Gotta love it!

The other day I pulled into the local Shell station to fill up my bike. When I looked over at the pump to swipe my card, I noticed that the previous person had put $50.00 even into his rig. After filling up for about $7.50, I'm reminded of one of the benefits of riding one of these bikes! :mrgreen:

 

Motion Lotion!

 

LOL...I'm not sure but that sounded SO wrong! :lol:

 

Try a google search :lol: Wrong but interesting

Back on topic, NZ$30 to fill up here, 19 litres with 370 km range. I have not filled the car in a while at 68 litres it would be NZ$111.

 

$16.25 Cdn to fill up here, just shy of 15 litres - 222 km range.
Still had 4 litres to go, I haven't pushed the limit to fumes yet!
Get tired of that darn flashing red light and head for the refill.

 

Its just under $12 for me to fill from bone dry (yes, I pushed it into the station.. Always remember to take it off reserve after you fill up! ). I rode down to Philly and back this weekend for about $14! That's at LEAST $100 worth in my truck!

 

My last fillup was $5.99. I usually fill my little 3.4 gallon tank every 100 Miles. I'll hit reserve at 120 miles. I'd love to find a good deal on a 750 tank to put on this thing.

 

Regular in Detroit is $2.87 / gal... I usually end up topping off once a week for just under $6.00.

Some much better than the Dodge which would be $75.00 for the 26 gal tank... and the Olds needs premium (for anti knock) $46.20 at $3.08 / gal

 

I just gassed up the 650, it was 7.50. Premium is at 3.21 in NW Wisconsin. I'd like to take it to Minnesota once to fill up with their cheaper gas, but the interstate is a boring ass drive.

Rick..
Motion Lotion was what we used when I swam in High school. It was a mix of like bengay and baby oil. shave your whole body, head and all, and then put that stuff all over. ohhhhh boy, does that ever make you burn and just fly through the water.

 

My last fillup cost $0 (top skim from sumping the avagas truck and storage tank). I put pump gas in it too about half the time but she runs nicely on the 100LL

 

So for our 25+ year bikes, does it make any difference if we use 87 or 96sih? I have always used 87, but a friend recently chewed me out for it.

 

I thought I saw a label under, or on the bottom of my 1981 XJ550 seat that said 91 was the min. But I havent ran my bike yet. We dont have computers or knock sensors. Im not sure what the compression ratio is for the 550.
I think that the octane rating has drifted, or the makeup of fuel has changed so that 87 today is not the same as 87 25 years ago. Try and learn. If your not pinging or detonating then there shouldnt be any issue.

Maybe your friend has stock in oil???

My experience:
I always get a kick out of people who HAVE to run 93 in thier street cars because it is 'better'. They are paying 30 cent a gallon more than the lowest grade (85 or 87 octane.) Usually we will find the owners manual or look online and prove that if it isnt specified to run the high test, then don't. Most of them who at least give it a try find better gas milage, at a lower cost.
DUH

Before the cost of fuel skyrocketed, I did a little experimenting.
In my stock Jeep Cherokee I did try the 92 or 93 (whatever we had back in 2002) just to see if the 1992 computer system would put it to good use or not. I did get 5mpg less fuel ecconomy and I believe it felt sluggish. the pep returned wiht lowe grade.

In my 1976 Datsun 280Z with a milled head, and electronic fuel injection and no knock sensor, I did try the various grades, also with poorer performance and fuel economy.

In my 1993 Ford Probe GT, there is a 'suggestion' to use the higher grade, and I did right before the price of fuel shot up in 2004. With increased fuel price, I tried the lower grades, and I could not tell the difference. I have never heard a ping or knock with 85 octane, and I do twist this motor to the redline.

I did not get to the drag strip with any of these to measure the performance difference in the fuel grades.

Does anyone recall the Shell TV adds several years ago? Where they gauranteed better milage? Over on the Jeep boards, I read one guy who did try in a late model Avalance with the mpg display and all that, and was deeply dissapointed. The Shell gas always costs more than everyone else, and he actually got lower economy. Even to try and avoid biasing his simple test, he filled it again and let his wife drive without knowing, and the result was the same.

Steve

 

Here in NZ we have gas rated on the RON system, it does not contain ethanol and is at 91, 95 and 98 RON.

Well I have tried the three grades in my XJ.

95 left the exhaust ports sooty but the bike ran OK.
98 fouled the sparkplugs so bad that after 20-30 miles the bike would not run.
91 seems to be cleaning things up and the more I ride the bike the better it seems to go, it even starts better.

Manual says Regular for all models except turbo.

Generally if your motor is high compression (over 10/1) or turbo or is very (before 1980) old regular should be used. High grades are a waste of money and provide no benifits.

 

I tried 93 in my bike once and didn't notice any difference by seat-of-your-pants.

Put 89 in my Subaru WRX (turbo, 9.5:1) and you could feel the knocking... had to get emergency octane boost

 

Yeah, Subaru's are very prone to knocking with the cheap stuff. I don't find any difference in my 650 so I just run the lower grade.

 

Just for S's and G's I put premium in the tank again (only $0.30 more), and this really isn't scientific, but it starts a bit quicker and warms up faster. Or maybe just being a detergent gasoline, it cleared out what little crud may have been in the fuel system that the inline fuel filter missed.

Oh, well, it's sunny and the bike is calling me...

 

I usually just use 89 and have no problems.

I can't believe you even tried 89 in your WRX! That is not good for the poor thing. I always run 93 in my WRX...especially since is it custom tuned for 93. I have a 91 tune for when I travel to areas that only have 91 or 92 octane. But it is impossible to tune out the knock which occurs by using anything lower than that.

 

That was back in 2003 when OPEC got all worried and prices shot sky high... I'll pay $6 for 110 race gas, not 93...

It only ran like that about a mile to Murray's to get the octane boost, after that I only used 93. Where do they use 91?

 

I have never got supreme
But I think it is 91 here in LG, Texas
Granted most folks cant afford regular much less supreme.
"Honey we cant eat dinner tonight cause we have to fill up tomarrow"
Hope those oily guys can sleep at night. Slipping and sliding in their oily silk sheets.

 

West Virginia and some remote sections of PA have 91. Oh, and CA and NJ to name a few.