What grade gasoline are you using?

[CycleRob]

Premium gasoline that the R1200R requires is really expensive now. It's supposed to be able to use Regular gas in an emergency, but how about all the time? Inquiring minds want to know. Your vote is anonymous so please tell the truth.

[lucagoa]

Just a question. In Italy (as far as I know) we do have 98 oct and 95 oct. Is it ok 98 premium and 95 plus?
Thanks
Luca

[Enjoy-Rider]

An octane of 98 is required but I mostly use Shell V-Power, which has an octane of 97 in the Netherlands.
Sometimes 98 and very sometimes (rarely) 95.
It is expensive anyway, so therefor I'd rather use the best for my "baby"

In the Netherlands the price of V-Power 97 is € 1,65 /liter = $ 2,43 /liter = $ 9,20 /US gallon
I remember 15 years ago when I was in the States a US gallon gasoline costed me $ 1,27 /gallon (by the way do you still count in gallons???)
How much is it nowadays?

[outnabout]

I use premium all the time, but on two occasions I have had to use regular grade. If you do the math filling up with premium vs regular grade costs about $2 more per fill up, not exactly a deal breaker on a relatively expensive piece of equipment. The bike can compensate for the lower octane fuel, but you may lose performance and fuel economy. Lower grade fuels also tend to have more particulates that can cause fuel system issues especially if you don't run your tank to empty occasionally.

[AllanCook]

I use the highest grade I can get. The difference is usually 25 cents a gallon between the highest and lowest grades, so at most I pay a dollar more. It's a no-brainer.

[VintageDirt]

I use the "mid" grade because as I understand it, you don't need as high an octane at higher altitudes (Albuquerque is at 5000')

[famousperson]

An octane of 98 is required but I mostly use Shell V-Power, which has an octane of 97 in the Netherlands.
Sometimes 98 and very sometimes (rarely) 95.
It is expensive anyway, so therefor I'd rather use the best for my "baby"

In the Netherlands the price of V-Power 97 is € 1,65 /liter = $ 2,43 /liter = $ 9,20 /US gallon
I remember 15 years ago when I was in the States a US gallon gasoline costed me $ 1,27 /gallon (by the way do you still count in gallons???)
How much is it nowadays?

Yes, we're still stuck in the dark ages measurement-wise, and still use gallons. The cost of gas is hovering around $4.00/gal.

The book says use a minimum of 92. The mid-grade in Pittasburgh is 91. There is no question in my mind that I could use that without harm, but I use premium, anyway.

[texride]

use mid all the time-no difference in mpg between that and the higher priced spread.I live 20 miles from the Citgo plant so we should pay less just because the air is so bad. However,because of scale some of you probably pay less.9-1-2008 mid range is 3.65@ gallon.

[CharlieO]

I use premium gasoline only! Haven't had to use a lower grade so far and I don't intent to unless I have no alternative. I went in knowing it required premium so I have no problem with the extra cost. There are other bikes out there that use regular but they did not interest me. I don't like to compromise efficiency so I stay with premium fuel...I did not spend $1200 for my Remus header system and then worry about whether to use regular or premium. If you are worried about the cost of fuel get a bicycle!
Charlie "O"

[NeilS]

I use premium exclusively. I used to "cheat" on my electronically-controlled vehicles when regular was $1 a gallon and premium was 20¢ more. Now regular is $4 a gallon and premium is still 20¢ more. Not worth worrying about for a 5% difference.

[VintageDirt]

I'm not worried about the cost but if I don't need premium (bike does not knock or show effects of too low octane fuel) then why waste the extra money to gain nothing. The bikes fuel management system is not so sophisticated that it compensates for low octane fuel automatically (no knock sensors) so if I needed premium, I would know it.

Edit: I just noticed I'm in the R12R forum so I may be full of chit and didn't even know it.

[deilenberger]

I'm not worried about the cost but if I don't need premium (bike does not knock or show effects of too low octane fuel) then why waste the extra money to gain nothing. The bikes fuel management system is not so sophisticated that it compensates for low octane fuel automatically (no knock sensors) so if I needed premium, I would know it.

Edit: I just noticed I'm in the R12R forum so I may be full of chit and didn't even know it.

Well.. yeah. The hexheads have two knock sensors - one for each cylinder.

[VintageDirt]

Well.. yeah. The hexheads have two knock sensors - one for each cylinder.

That's what I get for coming in through the back door. I'll just sit here and shut-up now.

[Caroanbill]

I use 98 (RON) (super or ultra premium) whenever I can get it. In the backblocks I often have to make do with 95 RON (premium) - haven't had to resort to 91 RON (ordinary unleaded) yet. Those are the three grades available in Australia. To be honest, I can't notice much, if any, difference between 98 and 95 in ordinary riding. I feel guitly with 95 and I'll often fill early, or plans stops, to be sure of getting 98. 12:1 seems a high compression ratio so I worry a little ...

