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Cruiser
Posts: 232
| Gas is getting pretty high in price here. Does anyone use 87octane then put booster in tank or do you all just buy
the high test and let it go. I've started do the booster thing what you think? |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | how much would it cost to buy 87 octane THEN a bottle of octane booster, VS paying $0.20-$0.25 more per gallon x 6? |
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Tourer
Posts: 394 Tucson, AZ | I use 89 octane in my Vision. I know the book calls for 91, but I can't tell any difference in the two and it seems I get less "popping" with the 89. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 232
| Booster is $2.00 good for 8 tanks of fuel 16oz bottles, 2oz per tank. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | you would save $0.95 a tank by using the octane boost instead of the higher grade fuel. based on the numbers you gave me $2.00 x 8 tanks & 6 gallons of fuel . the savings would be even less if you just used 89 octane. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 83 Bolivar Missouri | I use 91 with 0% ethynol when possible ... In some states the lower octane fuels contain more ethynol which is not as clean and may plug up the smaller jets . +1 on the increases .... .28 overnight |
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Tourer
Posts: 576 , IA | 85. 87 89 there all the same in my op. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 25 SE Wisconsin | You people sound like my wife. If you wanta save a buck go get a scooter! Wow I can go & get a large fry or another beer on my poker run. Oh ya I got the cheeper condoms and payed for it in the long run!! A 20k bike just put in what ya should. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | the low down on octane http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/autos/aut12.shtm |
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Visionary
Posts: 1229 Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Arkainzeye - 2012-01-09 7:55 PM
the low down on octane http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/autos/aut12.shtm
Is the Freedom motor considered a 'high compression' motor?
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Cruiser
Posts: 161 Oregon. | Interesting, I still plan on using high octane. What I need to fix the engine surge and high idle before I worry about gas.
Edited by Brian G 2012-01-09 10:46 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 117 Kansas City, MO | And how much was the bike? Come on now... |
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Tourer
Posts: 554 2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | 91 to 93 octane has better/more additives. For example, Chevron gas, the higher the octane, the more TECHRON is added. In the last two years, our Chevron stations have all converted to BP. Shell is also about gone in our area. I still would prefer Chevron or better yet Sunoco.
Bottom line is I try to stick to top tier gas for the top tier additives. Yes, I'm a bit anal about fuel. Get some bad gasoline in your scooter, car or truck and you'll find out why I'm like that!
Saving $1.50 on a full tank isn't worth it to me. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 25 Natick, MA | I have a Shell credit card that I purposely keep in my bike's saddle bag. I pretty much only run Shell V-Power 93 Octane in the Vision. I used the same gas in my FJR and Bandits. My old Versys didnt require premium fuel so I had no issue running whatever it would take.
My allegiance to Shell comes from going for my MBA with one of their additives engineers. He showed me some proprietary reports that proved the additives in V-Power were measurably better than the competition around the New England area.
For what its worth, I have also ALWAYS run Shell Rotella T oil in my motorcycles...(Yes, the diesel truck stuff) |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | DanPorges - 2012-01-10 8:14 AM
I have a Shell credit card that I purposely keep in my bike's saddle bag. I pretty much only run Shell V-Power 93 Octane in the Vision. I used the same gas in my FJR and Bandits. My old Versys didnt require premium fuel so I had no issue running whatever it would take.
My allegiance to Shell comes from going for my MBA with one of their additives engineers. He showed me some proprietary reports that proved the additives in V-Power were measurably better than the competition around the New England area.
For what its worth, I have also ALWAYS run Shell Rotella T oil in my motorcycles...(Yes, the diesel truck stuff)
i would like to try shell gasoline but here where i live ive never seen a shell before.. alot of sunoco, bp and off brand gas stations |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | DannyB - 2012-01-10 4:59 AM
91 to 93 octane has better/more additives. For example, Chevron gas, the higher the octane, the more TECHRON is added. In the last two years, our Chevron stations have all converted to BP. Shell is also about gone in our area. I still would prefer Chevron or better yet Sunoco.
