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Tourer
Posts: 320
Savannah, GA -Year round riding!! Yay! | I have had this question in the back of my mind, and just saw a blip about it in another thread, so I thought I'd put the question out to the GP and see what the response was, for my own and other's "inquiring minds". The Victory manual (and I believe that ugly sticker), both say to use 92+ octane when fueling the Vision. This summer, hubby and I are doing the Kyle Petty ride, and gas stops are a group fueling, where they close the station, and pump everyone 87 octane. (One prepays for gas, and there is no "pump your own" option....) Last summer, I did the ride on my ST1300, which also requires 93 octane. I had terrible problems with heat coming off of the heads, to the point where I had 2nd degree burns on my inner thighs. When hubby and I were riding the 500+ miles home from Hollywood, FL, I went back to 93 octane, and *viola*, the heat issues disappeared. I have been worried now about the ride this summer. I have not had the nerve to try 87 octane in Vivi yet. Has anyone flip flopped back and forth and noticed any difference in performance (heat or otherwise...). If I were to keep some octane boost on hand to pour in before filling up, how much would I put in for a tank, and is it safe to keep in the fairing? I have had some heat issues around my ankles and lower calves, when I wore my shorter Sidi Doha boots, but when I wear Milwaukee Accelerator boots, especially with half chaps, the heat is *ok* (not great, but doable for a 500-600 miles, I would imagine)
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 32
shelbyville tennessee | I have run 87 octane in my vision from day one, and it seems to run fine on it. I also ride with shorts on and not had any heat issues with my legs getting to hot. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 66
Harrisburg, PA | I have tried 89 octane and did notice a lot more heat and under hard acceleration the motor had a very loud ping. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 600
Linwood, MI | Use the 92+ octane.
Manufacturers recomend higher octane fuel for a couple of reasons, one of which being your engine's compression ratio: The higher the compression ratio, the higher octane fuel you need. If you use a lower octane fuel in these cases it is more likely to "cook-off" before it is intended. This is called pre-ignition. Worst case scenario, pre-ignition can ruin your pistons; at best, it will cause spark knock and make your engine run rough. If your engine is capable of dealing with spark knock (i.e., it has a knock sensor), you will notice decreased performance performance and gas mileage and increased engine heat.
As a couple of real-life examples for you, I own a '95 Camaro Z28 (high performance, high compression engine) and I occasionally run 87 octane fuel. The car will run it, but it runs a little more sluggish and doesn't accelerate as nicely because the computer is retarding engine timing to prevent spark knock from pre-ignition. In the second case, before I got my Vision I had an '06 Kingpin. At first, out of habit, I used 92 octane fuel. After a bit I decided to use 87 octane fuel (I hadn't read my owners manual, so I didn't know what was recomended) and found that bike ran poorly and got crappy fuel economy. I switched back to 92 and never had any trouble again.
Vehicle manufacturers will recomend certain octane fuels for specific reasons that deal with performance and economy. They don't do it because they have a deal with the gas companies to try to rip us off. Whatever octane fuel your vehicle's manual says to use, I'd highly suggest you use it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 235
Evergreen, CO | Hey folks, keep this in mind.......
Way back when regular gas was $1.00 per gallon, and premium gas was $1.20 per gallon, you were paying a 20% premium for the better gas. Now that regular gas is approximately $4.00 per gallon, and premium is $4.20 per gallon, you are only paying a 5% premium for the better gas. As some have stated previously, using the lower grade gas may have numerous adverse affects on your Vision, including decreased fuel mileage. If you switch from premium to regular, and observe more than a 5% decrease in fuel mileage (~2 mpg) then you are actually paying MORE for the lower grade fuel in real life!!!
If you are really focussed on minimizing your costs for fuel, try using your cruise control when possible, if driving in city traffic with lots of traffic lights, hit your kill switch when waiting at traffic lights, and keep your Vision well maintained with proper tire pressure, quality oil, etc.