Ultra-premium 98 RON is hard to find away from major highways - and we've also had some availability problems since one of the major oil companies blew up its 98 production line. The majors also tend to limit availability of 98 to company-owned sites so the franchise sites in smaller towns don't get a 98 allocation. It got so bad that I even had to phone petrol stations before a charity rally to find out which places had 98 in stock ... the funny part is, they all cross-supply so you can never tell which major brand will have 98 in a given town .... and we have petrol stations closing off ultra premium on the cheap days (Tuesday here in Sydney) to preserve it for the weekend when prices are around 10% higher (oh, I wish I was kidding).

... but I run my F650CS on 91 or 95 about equally - it's in almost as high a state of tune with a compression ratio of 11.5:1 (40kw from 652cc, with my Staintune) - it shows no ill effects at all. Never use 98 in it because (as I understand it) the 98 is achieved through additives to 95, not through bettter refining.

[lucagoa]

I use 98 (RON) Never used 95. Even if it cost a little more I prefer to use it. One problem is that in Italy not always 98 is available.
Luca

[Johnny the W]

I always give my R1200R the best I can find, usually 93 Sunoco. For the 30 cents per gallon difference and using about 5 gallons on a bone dry fillup, it's only a buck and half more for the premium. I don't drink cheap beer either.

[Bill Stevenson]

One new wrinkle to add to this conversation is that here in the USA, with the leap in gas prices more people are using regular even if their vehicles were designed for premium. Consumer Reports advocates doing so and of course their advice is covered by the media and in consequence is followed by millions of people. In any event, sales of premium are way down throughout the country and many gas stations could be selling premium that is stale because it is not selling at normal rates. So for all of us who use premium it is important to buy it from a high volume station if at all possible.

What I had not thought of until composing this post is whether it would be better to buy fresh regular when out in a rural area rather than take a chance on stale premium.

BMW engine management systems will compensate for lower octane fuel, but the engines don't perform as well and retarding the spark (which is how compensation is accomplished) does cause the engines to run somewhat hotter. This is not a problem once in a while, but on a steady basis it would not be something I would want to do. My BMW car has the same issues and my car dealer sent a bulletin out notifying all their customers about this potential problem.

Bill

[NeilS]

Interesting point, Bill. Of course, this leads one to ask what constitutes "stale," and what are the logistics of fuel delivery to gas stations?

Is a station's tank 1) filled periodically, regardless of sales, 2) is it filled only when the level in the tank gets down to a certain level, or 3) is enough fuel added periodically to cover anticipated sales. If 1 or 3, and the delivery interval is short compared to the fuel's "lifetime," then there's probably nothing to worry about. If 2, we have a problem, which leads to the question of how does one identify a "high volume" station?

Finally, I've never seen any data relating to the decrease in fuel economy when you use regular in an engine designed for premium and the ECU rolls back the ignition advance. But it does seem plausible that fuel economy would drop off enough to offset the savings of switching to regular.

[Bill Stevenson]

High volume stations are generally not hard to identify. They are the ones that always seem busier because of location and favorable prices. Here in Florida most of the people are near the coasts, with a bunch of nothing just a few miles inland. I like to ride inland for that reason and it is a safe bet that inland areas, especially off the beaten path, are going to have lower volume sales than stations closer to the coast and in busy urban or suburban areas. In my area Costco (supplied by BP) sells a lot of gas because their price is lower than others in the area. Although this gas is not my favorite it is increasingly my choice because both the price and their sales volume almost certainly guarantees the gas is fresh at all times.

In terms of how and why station supplies are refilled, I speculate that it varies. (Perhaps one of the group knows more about this.) My guess is that smaller, independent stations probably order as needed and if they aren't selling much premium they are probably not ordering this grade as often as they did historically. Larger company owned stations, or those that are part of a chain or system (such as along the Florida Turnpike) with higher turnover probably have standing deliveries that show up on a regular schedule. In the latter case, the underground storage tanks would be likely to be topped up at every delivery.

[WhoZat]

Gas, as much as I use, regardless of price, grade, or availability..... is expensive.

That having been said, I haven't paid much attention for years now to what one station charges for THEIR gas as opposed to what a neighboring station charges. It is after all.... expensive.

So I stick the cheaper grade stuff in. I put it in my car, I put it in my bikes,
but I listen for tell tale signs that the grade of gas may not be up to the task.

So far, the ONLY obvious difference in gas is how my bikes perform on gas purchased in California -vs- gas purchased in Nevada. I get improved performance and economy with the Nevada gas.... regardless of grade (and yes, Nevada gas is expensive too).