Fuel for your scooter, say what?

[Glanceblamm]

My manual says that to get the best preformance, use the lowest octane fuel avalible that does not cause spark knock or detonation!
Strangely enough, a friend who has been running stock cars down the 1/8th mile strip for a lot of years confirms this!

I will run regular fuel in my bike but like to chose the stations that see a lot of buisness. My Harley friends have ran a blend of the Turbo-Blue with premium fuel in years past. It smells bad but smooths them right out.
I was going to try some Turbo-Blue (basically a 104 octane aviation fuel) in my Vulcan at one time but decided that the bike did not need any!
What say you?

[AtlLaw]

to get the best preformance, use the lowest octane fuel avalible that does not cause spark knock or detonation!

That is my understanding of the matter also.  Using a higher octane then this is just giving the oil companies money.     I did some research on this some years ago and at that time could have given you the reasoning behind my understanding.  But all that information is long gone from my memory...    Kinda like an ex girlfriend's bust size... useless details just don't matter anymore!   

[Badnews Bob]

Premium fuels require a higher compresion ratio to burn well (the flash point is higher) newer bikes and most cars have very low compresion ratio and are designed to run on low octane gas, Raising the octane will not make them run better. I have proved this many times at the dragstrip, Timeclocks don't lie a stock vehicle will run slower with high octane or raceing gas. 

BTW turbo blue racing fuel has lead in it and is bad for all newer vehicles. Unless you get rid of all the computer stuff and sensors.

[buck460XVR]

both my bikes have 10.1 to 1 compression........I tend to run 92/93 octane.

[Cheesehead]

Nothing but "regular" gas in my stock Fatboy. It runs great with this fuel.

Cheese

[mirage1988]

I posted on this subject a while back, and got torn a new one. Octane rating is the speed at which a fuel burns. The higher the octane- the slower it burns. If too low an octane rating fuel is used it will pre-ignite, also known as detonation, or knock. Engines are timed to fire the spark at a certain degree before the piston reaches TDC (top dead center) so that maximum cylinder pressure occurs just as the piston starts moving downward on the power stroke. Too high an octane rating- maximum cyl pressure occurs when the piston is already moving down in the bore= wasted power. The opposite happens when fuel is used that has an octane rating too low. The fuel either burns too quickly (detonation), or preignites (knock), both of which rob power, and kill your engine. Detonation and preignition are actually two different things. Preignition occurs when the compressed air in the cylinder gets hot enough that it makes the fuel burn before the spark plug fires,(as in a diesel engine) while detonation is the fuel actually detonates instead of burning rapidly. The best bet is to follow run what the manufacturer specifies if your motor is stock. If modified, then FOLLOW the engine builders recommendations. The bad thing about air-cooled engines is that what works here in minnesota won't work in arizona, etc.

P.S. (didn't we get on this subject in "colors...."?

P.P.S. (I still remember one exes bust size-whoweeee!)

[Glanceblamm]

Good reply's as I can relate to the higher compression-higher flash point (with premium) view point. (Thanks Bob)
I would usually run a couple tanks of the premium fuel through the Vulcan (just for principal) in the riding season but will probably stick with the regular fuel at the buisier outlets.

[wareagleguy]

I would think that a top end lube would be better than higher octane.  Try some marvals mistery oil or lucus top end lube to your next fill up.

[hillbill]

i ride 97 flht with a 96 inch s&s motor with 10 to 1 compression. at first i tried the high octane fuels and octane enhancers to reduce spark knock. nothing seemed to work. i ended up just learning not to crank on it below 26 or 2800 rpm. went back to regular fuel with no additives. well except a little stabilizer and a tad of marvel mystrey oil to keep the tank from rusting dureing the winter.did have a starting kickbak prob but that went away with a aftermarket starter.