Gas octane

Gerhard said:

Shell premium is no ethanol, lawnmower, snowblower, generator and bike get that most of the time.

Gerhard

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Maybe there, not here!

cdnemsguy said:

I have run premium, I mostly run regular. I do not see any difference in anything as these bikes are not high compression race bikes with wild cams. The other thing is that you can pay for premium, but the first hose full and a half are whatever the guy filling before you used. The guy behind you will get the residual hose and a half from your fill. A rip off IMO the way they can dispense from one hose all the flavors of fuel. Also, do you feel that many motorist are burning the high octane higher priced fuel? If not, that high priced fuel will sit in the gas stations tanks for awhile I would think. I am and will still burn regular.

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In the USA mandates require modern pumps to drain the hose of residual fuel and vapors that may be present. In addition the actual fuel tanks are usually some distance from the pumps so the pipes leading to the individual pumps must have some system to hold fuel charged or standing in the pipe so there is virtually no delay in getting the fuel up out of the tank and to the pump. Anti-siphon valves in the dispensing pump normally do this. As a result the American Petroleum Institute estimates that about 1/3 or less of a gallon remain in the pump hose prior to next use. Mixed into a 4 to 7 gallon fill the "dilution ratio" isn't very much.

Gerhard said:

Shell premium is no ethanol, lawnmower, snowblower, generator and bike get that most of the time.

Gerhard

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My buddy asked two shell stations and they said that is no longer the case?

I use to buy gas a Mckewens when they claimed their premium had no ethanol sometime during the last year that claim was removed from the pumps.


According to the Shell website. http://www.shell.ca/en_ca/service/search.html#q=ethanol

I run the 87 octane in my ST1300 most of the time. I have ran the 92 octane premium and I noticed a small difference in performance and no difference in the mileage. The manual says you can use 87. I have been alternating between 87 and 92. The engine is a little bit noisier on the 87 then it is the 92. My last couple tanks before I put the bike up for the season is going to be 92 octane. The 87 octane does have ethanol in it, and ethanol does attract moisture which can harm internal parts of the engine and damaged fuel hoses. So because of this I most likely will be using only 92 in my bike from now on as I want it to last as long as possible without issue.

CDNolddude said:

Canadian tire is one of the only ones that say their 91 is ethanol free out here

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I would question that- the truth is that all motor gasoline sold in Canada after Sept. 1, 2010 must, by federal regulation, contain an annual pool average of 5% ethanol so I wonder about that. This was from quite a while ago. The ethanol content may have been increased by now.

Andrew Shadow said:

I would question that- the truth is that all motor gasoline sold in Canada after Sept. 1, 2010 must, by federal regulation, contain an annual pool average of 5% ethanol so I wonder about that. This was from quite a while ago. The ethanol content may have been increased by now.

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I wouldn't doubt that at all and I don't go looking for ethanol free. As I mentioned above my bike is simply smoother with octane higher than the normal 91 premium we have here so I will be visiting PetroCanada more often now.

I run mid-range 89 in all my MC's - they all run the smoothest on that, engine vibration -wise . & best mileage also.

We can get 95, 97, 98, 100 RON in the UK, I normally run 97 from BP or 98 from Shell stations. The price only differs by a few pounds every full tank so I like to run some decent stuff, if you're bothered by paying a few extra pounds/dollars/whatever then you really should be looking at swapping to a CG125 or a scooter ...always make me laugh when people moan about the cost of fuel, surely you knew that when you bought the bike??

NCST said:

Well, I fully understand the desire to use less expensive fuel but to put it in perspective for everyone I have the following example:

7.7 Gallons at 3.50/gallon = $26.95
7.7 Gallons at 4.00/gallon = $30.80

for a given mileage of 45mpg we can reach 346.5 miles (assuming we could use every drop of fuel).

The difference in $/mile from the cheaper gas at 3.50 and the more expensive at 4.00 is only $0.01/mile driven. One penny per mile difference.

