5th Gear = ? + Harmoni ?

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by blaine

Waste of money & can do damage.......These bikes are low compression & designed to run on cat piss if needed.

My 1st bike years ago was a 2 stroke. I found out by accident that it would actually run on a 50/50 mixture of gas and heating oil. Didn't do much for it's performance.

[Grumpy Oldman]

So the last 2 weeks I've been testing on my way to work.
84/89/91/94 octane: full tank as the baseline, bike is still 100% stock, fresh oil change 20/50 Motul synth I used 20/50 Motul non-synth as the topup, new plug, new air filter, new chain.


I get better mileage on 94 (one extra trip about 30kms) and the big difference is that at WOT (which I'm at for about 30 minuets each way every day) the engine will accelerate from 100-120kmh smoother. The GPS shows no other differences , but on the last couple days with the 94 I was 15 seconds quicker on my route(more likely draft! LOL)






I'll say this , run what you want, I'll stay with the 94 it's not even a 1.50$ difference in the cost per tank and the hour meter is on the motor and it's running at WOT.

[Water Warrior 2]

[QUOTE=Grumpy Oldman;86300 but on the last couple days with the 94 I was 15 seconds quicker on my route(more likely draft! LOL)[/QUOTE]

Grumpy, if you are referring to drafting other vehicles PLEASE DON'T. That can get you killed. Any junk on the road can be passed over by a vehicle and you won't see it in time to avoid it. Ride Safe.

[Grumpy Oldman]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior 2

Grumpy, if you are referring to drafting other vehicles PLEASE DON'T. That can get you killed. Any junk on the road can be passed over by a vehicle and you won't see it in time to avoid it. Ride Safe.

:nod: when I say draft , it's more like windbreaker and I'm not really in the draft ...trust me there is more then enough dead tire on my bit of highway to make sure I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles (oHhh YEah)

[steelerdude99]

Originally Posted by spldart

Ack! 87 octane o_O
I highly suggest 91 or better.
I use 93.
79.4437 mpg last check.
Though I get the occasional ping in this Texas heat.

spldart, I suggest you read this before saying much more. It was written in the mid 90's (that's 20 years ago, but it's just as accurate then as it is now). I read it in about 1999, and remember many of the basics. It's loooong read, but a worthwhile read. OR ... you can just continue to flush money down the commode.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/part1/

Subject: 3. What Advantage will I gain from reading this FAQ? This FAQ is intended to provide a fairly technical description of what gasoline contains, how it is specified, and how the properties affect the performance of your vehicle. The regulations governing gasoline have changed, and are continuing to change. These changes have made much of the traditional lore about gasoline obsolete. Motorists may wish to understand a little more about gasoline to ensure they obtain the best value, and the most appropriate fuel for their vehicle. There is no point in prematurely destroying your second most expensive purchase by using unsuitable fuel, just as there is no point in wasting hard-earned money on higher octane fuel that your automobile can not utilize. Note that this FAQ does not discuss the relative advantages of specific brands of gasolines, it is only intended to discuss the generic properties of gasolines.

[b1pig]

As I've pointed out... and the linked article above clearly states...

There is no "end all, be all" answer. Reading the FULL article is strongly suggested. My wife's GZ seems to run hotter than others with the standard spark plug. Particularly in the summer, her bike will knock in lower RPMs while accelerating. Running 91 octane in her bike stops it. Every time I've put 87 in it, it knocks.

All things considered? I run 91 on her bike. A little as its ridden and as little cost for her bike, its small insurance. The article also makes several references to the differences between "old engines and modern engines". While the GZ is relatively modern, it is also relatively old. An air cooled and carbuerated engine.. and while i may be wrong, I think the ignition advance is fairly static? That article suggests that if knock is experienced, you should experiment with fuels until you achieve a no-knock result and then stick with it.

It has its purposes, but using a higher octane fuel is not exactly a performance enhancer.

Running a HIGHER octane fuel should do no more damage than a minimum rated fuel. However, running a LOWER ocane rating than called for COULD lead to damage from engine knock. (or as stated in my wife's bike which tends to knock with 87) A particular brand of fuel is usually formulated the same across the board with the octane rating being the primary divider among them... until you get into "cleaning agents" and other additives.

A reference from the above-listed article:

6.14 Does low octane fuel increase engine wear?

Not if you are meeting the octane requirement of the engine. If you are not
meeting the octane requirement, the engine will rapidly suffer major damage
due to knock. You must not use fuels that produce sustained audible knock,
as engine damage will occur.

.... and another quote (slightly dumbed down) from another article:
http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/...g-premium.html

Smarter Engines Protect Themselves
If you're still in doubt about switching to a lower-octane fuel, here's a deeper explanation of why the change is unlikely to hurt your car.

First of all, premium gas is more expensive because it contains a higher percentage of octane. Why is this important? When vaporized gas mixes with air and fills the combustion chamber, it is compressed by the rising pistons. This makes the gas-air mixture grow hot and it could ignite before the spark plug fires, pushing backward on the piston. Higher-octane fuels can be compressed to a greater degree without self-igniting. That's why premium gas is used in high-performance engines.

In the old days, engines could not adjust to fuels with varying octane ratings. Use the wrong fuel and the engine would knock or "ping" audibly because the gas exploded prematurely. This knocking damaged internal engine components over time.

Today, engine control systems can compensate for low octane by monitoring knock activity and adjusting ignition advance to avoid knocking. This sophisticated electronic capability effectively tunes the engine on the fly and gives drivers more flexibility in the grade of fuels that they can safely use.

Compared to premium gasoline, lower-octane fuels don't allow the engine to run as much ignition advance during situations calling for rapid acceleration. More ignition advance allows the engine to make more power, and accelerate more quickly, during these conditions. Since the engine doesn't make quite as much power with lower-octane fuels, this translates into slower acceleration in cars for which premium fuel is recommended. The performance loss is especially noticeable in turbocharged gasoline engines, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.

The performance loss, however, is something you will only notice if you have a heavy foot and accelerate rapidly from a dead stop or while changing lanes at highway speeds. But if you accelerate moderately, the loss of power is barely noticeable, regardless of whether you use premium or regular-grade fuel.