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Octane

6045 Views 12 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  Warprints
Just wondering what octane fuel everyone is using. Manual calls for 90 or better on my 2013. So that's what I have used so far but I might give midgrade 89 a try on my next tank
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93 and i will wont try any lower because can cause Engine knocking.
I don't ride a bike for fuel economy so I run 93 also.
95 gasoline when I can find it but thanks to the Thai government we have mostly gasohol all over the place, so 95 gasohol is sometimes the only option. I hate gasohol, false economy. It may cost less but it burns quickly and you don't go nearly as far per fill up.
I still run super unleaded myself. But if you get the Ivan's ECU flash, you can run regular unleaded fuel.
Running 91 here in California. Occasionally I'll be forced to fuel up at a rural gas station with only 85 and I have run that with no problems as well.
It doesn't use much spend the extra 80 cents. If you are in rural america.. put enough into it to get you to better fuel... don't run it hard.. if you knock it will retard the timing..

Winter mix is heavy with alcohol so your mileage will drop - but will make it hard to detonate.. cold weather (i have heard) can also reduce detonation and allow you to run lower octane.
Low octane for me every time. Never had a knock issue on this bike. No need to go higher unless you do. Despite common believe, higher octane does not equal higher performance or higher cleanliness of the engine.
93 here as well...

Guy at the bike shop said that bike "likes lowest octane grade gas so no 93 octanes needed" ... ummm no thanks...

V-power mostly in my car and now in my bike as well :)
Run highest available at the pump.
A buddy of mine who's kids raced MX with mine also was also into drags and stock cars. Said he did a test once with high and low octane gas to test the actual octane level. Said the high octane tested below the said level and closer to lower level octanes. Problem is premium gas at most svc stations sits below ground too long cause not many people use it. As it sits, it's octane decrease. But with low octane gas, it gets used the most thus the undergrd tanks are refilled more often thus retaining it's advertised octane. Has merit and makes sense. Never pursued this more myself so just saying by throwing this out there FYI.
First thing is that octane isn't measured the same way in the US as it is in other countries, so just asking what number people run won't really work...

For the US, the 2k12 (what I have) is designed for an octane ((ron+mon)/2 also known as AKI) of 90 . In other parts of the the world it may have a different octane rating as it's measured differently.

Anyway, that is the minimum rating to have BUT going extremely over that is just going to make your wallet lighter..

For example, generally available fuel where I am is 87, 89 and 91 octane. I can find 100, 105, and 110 octane fuel but that'll run double the price per gallon to 5x the price of typical fuel.

So, since the N1k is already designed for the higher octane fuel that most US pumps carry this isn't a big concern. Running a lower octane than what the engine is designed/tuned for means you run the rick of pre-detonation when the conditions are right (or wrong) like lower elevations, higher heat etc. It doesn't mean it will happen but it means the motor is designed/tuned to where it can happen if you use fuel with too low of an octane rating.

And, just for a data point, I use 91 octane and I'm in the southwest us where it does get over 110F.

~Mark
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I use 93 octane - around here, the lowest octane above the recommended level. Always use first Top Tier Detergent Gasolines - they have higher levels of detergents. Also, some premium fuels have more detergents than the same brand regular or mid level gasoline. For a few cents more, why not?
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