That being said, I'm still interested in hearing the report on running 87 octane vs. 93 octane in the bike and how it responds.

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For comparison's sake, how about this. In July 2007, I rode a 1991 ST1100 around Australia (17,000 kms) in 21 days. It was almost an Iron Butt kind of a thing to do. I kept track on my data, gas purchase volumes and types and mileage. Afterwards I noticed one very interesting comparison. Because it was an old bike, I had been filling up with 91 octane gas, the lowest available anywhere in Australia. In a remote part of Northern Queensland, no 91 was available and so I used the 95 available and then did 400 kms to the next gas station when I refilled with 91. Even though I had not changed my riding style at all (these were rough, pot-holed bitumen one lane roads), my bike used 17% less gas for the 95 octane miles than it did for the 91 octane miles. At the time I also owned a 2002 Goldwing in the US and I currently own a 1999 BMW K1200LT in NZ and a 2007 Honda ST1300 in Australia. I always use 94 Octane or above now because all my bikes do better gas mileage on higher octane fuels; most of those higher octane fuels don't cost 17% more and my service guys tell me that higher octane fuels are better for the engine even if the engines will run on 91 octane fuel. Just saying....

In Canada, or at least in Ontario, low octane fuel contains 10% ethanol, which is a killer on fuel mileage. Running premium fuel, which contains no ethanol, at least where I buy (Shell and ESSO), nets me much better mileage. I have found in my pickup that I also get better mileage with premium, but the added cost erases any savings gained by increased mileage. I run premium in my bike to try and keep that ethanol crap out of it.

bmcdonau said:

The manual and the tank says 91 right? The only issue I have is 91 iss not available most places. We have 89 an 93 here in San Antonio. El Paso has 87 and 91 octane however.

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My Owners manual recommends 91 RON; the US and Canada use AKI which is the average between RON and MON and is approximately the same as 87 AKI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
I have non-ethanol fuel available in some places (boat fuel) and I run it occassionally in my bikes. All other gasolines have 10% ethanol in them. I run 87 AKI most of the time and occassionally run 93 AKI or premium. I also add a half can of Seafoam to a take of fuel every few thousand miles to keep the system clean. Haven't heard the ST ping yet. Fuel economy is much more about how your ride rather than what octane fuel you use.

My '07 1300 has a sticker on the tank that reads "recommends premium fuel". I don't like using fuel with ethanol due to water absorption and short shelf life. This becomes an important factor when storing a bike over the winter (I always run my last few tanks with a dose of fuel stabilizer as well.
I found this link that may help find ethanol free premium fuel and it covers the US and Canada

https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=ON

I run 87 with an ocassional fillup of premium. I can't tell any difference in power or fuel economy. My bike runs fine on 87 AKI octane with 10% ethanol.

A lower-than-ideal-octane fuel will result in knock in carburetor-equipped engines that need more, and reduced power in fuel-injected engines with knock sensors.

A higher-than-needed-octane fuel will not produce any more power.

ST1100's are rated for regular, ST1300's are rated for premium. It's primarily based on the compression ratio.

Sunoco Ultra 93 or it's ping ping ping ping ping at every red light startup. Fair weather rider so it's an easy choice.

Non ethanol 93 octane and 5 or six ounces of seafoam in the winter.

k2mpw said:

Sunoco Ultra 93 or it's ping ping ping ping ping at every red light startup. Fair weather rider so it's an easy choice.

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When I live in the Chicagoland area I used Sunoce Ultra 93 almost exclusively.
Alas, I can't find here here out west.
Question: does Sunoco Ultra 93 come without ethanol?
I hate corn in my gasoline. YMMV

fnmag said:

Question: does Sunoco Ultra 93 come without ethanol?

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Yes is does. Sunoco produces 93 octane in both non ethanol and with ethanol. There is never methanol added. It just depends on which area of the country you live in and what the particular gas station decides to sell. This comes from the Sunoco website.