Bottom line is I try to stick to top tier gas for the top tier additives. Yes, I'm a bit anal about fuel. Get some bad gasoline in your scooter, car or truck and you'll find out why I'm like that!
Saving $1.50 on a full tank isn't worth it to me.
one thing i like about sunoco is they have a 91 octane where alot of gas station where i live go 87,89,93 and like the governments website shown, there is no advantage to running a higher octane than required. im personally not a face of of sunoco for political reasons. (ill keep them to myself).
also i have to agree with you about getting BAD GAS.. this late summer i took my new 2011 vision on a group ride and we had to stop at some mom and paw gas station due to someone being very low on fuel. well we all filled up and with in 30 mins my motor was pinging.. i never heard any of my bikes ping before.. i surely didnt like it.. so i stopped and bought some octane booster. i was wondering if the gas was watered down or the 93 i thought i purchased was actually 87. ? |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 612
| Gray rider - 2012-01-09 5:53 PM
I use 89 octane in my Vision. I know the book calls for 91, but I can't tell any difference in the two and it seems I get less "popping" with the 89.
Yup, 89 works for me. Have yet to try 87, but I'm sure it will be fine too. The rule of thumb is to use the lowest octane that won't cause ping. Using a higher octane than necessary actually lowers efficiency, as it won't burn completely. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880 Orlando, FL | I agree with VictoryHour. Just buy the required fuel. Seems not doing so is penny wise and pound foolish. Victory recommends a certain gas for a reason. The FTC link previously given is not the complete story. See this for a more accurate understanding of what in the US is called the Octane rating at the pump.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
For me, it's not worth the few pennies I save. If you really want to save money on fuel, get an electric car(Tesla would be my pic! Yea baby) or get a Natty gas car, or convert your ride to veggie oil. It's amazing to me that one would spend so much on a bike and then whine about a few pennies difference in octane price. It's like those who add performance parts and then expect the same or better gas milage! Really??
Just sayin'
Edited by MaddMAx2u 2012-01-10 9:48 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 1632 Jasper, MO | Arkainzeye - 2012-01-10 9:29 AM
DannyB - 2012-01-10 4:59 AM
91 to 93 octane has better/more additives. For example, Chevron gas, the higher the octane, the more TECHRON is added. In the last two years, our Chevron stations have all converted to BP. Shell is also about gone in our area. I still would prefer Chevron or better yet Sunoco.
Bottom line is I try to stick to top tier gas for the top tier additives. Yes, I'm a bit anal about fuel. Get some bad gasoline in your scooter, car or truck and you'll find out why I'm like that!
Saving $1.50 on a full tank isn't worth it to me.
one thing i like about sunoco is they have a 91 octane where alot of gas station where i live go 87,89,93 and like the governments website shown, there is no advantage to running a higher octane than required. im personally not a face of of sunoco for political reasons. (ill keep them to myself).
also i have to agree with you about getting BAD GAS.. this late summer i took my new 2011 vision on a group ride and we had to stop at some mom and paw gas station due to someone being very low on fuel. well we all filled up and with in 30 mins my motor was pinging.. i never heard any of my bikes ping before.. i surely didnt like it.. so i stopped and bought some octane booster. i was wondering if the gas was watered down or the 93 i thought i purchased was actually 87. ?
The primary additives are the same in all brands and grades of gasoline, even no-name stations, and are mandated by federal law. Branded gasoline adds very tiny amounts of proprietary additives just so they can make the legal claim that their gas is different/better than somebody elses. Many areas of the country are now selling low grade gasoline with ethanol added to raise the octane rating. This is due to State and Federal mandates. Ethanol free gasoline is always better, if you can find it, regardless of octane rating. Run the lowest octane gas that you can without pinging or popping. Too high of an octane gas is not only a waste of money, but can actually cause other issues down the road (like carbon buildup).
