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Fuel Grade? Here we go again....


TrickLidz

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06 RT. Been using Super from day one (as recommended) but considering trying a lower grade. (Fill ups are getting costly) Any suggestions? MPG? Pinging? etc?

TIA

'Lidz

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Afternoon 'Lidz

 

Well with a 12:1 compression ratio & an air/oil cooled design it is surly designed to be run on premium fuel. But it has a couple of knock sensors that can pull some spark advance out as needed.

 

So when running less than adequate fuel octane it will definitely pull some spark out under load & at high sustained speeds. That removed spark advance means later ign timing so more engine heat in the engine & in the exhaust system along with reduced power.

 

How much you going to save on 4-5 gallons at fill up 30-40 cents maybe, maybe less.

 

Some people seem to run regular in that high compression engine, I don’t as there just isn’t that much savings to justify it.

 

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I accidentally put a tank of 87 in mine and didn't notice any difference in mileage or performance in "normal" riding. I wouldn't do it on purpose, however. It's not worth the risk. Besides, I knew it wanted premium when I bought it.

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Nice n Easy Rider

A few years ago there was a shortage of high octane in NC as well as other places (can't remember what precipitated it). I believe that shortage lasted for a month or more. I managed to get by with several fill-ups of 87 octane and never had a problem. When it's available I always use the 93 but I wouldn't hesitate to use the 87 again if that was all that was available.

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I wouldn't use 87 octane but I've been using mid-grade 89 octane in my 07 RT for tens of thousands of miles. I haven't noticed any difference in power or fuel consumption. However, if I'm doing a lot of commuting in very hot weather, I sometimes use premium - the combination of low engine speeds and large throttle openings is where pinging is most likely to occur.

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06 RT. Been using Super from day one (as recommended) but considering trying a lower grade. (Fill ups are getting costly) Any suggestions? MPG? Pinging? etc?

TIA

'Lidz

Although the bike (mine is an 07 1200RT) runs on any grade I've put in from 87-93, I use 91 octane mostly because that's generally available everywhere, 93 seems only to be at Sunoco around here. I'm getting 48mpg most fill ups. I clear the bike computer with each fill up too.

 

I've run multiple tanks of regular 87 or 89 octane to compare mileage and have always found the mileage drops (I don't ride hard enough to notice performance changes - I'm a geezer :) ). With regular grade I average 41-43mpg which means I get a bit more than 10% improvement in mpg using premium. Since premium is (now) only about 5-6% more expensive then regular, I'm getting "free" miles using premium vs. regular. Worth checking how your bike behaves to decide what you should do from real world data.

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