Regular or Premium in the Hawk?
guru of things sparky
SuperSport
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 599
From: Grand Prairie , Texas
Oh sorry wrong argument. 
there I think I'm done now.
Member
Squid
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 46
From: Northern Colorado
Also, one of the kings of Israel was into British bikes. "The roar of David's Triumph was heard throughout the land."
Moses was a little rev-happy, apparently, as he threw a rod in the desert... some argue that he converted to a Shelby guy, since the rod turned into a snake, but that's up for interpretation.
God was a Mopar guy. "The Lord drove Adam and Eve out of the garden in his Fury."
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 963
From: Sunshine Coast, Australia
If I may. While I realise the VTR is a four-stroke, years ago, when the Ski-Doo MXZ700 twin cylinder two-stroke snowmobile came out (Rotax engine, 2000), the mfr called for 87 octane (this was an engine putting out 122 hp out of 699 cc). Dyno tests (same dyno, same day) showed that running 91 octane (as opposed to 87) resulted in a 2 hp loss (not major but significant nonetheless). Barring detonation issues (which I have never experienced), I am not certain I want to pay more money for less performance.
I also recall reading in one of the dirt bike rags (Dirt Bike or Motocross Action) they did a comparo of 87, 89 and 91 octane. The ran the bikes for some time on each type and tore the engines apart to look at the insides. They found the 91 resulted in residue on various parts, the best being the 89 octane. Not sure how relevant this still is but it made for an interesting read.
Last point. I recall from my time working in the petroleum industry that the profit margins for premium were MUCH higher (cost to produce was higher by 1.5-2 cents per litre but price at teh pump was 12 cents higher, the spread being.... profit). Any wonder they heavily promote premium as being the cure-all for engines? Food for thought.
I also recall reading in one of the dirt bike rags (Dirt Bike or Motocross Action) they did a comparo of 87, 89 and 91 octane. The ran the bikes for some time on each type and tore the engines apart to look at the insides. They found the 91 resulted in residue on various parts, the best being the 89 octane. Not sure how relevant this still is but it made for an interesting read.
Last point. I recall from my time working in the petroleum industry that the profit margins for premium were MUCH higher (cost to produce was higher by 1.5-2 cents per litre but price at teh pump was 12 cents higher, the spread being.... profit). Any wonder they heavily promote premium as being the cure-all for engines? Food for thought.
In Australia the better quality fuels, that have the best chemical blend, also happen to be the higher octane fuels. Do we need higher octane? No. But better quality fuel giver better power output and burn cleaner in your engine.
This was explained to me by a chemical engineer that worked for one of the largest fuel companies in Australia. He was a car and bike enthusiast and owned a VTR.
I could tell the difference between ethanol blended and non-blended fuels in my Suzuki when I tried it. It was not as smooth with the ethanol in it. No doubt about it. Both of them were 95 octane fuels, so the octane rating was not a factor. I won't use ethanol blended fuels now after that experiment.
Carnivore
Back Marker
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 131
From: Canada
Here is the experiment we did to resolve this conundrum in my head once and for all. I encourage you all to try it if you are interested but it answered the question in my head for my specific bike.
A buddy took my bike to the gas station near the corner of my house to fill it up every time. Once there, he was to ask the first person he saw to randomly choose which octane would go in the tank. After he filled it up, he would record the octane used, current mileage, reset the odometer and return to my house. Not knowing what octane I was running, I would then take back the bike and we went for a ride until the tank was nearly empty. At this point I would critique how I felt the bike performed. The process was started all over again until all octane’s had been used.
In the end, I found I could not tell the difference performance wise however I did get slightly better mileage with, believe it or not, mid grade octane. Keep in mind though these results are specific to my bike using gas from the station near my house.
