I always try and use 98 in my bikes, but in my ski's its a must these are 300hp supercharged engines with no knock sensors, one has a 6* timing advance and also higher boost pulley, I hate the extra cost because at £90.00 a tank that only lasts a few hours and that's if your easy on the throttle, its even more expensive when running both, but not as expensive as a melt down using 95 or less fuels. I treat my bikes and ski's to the best fuel because that is what is required in high performance engines, A fuel with a higher octane rating is less prone to auto-ignition and can withstand a greater rise in temperature during the compression stroke of an internal combustion engine without auto-igniting, thus allowing more power to be extracted. The opposite if you put lower graded fuel in a high performance engine you will loose power (if knock sensors fitted) as the engine timing will be retarded, (when working the bike or car hard) If no knock sensors fitted then you could cause meltdown!! simple I don't worry too much if i have put 95 in my bikes if just normal running, but would never put it in if i was doing a trackday and revving the arse out of it for long periods.
Batting across Germany last year en route to Brno, my brother and I would fill both bikes at the same time and take it in turns to pay for the fuel. When my brother pulled up first he insisted on going for V-power Racing 100 (at 1.95 euro per litre - gulp!) cos he reckoned his 1098 ran better on it, and when I pulled up first they got regular unleaded. So we were alternating between posh petrol and normal petrol, and riding at high speeds chasing mercs and porsches, and I could not detect even the slightest difference in performance between the two fuels. Quizzing my brother after the trip, he had to agree, there was no difference at all and he's stopped bothering with posh petrol. I'm not the sort of person to analyse my fuel consumption, but I could not notice any benefit in economy either (and the bike's computer agreed with me), so as far as I can make out, for road use the posher fuels are a total waste of money. Go ahead and fill yer boots with super dooper petrol if it makes you feel good, but be aware that any claims of superior performance or economy are spurious at best.
I'm not the sort of person to analyse my fuel consumption, but I could not notice any benefit in economy either (and the bike's computer agreed with me), so as far as I can make out, for road use the posher fuels are a total waste of money. Go ahead and fill yer boots with super dooper petrol if it makes you feel good, but be aware that any claims of superior performance or economy are spurious at best.[/QUOTE] correct, putting 98 octane fuel in your standard bike or car will not get you better economy nor better performance. However if it is tuned outwith standard I would recommend using 98. I.E chipped remapped, different cans and filters, running 98 will lower the chances of pre-detonation (fact)
I'd suggest you would have to do some fairly hefty tuning (ie altering compression ratios or valve timing) before it made any difference at all.
I tried posh petrol vs normal a couple of times both in the car and on the bike. The only difference I found was the price.
El Toro, your right you won't find any difference in performance or economy. The bike doesn't now weather its got super or normal unleaded in it, so runs the same cos that's all it can do.
