Do I Get High Octane Fuel When I Buy It?

[Ithel]

Thanks for the link. Not sure ethanol-free matters as much for me as my Triumph is my commuter vehicle, but very useful for my daughter's car which sometimes sits a month at a time.

 

[sikatri]

Thanks for the link. Not sure ethanol-free matters as much for me as my Triumph is my commuter vehicle, but very useful for my daughter's car which sometimes sits a month at a time.

I started filling all my vehicles with ethanol free and they seem to react better. I have a 1996 Ford Thunderbird, a 2009 MINI JCW and my 2005 Triumph. I have some extra cans which I keep filled, can use them on any of the vehicles since they are all running the same gas. The plus is, I don’t need to worry about the water moisture buildup.

 

[Popeye212]

Reminds me of a guy I knew that was convinced Rocky Road ice cream was a conspiracy to cheat him of getting the full amount. Claimed they put marshmallows in there because they are mostly air. Therefore he got cheated on the amount of ice cream he actually received.....

 

[DoorPosition]

I’d say even if there was a remnant amount left in the hose the overall impact once you fill the tank is minimal. Gasoline at any retail octane level these days is at an all time high clean level.

Not really something to worry about.

 

[speedrattle]

Probably my ignorance showing here, but for a year I've been buying 93 octane fuel at the pump. But it occurs to me that with such a small tank (typical refill for me is 3 gallons), aren't I just getting whatever fuel is already in the hose from the last guy to buy at that pump with maybe just a little bit of higher octane fuel toward the end? Am I just throwing money away? Someone who knows correct me if my assumption about US fuel pumps is wrong. Thanks.

in the old days i had friends who would fuel their minibikes for free by draining the fuel from all the shut-off hoses at the local service station.

more relevant for you might be whether your machine actually needs the higher octane. what is the bike? does it have fuel injection, electronic ignition advance, etc? does it detonate on lower octane fuel?

i ride a 1972 T120 with 9.5 to 1 compression and a primitive two-valve hemi head. it used to detonate on anything less than 94 octane leaded premium at 38 BTDC. i drilled the head for two more spark plugs, retarded the spark to 30, and now it runs happily on 87.

 

[brooke]

Is that done often ? Can Am trail bikes had 2 plugs in the seventies and they weren’t the only ones . Just one wire though . Race bikes had just one plug but I drilled out the vacant spot for a decompressing device which was the hot thing to do for flat tracking , turned out to be useless . When using a 2 plug head was not a good idea to have one hotter one to do slow stuff with . Even when not hooked up it created a hot spot in the head

 

[speedrattle]

well, my 72 T120 has run twin plugs now for well over thirty years. one is a 14mm and the other is 12mm. i use a boyer mk 3 thats just as old which fires all four plugs at once. its faster now than it was with single plugs.

i have another machine with a 73 head that ive had drilled for two 10mm plugs. i run 11.75 to 1 compression on that, with a magneto and fixed 30 advance. using a magneto requires diode-equipped forked spark plug wires, also firing four plugs every 360. but the magneto does okay. i currently am installing a trionix ognition from australia that fires four plugs without a waste spark. we ll see how that works.

BMWs and harleys used to get drilled for twin plugs pretty regularly. its an excellent way to improve combustion and retard the onset of detonation.

 

[brooke]

Thanks for the update rattle , really enjoyed it . Apparently there is a new auto engine on the go with an extra sparkler but I can’t remember who it belongs to . No doubt an emissions and mileage related development as things continue to evolve in that industry . My friends new Volvo sedan has a super charger and a turbo , how crazy is that ?
Your mention of the 360’s reminded me of Joe Bolger’s Honda twingle , a 325 cc I imagine , not sure if it was a scrambler or a short tracker . A wasted sparker for sure though .

 

[sikatri]

Thanks for the update rattle , really enjoyed it . Apparently there is a new auto engine on the go with an extra sparkler but I can’t remember who it belongs to . No doubt an emissions and mileage related development as things continue to evolve in that industry . My friends new Volvo sedan has a super charger and a turbo , how crazy is that ?
Your mention of the 360’s reminded me of Joe Bolger’s Honda twingle , a 325 cc I imagine , not sure if it was a scrambler or a short tracker . A wasted sparker for sure though .

The turbo supercharger works in an interesting way. One for the low end and the other top end. People usually complain about a turbo lag on the low rpm’s. I don’t notice it much on my MINI which is turbocharged. I heard about these combinations years ago.

 

[Leroys73]

FYI: American Motorcyclist Association is firmly against E15 (15% ethanol) or greater % of ethanol to be dispensed through the same hose as E10. They say with our small tanks, thus small refills, there is a chance we end up with over the 10% ethanol our motorcycles, or any small engine) are certified to run on.
check their site: American Motorcyclist Association - American Motorcyclist Association

 

[speedrattle]

my local station used to have a race gas pump with 110 leaded premium, until about two years ago. then they switched the tank to 93 non-ethanol. just a month ago it became 89 non-ethanol. it dors have a dedicated hose.

i have a fibreglas tank on my 70 commando, and the fuel issue is becoming serious. i cant run any kind of alcohol fuel without destroying the tank. i buy high octane racing gasoline for my LSR, but its over US$100 for a five gsllon can.

dunno what ill do about the norton. its a blast to ride.

 

[sikatri]

my local station used to have a race gas pump with 110 leaded premium, until about two years ago. then they switched the tank to 93 non-ethanol. just a month ago it became 89 non-ethanol. it dors have a dedicated hose.

i have a fibreglas tank on my 70 commando, and the fuel issue is becoming serious. i cant run any kind of alcohol fuel without destroying the tank. i buy high octane racing gasoline for my LSR, but its over US$100 for a five gsllon can.

dunno what ill do about the norton. its a blast to ride.

Can you get a spare metal tank for the Norton?

 

[speedrattle]

yes, and i suppose ill eventually have to do that. the ones from india are the most inexpensive, and if you buy from one of the reputable suppliers they mostly fit okay. abou US$200 to $300. my 1970 has a 1969-spec tank held on by rubber bands. not as common.

nice looking machine. the roman purple metalflake is how it came.

 

[brooke]

My Shell is still E Free in all octanes but most others “ may contain “ in the lower numbers . 2024 Tiger manual says 91 octane for all models , 850 sport an obvious miss print , was 87 .

 

[brooke]

Think I was wrong . The 850 sport is available as a ‘ 24 model using 87 octane . Other 2024 Tigers have 13/1 compression and require 91 .

 

[normrep]

Yes, this. Regardless of the octane at least there’s be no ethanol which is more critical over long periods of inactivity. Ethanol attracts water moisture.

Here in Indiana we have "recreational fuel" available which is ethanol free. It is rated 90 octane. The 2001 Tiger 955i runs pretty good on it and as others have said it attracts less moisture over periods of inactivity. The cost is $.10 more per gallon than 93 octane but not available everywhere. Ah yes...which gas to use. The perennial question

 

[brooke]

What are they thinking , someone in the government doesn’t know what they’re doing .
Checked the Honda generator manual today , recommends 86 e but warns it will ruin the things .