A buddy took my bike to the gas station near the corner of my house to fill it up every time. Once there, he was to ask the first person he saw to randomly choose which octane would go in the tank. After he filled it up, he would record the octane used, current mileage, reset the odometer and return to my house. Not knowing what octane I was running, I would then take back the bike and we went for a ride until the tank was nearly empty. At this point I would critique how I felt the bike performed. The process was started all over again until all octane’s had been used.
In the end, I found I could not tell the difference performance wise however I did get slightly better mileage with, believe it or not, mid grade octane. Keep in mind though these results are specific to my bike using gas from the station near my house.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,611
From: Belgium, WI
I keep typing and then realizing that I really don't care what someone thinks their joe rocket boots feel like while riding with 87,91,93,95, etc octane. Who cares?! use whatever the hell gives you wood.
guru of things sparky
SuperSport
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 599
From: Grand Prairie , Texas
Remember that mid grade is many times a mix of the two other grades.
And in many formulations, and i dont know why, mixing unleaded and super made a blend that ran better in our motocross race bikes when we didnt use racing gas.
And in many formulations, and i dont know why, mixing unleaded and super made a blend that ran better in our motocross race bikes when we didnt use racing gas.
Member
Squid
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 42
From: New Jersey
fuel type
Well after reading all this stuff I tired to check it out myself and put regular in the 'hawk for a change. I feel like the engine is smoother revving on regular for the most part, but I did notice a lot more "pings" when tooling around town. Im going to finish the tank out before I make my decision but I have a feeling my next tank will be premium.
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,708
Also remember that low grade has the highest turn over at whatever gas station you go to = fresher fuel.
Who knows how long the premium has been in their tanks. 
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 10
From: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
I see the thread is old now but....WOW !! 87, 89, 91, 92... how many types of gas do you guys have in the United states?? Here in Bulgaria (and in whole europe as general) we have 95 and 100 octanes only!!! It is unnecessary high octane for the Hawk and expensive as ***** 
I "google calculator"-ed a little and calculated price here is $5.70 per gallon. Wish I lived there...... 
I "google calculator"-ed a little and calculated price here is $5.70 per gallon. Wish I lived there......
Last edited by Type T; Apr 20, 2010 at 10:32 AM. Reason: spelling
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,132
From: Phoenix, AZ
I see the thread is old now but....WOW !! 87, 89, 91, 92... how many types of gas do you guys have in the United states?? Here in Bulgaria (and in whole europe as general) we have 95 and 100 octanes only!!! It is unnecessary high octane for the Hawk and expensive as ***** I "google calculator"-ed a little and calculated price here is $5.70 per gallon. Wish I lived there......
I "google calculator"-ed a little and calculated price here is $5.70 per gallon. Wish I lived there...... So your 95 is about the same as our 91.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,132
From: Phoenix, AZ
Going Mach Chicken
Squid
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 48
From: Littleton, CO
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 987
From: San Diego, CA
Makes sense. I used to run 87 octane, but after modding the windscreen, I've had to run premium.
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 18
Well i have only put one tank of fuel into my 99-SH and was looking for some advice on fuel grade-- i'll try Reg grade - but my question is - will the grade of fuel - smooth out low speed response - my SH is a bit rough at 2500
just a note - i have a 2000 Dodge van and i always ran 86 in it and about 50,000 mi it started pinging so i went to 89 , and it went away - and about 70k it started pinging again so i went to 93 , and it runs fine -- the Dodge dealer said it needed new injectors , and de carbon the heads -- how much ? 800-1000$ well reg gas is 2,60 and 93 is 20cents more --$10 a tank more--
thats 80 tank fulls --
just a note - i have a 2000 Dodge van and i always ran 86 in it and about 50,000 mi it started pinging so i went to 89 , and it went away - and about 70k it started pinging again so i went to 93 , and it runs fine -- the Dodge dealer said it needed new injectors , and de carbon the heads -- how much ? 800-1000$ well reg gas is 2,60 and 93 is 20cents more --$10 a tank more--
thats 80 tank fulls --
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Reason
Technical Discussion
1
Aug 20, 2012 10:13 AM
