good morning everyone

[arkladave]

The repairs to the lid on my saddlebag went really well. The trim strip fit nice and clean looking. Side cover, not so much. But I was able to put together the pieces that I still have. I read one of the posts about leaded and unleaded. My xs calls for leaded, so in order to get better lubrication to the valve guides, I put a shot of slick 50 in the tank when I fill up instead of a lead substitute. I've used it in lots of engines, but on bikes, it's not good for the clutches. Every so often, I get some high octane racing fuel from the local oil company, add some 50 to the tank. Man what a ride, she runs strong. Hang on tight and ride safe.

[dbeardslee]

I've been running unleaded in mine since the day I bought it, and never had a problem. I also run regular 87 octane gas. There's a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to octane, and a lot of folks seem to think that higher octane means more power. Octane is actually a measure of the compressibility of gas, not it's "explosiveness." You generally want to run the lowest octane you can without getting pre-ignition. XS's don't have such high compression that you need high octane gas, and from my experience the additives they put in gas to increase the octane rating tends to foul plugs and just generally gums stuff up.

The one thing I do add to my gas religiously is 1 oz. of acetone to five gallons of gas. It's supposed to reduce the surface tension of gas and make it atomize more easily. I'm sure some folks will dispute that, but I have found when using it in my chipper there's a noticeable difference in how it goes through tree branches with acetone and without. It hasn't done any harm in my XS, and I'm convinced 'ole Betsy runs better with the acetone. But again - only 1 oz to five gallons. More is not better, and may actually be worse.

[Wildkat]

Good morning!

I use regular unleaded in mine and she seems to love it. Regularly get around 40 mpg and she runs great. I figure if what you're doing works for you and isn't ruining the system, you're good to go.

Interesting about the acetone. Now that it's bike polishing season (always), I don't need it for removing fingernail polish anymore. I can't keep the stuff on anyway. Carp, I can barely keep my nails.

[dbeardslee]

Interesting about the acetone. Now that it's bike polishing season (always), I don't need it for removing fingernail polish anymore. I can't keep the stuff on anyway. Carp, I can barely keep my nails.

LoL . My ex-wife was truly blessed in the fingernail department. She grew 'em so hard that, when it came time to cut 'em off, she'd keep the clippings and give them to her sisters. They'd glue them on just like fingernail extensions.

As far as fingernail polish remover - it's not just acetone in a lot of nail polish removers. They often contain some water, fragrance, and some other stuff. I just buy gallon cans of straight acetone at the hardware store. Costs about $15 for a gallon, which is cheaper in the long run. 8 oz. of pure acetone nail polish remover runs about $5. There's 128 oz. in a gallon, so at that price a gallon would run you about $80.

My brother works for Cincinnati Container Service, and he gets me these little 1 oz. polypropylene bottles and I just dump one in the standard tank every other fill up. I rarely go above 2-3 gallons on a fill up, and the little bottles make it easy to put it in the tank without any spillage. Which is important 'cause acetone is an excellent paint remover. Also important to have the right kind of plastic in the bottles 'cause acetone will eat certain types of plastics. But with the little bottles my bro gets I just put one (or a couple if I'm going a long distance) in my pocket and I'm good to go.

[arkladave]

I've never heard of putting acetone in the tank. My first concern would be spilling some and eating the paint off. It's worth a try, if it works for you, great. My tank had a lot of rust inside when I first bought the bike. So, for me, the oil also helps keep the tank from getting rust and corrosion inside. As for the racing fuel, I can tell a big difference in power when I run it. Really helps blow out the crud. Ride safe, keep it under 90. Yeah right.

[CaptonZap]

http://www.pureenergysystems.com/new...00069_Acetone/

[CaptonZap]

And now, the rest of the story,

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/acetone.asp

[dbeardslee]

I never noticed much difference in fuel mileage with acetone, but I do notice a difference in throttle response. Where I really noticed a difference was in my chipper. Branches that would tend to lug it down with plain gas it would chew right through with a little acetone. I run it in my lawnmower too. Same deal as the chipper - tall grass that would start to lug the motor on regular gas doesn't when it's got a little acetone in it. At for a cost of about $.12 for 5 gallons treated, I've been pleased with the results.

[STEPPENWOLF]

I just run the cheapest gas I can find.

[motoman]

I just run the cheapest gas I can find.

.......and bettin' it works just fine. Actually, 85 or at most, 87 octane regular is best for these ole' lower compression motors. High octane premium does NOT ignite more efficiently nor fully, like some tend to believe! Ultra high compression motors actually need the less fully efficient ignite/burn in order to lesson pre-ignition(knocking).

[BA80]

.......and bettin' it works just fine. Actually, 85 or at most, 87 octane regular is best for these ole' lower compression motors. High octane premium does NOT ignite more efficiently nor fully, like some tend to believe! Ultra high compression motors actually need the less fully efficient ignite/burn in order to lesson pre-ignition(knocking).

+1.......my 79 engine HATES high octane. Feels sluggish with it.

[motoman]

+1.......my 79 engine HATES high octane. Feels sluggish with it.

Yeppers........back in '81 when my Venturer was new, two up on LD rides, using leaded premium(leaded fuel was still common) not only dropped LD mileage from 46mpg to 36-38mpg, but passing reasonably quick on a two lane road required dropping down a gear instead of just pulling the pass in fifth gear.......lesson learned even way back then. I've since, decades later studied the reasoning why....duh.