The gas at the Mom and Pop was most likely the proper octane level when it was put into their storage tank, but today's gasoline deteriorates rapidly. A station that sees very little business has gasoline that is old. Old gasoline loses octane rating as it ages, and above ground storage tanks accumulate water from the atmosphere as the tank "breathes" with temperature changes. The station owners don't do anything nefarious, like adding water or selling low grade as high grade, it's just the facts concerning storage and octane degradation. A busy Mom and Pop's gasoline is just as good as any branded gas.
I delivered gasoline for many years to branded stations and unbranded stations. It all comes from the same common loading terminal tanks (octane specific, but not brand specific), and it all has the same additives, except for the extremely tiny amounts of proprietary additives, which is injected at a rate of 0.000121 gallon per gallon of gas for Shell branded gas. The other brands are similar.
The BTU (energy) content is the same in all grades of gasoline. Higher octane fuel DOES NOT, in and of itself, make more power. Higher octane fuel allows one to run higher compression and more timing advance, which does make an engine more efficient, and produce more power.
Gasoline which has had its octane rating artificially increased by the addition of ethanol has a LOWER BTU rating (less energy) than the same grade of gasoline without ethanol. 10% ethanol increases the octane rating 2 points, but has LESS energy content than non-ethanol blended gas of the same octane rating.
Almost all off the shelf octane boosters only raise the octane rating a fraction of 1 point. Reading the fine print, one discovers that when they say it increases 2 points, they are talking about 2/10ths of an octane point.
Marketing is marketing and gas is gas. Spend your money where it makes you happy.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2012-01-10 10:38 AM
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Tourer
Posts: 500
| Thanks Ronnie for the great post...Right on IMHO......I worked for Ford for 30 yrs and did a lot of research on fuels. Just run what the Manufacturer reccommends and all will be well...I just do not understand people that buy $20,000 motorcycles, spend $10/15 on a beer and burger and then put the cheapest gas in bike they can find???? Go figure.....!! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| opas ride - 2012-01-10 11:12 AM Thanks Ronnie for the great post...Right on IMHO......I worked for Ford for 30 yrs and did a lot of research on fuels. Just run what the Manufacturer reccommends and all will be well...I just do not understand people that buy $20,000 motorcycles, spend $10/15 on a beer and burger and then put the cheapest gas in bike they can find???? Go figure.....!! +1 |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741 Central New York | rdbudd - 2012-01-10 11:23 AM Arkainzeye - 2012-01-10 9:29 AM DannyB - 2012-01-10 4:59 AM 91 to 93 octane has better/more additives. For example, Chevron gas, the higher the octane, the more TECHRON is added. In the last two years, our Chevron stations have all converted to BP. Shell is also about gone in our area. I still would prefer Chevron or better yet Sunoco. Bottom line is I try to stick to top tier gas for the top tier additives. Yes, I'm a bit anal about fuel. Get some bad gasoline in your scooter, car or truck and you'll find out why I'm like that! Saving $1.50 on a full tank isn't worth it to me. one thing i like about sunoco is they have a 91 octane where alot of gas station where i live go 87,89,93 and like the governments website shown, there is no advantage to running a higher octane than required. im personally not a face of of sunoco for political reasons. (ill keep them to myself). also i have to agree with you about getting BAD GAS.. this late summer i took my new 2011 vision on a group ride and we had to stop at some mom and paw gas station due to someone being very low on fuel. well we all filled up and with in 30 mins my motor was pinging.. i never heard any of my bikes ping before.. i surely didnt like it.. so i stopped and bought some octane booster. i was wondering if the gas was watered down or the 93 i thought i purchased was actually 87. ? The primary additives are the same in all brands and grades of gasoline, even no-name stations, and are mandated by federal law. Branded gasoline adds very tiny amounts of proprietary additives just so they can make the legal claim that their gas is different/better than somebody elses. Many areas of the country are now selling low grade gasoline with ethanol added to raise the octane rating. This is due to State and Federal mandates. Ethanol free gasoline is always better, if you can find it, regardless of octane rating. Run the lowest octane gas