Notes say Prestone 50/50. Seems to work well.

Fugedaboudit, black Caddies can't run on 87.

Not that anyone will ever read this but some of the stuff here I don't agree with. To set the record straight the higher the octane rating (86,89,91) the lower the combustion temperature. The reason for this is because higher octane fuel burns slower and more evenly. This is why it is used in higher compression and advanced ignition applications, to reduce detonation. I learned this with aircooled engines.

Oh, no, not this again.....LOL....That is like asking what are the best tires to run, or what is the best oil to use.....or is the black hawk really the fastest color, well of course it is....but as for the rest, I say, whatever helps you sleep at night, or keeps you up on two wheels....well there you have it, end of discussion, I guess we can just shut this board down now.....no, well I tried.....and I run 89/91 in my hawk.....and she runs great....Ting, tang

WHAT??????

Cliff your running Tang in your SuperHawk?

I guess a citrus smelling exhaust is better than smelling like french fries.

The dieters will appreiciate you.

Yup, bring a straw along on a long ride, and sip to cool off.....course be careful as the tank aint so big...means you can only get 90 miles out of a tank instead of 120....the compromises we make.....lol

It's a pretty low compression engine. That said, I use 89.

Any reason why you couldn't use 87? or is 89 better IYO.... Besides I use SEAFOAM every few tank fills....I've heard you can add some to the oil as well, what do you think about that?? I use a synth oil currently....

87 would probably be fine. As I said, compression is fairly low so the risk of detonation is low. I'm merely reporting what I do. I'd have trouble saying honestly that it made sense.

after experimenting with 89 and 91 octane in my VTR when I first bought it, I now feed it a steady diet of 87 octane (or 89 if it is an ethanol blended fuel ) and it runs fine for the street. Going to a higher octane for everyday riding is not only more expensive (wasting $$$$), but you actually lose power as a result. While obviously not a VTR, testing on a 700 cc two-stroke snowmobile engine out of a Ski-Doo MXZ 700 (designed to run on 87 octane and putting out @ 120 hp) a few years back by some friends netted a loss of 2 hp when switching to the high-test.

cheers
Mikstr

I like to use 112 octane it's only $8.00 a gallon and smells sweet as honey. :lol: Sorry, I did use it once at the track when I asked if they had gas there because I didn't want to leave and come back. He got about 3/4 full when I asked how much it was and almost threw up! Worst $40 I've ever spent.

ROTF LMAO.....That is worse than airplane fuel...my buddy has a plane and it is like $4.58 per gallon....wow....

Worst thing was it didn't make it run better it actually leaned out!:evil: But the fumes could give you a nice buzz though.:confused:

Shweet.....high flyin.....better than shroons??

Kinda gives you a headache after a while though, blech!

ahem, could we stick to the topic at hand please......BLAH!!!! sorry couln't resist....

Errr right as if. :lol:

Blah.....

I think we're all in agreeance, as Fred Durst would say, that 87 is fine for our relatively low compression hawk motor; and also that our minds play tricks on us saying that 89 is better, and 93 is way better.

I actually used 93 for the first tank or two, then switched to 89; and now I'm trying to let go and just give the toddler 87.

950 miles and counting...

Has anyone else been using the E10 (Ethenol gas)?

Did the gas start to cause any issues with the way your vehicle runs...rough idle loss of power?

Hawaii recently started on the E10 band wagon and many of us have noticed some issues I think are related to fuel. A lot more carburator work is turning up at the repair shops here too. I'm trying to see if there is some cause and effect related to the change over in gas at the pumps. It may be coincidence but among the carb jobs are two Super Hawks and 2 F3s that just had the carb done and worked fine prior to the E10 switch.

We have it here in MD. I haven't noticed the bike running any differently. My mileage varies so much from different routes and different rides with different riders that I can't comment on the fuel consumption issue.

I run 92-93 (premium) all of the time. Partially this is because I've actually had pinging with lower grades. Power was noticeably down. I'm running a +4° advancer, but I noticed this before it was installed. The biggest reason is that I feel it doesn't varnish up as bad or leave as many deposits in the carbs. I used to always use Amoco Ultimate until BP ruined it.

Like Loco said, it's y money and I feel premium is best for my baby.

any gas with alcohol in it will dry up the rubber peices in carbs not designed to take alcohol.

Sure, but manufacturers have been designing their stuff to use E10 for years now.