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Buell Motorcycle Forum » XBoard » Buell XBoard Archives » Archive through October 08, 2008 » 87 octane in an XB » Archive through October 01, 2008

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Author Message   Mattl Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 02:35 pm:        With our gas "crisis" in NC, I've had to run the bike all week on 87 octane. I've been riding like a total woos to avoid ping, but even so, it occasionally has some real quiet rapid pinging. So, how stupid am I for still driving it? I don't have any other transportation, and kinda' need to go to work each day, so not sure what options I have. Is octane booster a valid option, or a gimick? On the plus side, I've gotten real good gas mileage all week since I'm riding so gentle. Probably got about 58MPG on the last tank!   Ripdog28 Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 02:42 pm:        Buell recommends 91 but with a compression of 10:1 87 will be fine. I highly doubt it will cause any problems.   Punkid8888 Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 02:47 pm:        If you can here it Ping then I would throw a bottle of octane booster in it. It might help a little. I went through NC a couple weeks ago on my long way home from Indy and had to run the 87octance. It did not seam to ping but I made sure to be nice and easy with it.   Spiderman Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 03:08 pm:        When I am low on cash I throw midgrade in, I would never throw 87. I am running 11.5 to 1 though...   Randomchaos Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 03:11 pm:        Octane booster ftw. Make sure it doesnt have lead in it, ie O2 Sensor safe. I have accidentaly put 87 in mine once. It ran noticably warmer. Added some octane booster, all was well again.   Jaimec Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 03:49 pm:        If you hear pinging, then you are potentially damaging your engine. Don't do it. When I was in Newfoundland I would occasionally find gas stations that only pumped regular. I'd take half a tank and at the first opportunity fill it the rest of the way with premium to average the tank out around 90-91 octane.   Beachbuell Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 04:29 pm:        Its no worth the potential damage to your motor. Save a few cents per gallon and pay to fix your motor. Or run the good stuff and be happy. Your choice. My Buells and HD's always get premium fuel. They will reject anything else. My truck, well thats a different story!   Dmhines Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 07:58 pm:        I have not been able to find Mid or Premium in the Atlanta area ... heck lucky if you find regular ... so I've parked the Buell until Premium is back in ample supply.   Jeffroj Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 10:55 pm:        To all of you in the west side of ATL, BP on the corner of Concord Rd and Atlanta Rd in smryna had 93 all night yesterday, they seem to be one of the only stations stocking premium. I filled my bike, called every biker I know, then came back with a gas can in my car while all the guys I called were showing up. We all had smiles to keep riding for another week. Anyways, I was checking out all the boosters at wally mart the other day, just in case it comes to that for me. They say they boost 10-15pts for 15 gallons, but for 87 octane 1pt = 0.1pts. So it would boost around 1 octane point? And a 1/3 of the bottle for our tanks? Anybody know for sure how much to put into 3 gallons to boost it up to 91?   Sloppy Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 11:37 pm:        Let's do a little math! Typical cost difference between regular and premium: $0.20 / gallon Typical mileage per gallon: 40 mpg Typical miles per year: 5,000 miles Typical ANNUAL cost difference of using regular vs. premium: $25 Question: Is an annual savings of $25 worth the potential damage to your vehicle? More math! Average cost of octane booster: $4 Average number of times you'll fill up the tank: 5,000 miles / year at 150 miles / fill up = 33.33 fill ups. Annual cost of using octane booster: $400 Question: Do you really think it's worth it to use octane boosters instead of just using premium fuel? Question: Did you pay attention during math class? And yes, when you hear pinging, you're hearing damage. The more you hear, the more damage you get. (Message edited by sloppy on September 30, 2008)   Ghost_rider33 Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 11:39 pm:        My pops got me some 111 octane fuel. It's leaded. Will this run right in a stock XB12? Sorry about the jack.   Jeffroj Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 11:46 pm:        Sloppy, due to hurricane Ike, all of us in the Atlanta, Nashville, N.C. and S.C. areas are in a litle bit of a gas CRISIS!!! In order to get gas, I/we have to wait in loooonnng lines to get gas. The gas stations that actually have gas run out of gas in less than 3 hours. Most of the stations are only stocking 87.   Jeffroj Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 11:57 pm:        Question: Do you pay attention to the news? http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/09/22/atl anta.gas.crunch/index.html http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detai l?contentId=7528664&version=10&locale=EN-US&layout Code=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1   Semirgdj Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 02:01 am:        I have been running 87 octane in my bike since I bought it. In fact I run 87 in my XB12, XB9 Thruxton900 and my AudiS4 (all of them "recommend" 91)I have done so for years. EVERYONE has their opinions, and we all have read many postings on this topic, but... I have NEVER have had any problems with any of my bikes or other vehicles, they all run GREAT! I don't run 87 to be cheap or save money... I do so because of my personal knowledge and opinion on the octane subject. I'm sure this posting will spark many responses and pushy opinions... but that's all they are, opinions.... and I don't care about others opinions. For every study saying one thing about octane there is another study saying the opposite. In fact many high end cars no longer "require" 91octane but instead they now "suggest"91octane This was a result of tests that 20/20 aired, that tested engines and different octanes. The test didn't prove or disprove the benefits of using higher octane gas   Mnbueller Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 07:34 am:        Mattl - If you have ECM spy you could go in and retard the timing, this will help to eliminate the pinging. An old hotrodding trick... You can also add your own Xylene to your fuel to bump up the octane rating. Xylene is available at most farm and hardware stores, but this may depend on your area and local regulations. 