Walker Blue into a Budweiser... what a waste

Quote from: vtlionputting 93 octane in a GS is like putting dropping a shot of Johnny Walker Blue into a Budweiser...

I'm going to have to remember that line.  

My 97 runs worse with premium.  It takes longer to warm up and I have to fuss with the idle screw more.  I am sticking with regular unleaded.  I do agree with vtlion.  Use a good branded fuel.

I do run Redline cleaner through my bikes every blue moon.

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_fueladditives.asp?productID=63

$4 for 20 treatments:
http://www.eap4parts.com/en-us/dept_812.html

I usually run premium, but I will run whatever.  

This is second hand, but my dad is in the car business, and he was talking to a  oil business guy/ mechanic.  Oil business guy/ mechanic (OBGY/M?) said that different brands as well as different octane ratings within brands have different detergents.  Different detergents clean different things (better/worse).  This also applies to motor oil.  OBGY/M says changing octane rating and brands from time-to-time is the best.  So, if you always run Exxon 87 once every three tanks put in Shell 92, or something like that.  If this info is total BS and you can prove it I want to know, so please share.  If you just want to call BS on me well then  :nana: .





By the way OBGY/M  looks kinda like an OB/GYN  and they look at girls naughty parts all day. :lol:

That's why I run cleaner through every so often.

The local refineries have more to do with gas quality than anything else.  Most regions are served by a single refinery.  Stations add their own additive package.
The one thing that can make a difference is traffic - the more traffic a station gets, the less the chance you'll get gas that has been sitting a while and has gotten water from condensation.

high octane gas iwill  make your bike run like POO!
I think the myth was started years ago by the gas companies themselves to get you to move up. The truth is that high octane does not mean high performance, and does not mean additional horsepower. High octane gas is harder to burn. It takes more compression or higher spark or both to touch it off. The reason to use high octane is to prevent pre-ignition, "pinging". If your car runs fine on regular without pinging, there is no need to move up. If you have higher compression, use a higher octane to prevent pre-ignition
:mrgreen:

I thought that higher octane fuel burnt more easily compared to a lower octane fuel. Which, to my understanding why if you have a high compression motor, the fuel is compressed more, so the mixture is more dense, so it is harder to ignite, which is why high octane fuel needs to be used, so it burns fully. no?

...
premium here.
new bike and i don't want to mess it up.

I use 95 Octane unleaded fuel, but that is because it is the lowest Octane fuel I can buy here in the UK.

I got 95 or 98 octane as my choices.
If somewhere sold a cheaper 87 - 94 Octane fuel I'd use that.
The GS just doesn't have the compression to justify using a higher Octane Fuel.

i go with the cheapest price...runs beautifully

Quote from: banneri go with the cheapest price...runs beautifully

Same here.  85 octane!