that you can without pinging or popping. Too high of an octane gas is not only a waste of money, but can actually cause other issues down the road (like carbon buildup). The gas at the Mom and Pop was most likely the proper octane level when it was put into their storage tank, but today's gasoline deteriorates rapidly. A station that sees very little business has gasoline that is old. Old gasoline loses octane rating as it ages, and above ground storage tanks accumulate water from the atmosphere as the tank "breathes" with temperature changes. The station owners don't do anything nefarious, like adding water or selling low grade as high grade, it's just the facts concerning storage and octane degradation. A busy Mom and Pop's gasoline is just as good as any branded gas. I delivered gasoline for many years to branded stations and unbranded stations. It all comes from the same common loading terminal tanks (octane specific, but not brand specific), and it all has the same additives, except for the extremely tiny amounts of proprietary additives, which is injected at a rate of 0.000121 gallon per gallon of gas for Shell branded gas. The other brands are similar. The BTU (energy) content is the same in all grades of gasoline. Higher octane fuel DOES NOT, in and of itself, make more power. Higher octane fuel allows one to run higher compression and more timing advance, which does make an engine more efficient, and produce more power. Gasoline which has had its octane rating artificially increased by the addition of ethanol has a LOWER BTU rating (less energy) than the same grade of gasoline without ethanol. 10% ethanol increases the octane rating 2 points, but has LESS energy content than non-ethanol blended gas of the same octane rating. Almost all off the shelf octane boosters only raise the octane rating a fraction of 1 point. Reading the fine print, one discovers that when they say it increases 2 points, they are talking about 2/10ths of an octane point. Marketing is marketing and gas is gas. Spend your money where it makes you happy. Ronnie Thank-you! I have been patiently waiting for someone to speak the facts. People have this idea if they spend more it has to be better. More expensive gasoline must be better than the cheaper juice. Most expensive oil must be better than less expensive oil. etc. If people would actually learn something about the products they buy instead of sucking up the advertising hype they could save tons of money. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965 New York State | On normal fuel ups I look for Sunoco Ultra. On long trips I fill up on ultra than at 1/2 tank fill up with 87 the next stop super then 87 and so on until I reach my destination. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| You can go on the net and find stations in your area that don't use that corn crap
What you get 40mph and your complaining about gas pries. What if you had a car that was getting 18mph at best |
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Cruiser
Posts: 262 Flowery Branch Ga | I only paid 15,500 for mine. Can I run cheaper gas? (joking) I run the highest octane that I can, usually Shell or QT because they are convinent.
Wayne |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773 Pittsburgh, PA | john frey - 2012-01-10 12:56 PM
You can go on the net and find stations in your area that don't use that corn crap
What you get 40mph and your complaining about gas pries. What if you had a car that was getting 18mph at best
hey john if you have any links to those stations without corn fuel can you please post it.... btw i have a brother in law that ones in kansas at one of those (corn fuel places) and he claims they are trying to push it so that they Raise the allowable amount of corn additives in the fuel! =( |
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Tourer
Posts: 324 New Orleans, La, | Fellas I live in the deep, deep south and have always run 87 in all of my bikes and cars. My 94 T/A with a 10.75:1 Lt1 would run mid 12's in street trim whether I had pump 87 or 100 unleaded race gas in it. My first Victory had 10.5:1 JE pistons and Andrew 440 cams and I ran 87 in it without issues. Do I advise or reccomend what I do to others? No! I am just offering my experience with my Victory engines. Most manufacturers incorporate in their engine software a "low quality fuel" default ignition map that the computer will go to to help prevent engine damage from using "low quality" fuels. I grant you that when its' in the default mode the timing is retarded and the engine power will drop off some but it"s only noticeable if you're racing against another Victory running 90+ fuel. Also it gets really hot down here and I, as of yet, have not experienced any pinging to date. Just saying. |
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