1 gallon of Xylene to 20 gallons of gasoline. This will raise the octane rating around 4-5 points, so your 87 becomes 91-92 octane.   Hogs Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 07:44 am:        Another product is Tylene or something spelled like that ..Which I used 1 gallon before in my xb12 about 30.00 a gallon here I think I used a 10 Percent ratio or something like that many web pages out there on the subject...! BTW as you said it does Raise full Points and not percentage of a point that all them over the counter products do...ONly thing to be carefull on perhaps is seals/rubber products within the fuel del. system Not sure IF this is a concern or not? CAn get this at most Paint retail stores... (Message edited by hogs on October 01, 2008)   Mnbueller Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 09:04 am:        That would be Toluene   Hogs Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 11:39 am:        Thats her...! Thanks for the spelling correction.   Mattl Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 12:24 pm:        Thanks for everyone's responses. I actually found 93 octane this morning, so am good for the next couple days. Hey Sloppy, maybe you otta' read the initial post. Do you think any of us are doing this to save money? We have NO CHOICE in the South at the moment and I have no other transportation. Xylene and Toluene... interesting. I'll look around for that. I'm sure we'll have more shortages in the coming months. Don't have ECMSPY, but have been considering it for some other projects.   Andymnelson Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 12:28 pm:        I just put 93 octane in my truck today because the station down the road from me had it on sale for $3.28/gallon. 'tis good to not live on the coast sometimes. Sorry to those that are experiencing nature woes.   Jeffroj Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 12:31 pm:        93 - $4.85/gallon, Atlanta.   Andymnelson Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 01:13 pm:        I wonder how long until they get it squared away? I'll be trailering the bikes to Dahlonega, GA and riding to Daytona Beach and back at the end of October...don't want to run into issues tho!   Rkutzner Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 01:16 pm:        Jeffroj, you're right if you actually read the bottle a bottle will only increase your tank from 87 to 88. It might make enough of a difference, can't hurt to try it once.   Jake_blues Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 01:57 pm:        Sucks about the gas crisis up there...I would have thought Mississippi, Louisiana and some of us other southern states closer to where Ike came in would've had more problems but from the general concensus of the professors at u of southern miss who have been involved up there they say its cuz we didn't go into panic mode. Sucks for yall though! Hope everything gets straightened out soon!   Sloppy Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 02:04 pm:        "Hey Sloppy, maybe you otta' read the initial post. Do you think any of us are doing this to save money? We have NO CHOICE in the South at the moment and I have no other transportation. " Matt: Dude, relax -- maybe you otta' read ALL the posts??? As for choices there are plenty -- carpool, public transportation, car rental, bicycle... perhaps some are just more "convenient" than others?   Sparky Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 03:47 pm:        Another choice is retarding the ignition timing by a couple degrees. That's about one small tick mark on the timing plate. That should delay the onset of pinging with 87 to where it doesn't happen with the light throttle you're having to use.   Ripdog28 Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 06:44 pm:        I see some of you saying not to use 87 cause of such and such problem. Others using Booster to make up the diffrence. Read your owner manuals.... Buell does not want Octane Booster used. so what one is worse? Just my motor head thoughts. 87 will not hurt your eng unless you are running 10.5:1+ comp NOT AT ALL.. Octane booster will do more damage because you do not know what is in that crap and same for 111 leaded, that will tear up your eng. A reputable octane booster should be OK but be careful what you chose. Retarding the timing will help if you do ping but most of your bikes will be fine on 87. Think about getting a different spark plug also.   Xb9ser Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 08:00 pm:        ghost rider the leaded fuel will kill your o2 senser dont do it!!The extra octane wont hurt it but the LEAD will!   Xb9ser Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 08:07 pm:        The higher octane burns slower and makes less power than octane just right,on cars anyway.All you need is enough to stop sparknock any thing else is a waste.One of the car mags severl years ago did a test and race gas made less power than pump gas because of slower burn time.   Xb9ser Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 08:14 pm:        xb9 will run on 87 oct. There was a thread about this severl years ago. Tryed it one tank ran fine but use 93. If all I could get was 87 I would now that cooler weather is here. That does make a difrence cooler weather less oct needed .