However, if you find yourself in some really fun twisties, with great pavement, no traffic, and a beautiful day, then RIDE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | GAgirlTrixie - 2008-06-08 10:17 PM I have had this question in the back of my mind, and just saw a blip about it in another thread, so I thought I'd put the question out to the GP and see what the response was, for my own and other's "inquiring minds". The Victory manual (and I believe that ugly sticker), both say to use 92+ octane when fueling the Vision. This summer, hubby and I are doing the Kyle Petty ride, and gas stops are a group fueling, where they close the station, and pump everyone 87 octane. (One prepays for gas, and there is no "pump your own" option....) Last summer, I did the ride on my ST1300, which also requires 93 octane. I had terrible problems with heat coming off of the heads, to the point where I had 2nd degree burns on my inner thighs. When hubby and I were riding the 500+ miles home from Hollywood, FL, I went back to 93 octane, and *viola*, the heat issues disappeared. I have been worried now about the ride this summer. I have not had the nerve to try 87 octane in Vivi yet. Has anyone flip flopped back and forth and noticed any difference in performance (heat or otherwise...). If I were to keep some octane boost on hand to pour in before filling up, how much would I put in for a tank, and is it safe to keep in the fairing? I have had some heat issues around my ankles and lower calves, when I wore my shorter Sidi Doha boots, but when I wear Milwaukee Accelerator boots, especially with half chaps, the heat is *ok* (not great, but doable for a 500-600 miles, I would imagine)
Not that I ever used any, I think you can get an octane booster in a small bottle to mix at fill-up. This is should resolve your problem GGT. However, after a short read, there is not much to them, but now I've stirred the pot, maybe someone knows a solution. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Consider the fact you are saving only $1 to $1.50 a fillup running cheap crap in your premium bike and risking catastrophic failure by running a lower octane. Hardly seems worth the gamble to me, so I always run the manufacturers recommended fuel rating. JMO |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Teach - 2008-06-09 2:47 PM Consider the fact you are saving only $1 to $1.50 a fillup running cheap crap in your premium bike and risking catastrophic failure by running a lower octane. Hardly seems worth the gamble to me, so I always run the manufacturers recommended fuel rating. JMO Teach, unless I misread the concern, she will only be able to get 87 octane, which really doesn't make sense. Motorcycles, almost always take a higher octane, so why would it not be available on a ride? |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 600
Linwood, MI | ...unless I misread the concern, she will only be able to get 87 octane, ...
Ah, yes, now that I have reread her post I see what you mean. In that case, Trix, I'd get some octane booster that puts you at 92+ as somone else suggested. |
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Tourer
Posts: 354
20 miles west of Chicago. | I have some issues with the Victory Motorcycle Company, but none is with their engineers. Follow the book! Any octane booster you buy should have instructions regarding how much to add per gallon of gas. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | If 87 octane is the only thing available at the time, its better than no octane. |
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Tourer
Posts: 320
Savannah, GA -Year round riding!! Yay! | Thanks, guys! Yeah, I really can't understand how they pump 87, since most of the Harley's, Vic's, and the sport tourers run 92+ (especially since Victory was one of the sponsors last year and had 15 Vision's in the ride!!). Yes, hard riding and hard accelleration are a way of this ride. Heat can be an issue,,,, I reckon I'll be getting some little bottles of Octane booster.....
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Visionary
Posts: 1484
LaPorte,Tx. | Trixie, my thought on the 87 octane is that your gas is pre-paid, so they want to make sure they are not going to loose money on the deal. Enjoy the ride. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| woops my bad. I believe most auto parts stores sell a tablet you can drop in your fuel tank which allow you to run low octane as it provides a boost. Can't remember what its called but I know a bunch of folks run these in HD's and Victory's, have for years without any ill effects. They last quite a while so I imagine one in the tank should last at least a season of riding. Hope this helps. |
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Tourer
Posts: 537
, FL United States | Trixie you posted a good question. I would talk to your service tech and see what they would suggest. You don't want to do anything that will void your warranty. I don't think using the octane boost would hurt but you never know. If you do ask your service tech please tell us what he says. |
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Gas Octane?
