which gas?

[brew]

i have always thought that the highest octane gas was the best. recently my friend put 87 (which is what is supposed to be used per the manual) in his tank instead of the normal 91 octane. well, he got better gas mileage and of course it was cheaper.

what kind of gas does everyone use? it's getting tough out here in cali with the high gas prices. im sure everyone is feeling the crunch. what are your thoughts on different gas octanes?

[bikerphil]

$4+ gas

I'm pretty sure these engines are designed to use 91 octane. I use 93, for an extra 80 cents a tank, it's worth it to me. My bikes ping with the cheaper gas (87+89) when I get on the throttle hard.

[JustJeff]

Pump Gas......?

I can't run on pump gas.

If you think $4 is bad try $7.62

116 octane leaded Sunoco Maximal.

It's expensive, but my girl deserves the best.

Jeff

[oldyam80sg]

I have always put the best stuff that i could buy in my bikes.My 99 ZRX- i dread the thought of putting in a low octane gas.

[Paintman]

Pingless

i run 91 in the XS or it will ping up in the hills and when hot and i run 94+ in my CBR1000 or it gets testy. and like jeff says i ahve to run race gas in the one car have to with 20lbs of boost.

John

[NemisusDM]

My bike hates the higher octane. It's sluggish and wastes gas on anything higher than 89. I use 87 most of the time though.

[wa407mpp]

Go to the Articles section and read them, this bike was designed to run on low octane fuel, if you are running anything else you are probably waisting your money. Now! let the arguing begin.

[The Lorax]

I voted 89, primarily because I'm still experimenting with different fuel grades. I use 92, runs pretty good. I ran that almost exclusively after I finished putting the engine, and trans abck together, but late last season, I started expeimenting with different grades of fuel. I havent noticed any detrements or benifits to speak of with any particular grade of gasoline. but the jury is still out. I need to run a week or two on each and see which one my bike likes best and that is the one I will use. have a nice day and ride safe

[mro]

nock...nock ...nocking on XSheaven ...

ALL my stocker XSes have a "knock" from the so called "gas" we get to purchase here in CA CA land.

Played with float heights on my G and was able to richen it up that the 'knock" diminished noticeably but performance was diminished too

Most noticeable when accelerating medium+++....
Mileage is pretty much the same between fuel grades but engine is quiter with the 91.

Some day plan to play with the timing to see if it can improve some that has been lost with the current "blended fuels" available here. Will also include cam timing on a stock XS when I get around to it.


mro

[red bandit]

I use 87, runs great. I tried 93, the only diff. I saw was in my wallet.

[wingnut]

Mine runs fine on regular except in the summer heat. Then I use the mid range for a little more protection. Problem is the regular is fresher due to the volume of it that is sold.

[Dragon Tamer]

I pretty much use the regular, mainly because with a multi-fuel pump at the station with only one hose on it you will get a third of a tank or more of the regular that the last guy was pumping before the premium gets through the hose.
She runs great on just about anything that I feed her. As per a thread I read on here quite some time back I have retarded the timing about a degree and the pinging went away and I have never seen a difference in performance.

[DJinNH]

I'll have to give the 89 a try as I have been using 93 in my bike. For my Dodge RAM, HEMI 5.7, I use the 89. If I use the 87, it runs like crap so I thought the same would be the case for my bike.

Don

[JustJeff]

Stock timing marks

Some of you having a problem with pinging may want to check the accuracy of your timing marks with a degree wheel.

I have found most to be either inaccurate from the factory or have become that way because of the flimsy pointer. I have found them to be as much as 5 degrees off.

If you correct the problem with the pointer and reset your timing (this time to where it is suppose to be) you may find your pinging goes away.

After all stock XS11 engines don't have that much compression. They should run on just about anything from a gas pump. Rather they are affected more by the quality of the blend from the pump. There are hundreds of different blends of fuel being sold across the country. The differences in these fuels will have more to do with performance than the octane does.

Jeff

[CarolynS]

I may regret this but...

I've been in the gas biz most of my life. My father is the Supervising Engineer of ARCO, and I began driving tankers in 1990, working in the oil fields before that.
Like Coke and Pepsi, fuel suppliers have their own recipes.
That is what makes their particular brands. Most gasoline sold at gas stations is loaded at several terminals that serve many brands. Injector units put in the particular recipes as the fuel is loaded depending on what account it is ordered under.
Depending upon what region of the US you live in, different guidlines are used as to what 'kind' of gas is sold. Here in MA, we use ethanol at a 10% ratio, and that mix cannot be sold in NH-that rule may have changed since I retired-but ethanol will make a difference in performance as will other factors such as detergents, and other additives.
In 1978, regular gasoline-leaded-was the standard. These engines were based on that product. Now leaded is only sold for off-road use, namely in boats, and that is always 89 octane with blue dye.
As for 89 octane, in my experience at this time in history, it is a 2/3 1/3 mix done at the station by a mixing unit underground. I could give you the exact formula and table for when it is 'splash' blended at the terminal, but why? The only reason it is 'splash' blended by the driver when loading is to save the 1/2 cent it costs to mix it before loading. Most stations make so little profit from the sale of gas, and the costs of underground storage tanks are so high, that they have removed their 89 tank, or changed it over to 87 in order to buy larger volume of Unleaded and save costs. The amount of maintainence and the costs of such with underground storage would turn your hair white-especially if the tank somehow leaked. Remediating a contamination is a horror and can put a station out of business quick. Most tanks here in MA are well over 20 years old, in my experience, and most station owners are scared that something will be found on their next inspection.
So, basically gas is gas. Branded is better than unbranded-but not by much. The individual machine and owner know what's best for it depending on the condition of the engine and how it's maintained. It is a personal preference all the way 'round really. If you don't take care of your bike-that's a personal preference too.
As for me, knowing what I know about gas, I only buy Shell 87, Sunoco 87 or Irving 87. No need for higher grades whether in my car or my bike. If you are experiencing pinging or other factors take a look at the gas pump next time-see if there's ethanol or some other 'cutting' agent put in-that could be the problem. If you live close to a state that doesn't require those agents-like I do. NH is only 2 miles away-go there and fill up if you can. Ethanol-basically moonshine really-will make for pinging for certain on a 30 year old engine. That could be the whole cause.
Just my 2 cents...