Couplea Questions...

[JWR]

My bike is a 2002 and the pipes are blue.
My buddy had a 2006 and his never did turn color.

There are polish and creams that claim to de-blue pipes, but I don't believe it.

[patrick_777]

Blued pipes are a badge. It's a sign that's it's been ridden. Almost all pipes (unless their double-plated) will blue to some extent.

Double-plated exhaust pipes have a layer of air between the metal which insulates the outside from the heat on the inside. It is pretty superficial, since the outer layer will still get hot enough to burn your skin off.

[mole2]

Originally Posted by sneakercat

Thanks for all the responses- I obviously have a lot of learning to do (for example, I had filled up my tank with 91 octane right before posting this- thinking, as mrlmd1 wisely stated, that we tend to think that if something's good, more of that thing must necessarily be better. Whoops. Lesson learned.

The stuff I got from cycle shop dude was Star Tron. I didn't see it mentioned here. Anyone ever hear of it/have experience with it? Reading up on it now, it supposedly is an enzyme treatment, which supposedly "cures ethanol fuel problems/increases power/improves fuel economy." The web site (http://mystarbrite.com/startron/) it looks an awful lot like a paid advertisement running at 0300. Unless I hear convincing evidence to the contrary, I'm not real keen on putting it in my bike anymore.

Did my first good washing and waxing today- even though it was friggin cold and my hands are chapped and raw, it felt great to look at my shiny bike, just begging to be ridden! Hey-is there any way to de-blue the tops of the exhaust pipes?

Star Tron is used in the marine world for problems with ethanol. That being said I've used Stabil in all the boats I've owned, in the motorcycle, in my lawn mower, my lawn tractor, my weed eater, my chain saw, my generator and every piece of power equipment I own except my car and truck. You never know when something may sit idle for various reasons. I add carb/FI cleaner at the beginning of the season, mid season and at the end of the season also to keep things clean. It doesn't hurt and it doesn't cost much. I've been doing it for as far back as I remember.


:biggrin:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by dhgeyer

so I use 92 or 93 pump octane, whatever is the highest the station has, and it runs fine. I know from the forums that some people run regular in the same model and claim to have no problems. I might try that when the engine is broken in better. It has a knock sensor, and anti-knock logic built into the timing/injection programing, so it may run fine on anything, depending on how effective the programing is.

Are you talking about the Beemer here.....I hope.
Sounds like you got a European manual.....as someone else has pointed out.
I'm sure it wouldn't be TOO hard to get the straight skinny from BMW. :roll: :biggrin:

I had a Nissan Maxima for a while. It didn't "require" premium but ran a LOT better with it.....both performance and mileage. That computer did a good job of adjusting.

[dhgeyer]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Are you talking about the Beemer here.....I hope.
Sounds like you got a European manual.....as someone else has pointed out.
I'm sure it wouldn't be TOO hard to get the straight skinny from BMW. :roll: :biggrin:

I had a Nissan Maxima for a while. It didn't "require" premium but ran a LOT better with it.....both performance and mileage. That computer did a good job of adjusting.

Yup, the Beemer. GZ isn't that sophisticated, as we all know. The manual was printed in Germany, but is in English only, and all the specs, including torque specs, are in the US system first (inches, pounds, quarts, gallons, etc.) with the metric equivalents second in parentheses. Since England went metric years ago, I have to believe that the manual is a special one for the US market. The fuel octane system is probably an oversight.

Yeah, try to get anything out of BMW USA or BMW Corporate. Lousy company to deal with - even the dealers say so if they're talking to a long standing customer they feel comfortable with. If I want information about my bike, I can go to Max's BMW in North Hampton, NH, or to the BMW Owners of America website forum. I have to have been on the forum long enough to know who's blowing smoke and who knows what they're talking about. BMW doesn't even publish consistent information on fuel requirements. If you look different places you get different specs on the same bike!

The best information I have is that if I run regular my HP will drop from 109 to 97, mileage may or may not suffer, and I will not risk damage. The engine detunes itself with lower octane fuels. To be truthful, I would welcome some loss of raw power. I don't use half of what it has, and less power would make it easier to manage. The throttle doesn't have a lot of throw, and with all that power it's kind of jumpy. I'm getting used to it, but I don't need or want it.

Your Maxima is an unusual case. As a rule, vehicles run best on the fuel they're designed for, as has been stated here before.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by dhgeyer

Your Maxima is an unusual case. As a rule, vehicles run best on the fuel they're designed for, as has been stated here before.

Maybe I said it wrong. They specifically said that they "recommend" that you use premium .....but then immediately also said that using regular wouldn't hurt anything.....much like your bike. I wasn't at all surprised that there would be a small power difference. It was the MPG increase with the higher octane that I wasn't expecting.