Fuels

[Ricalnic]

I'm a great believer in the super unleaded
My tuned 2 strokes don't pink so much
My GSA is so much smoother, and responsive at lower throttle openings
My previous VRS Octavia, was similarly so much smoother at part throttle openings.
Funilly I run my merc on BP ultimate diesel, its smother and quieter than when running on regular diesel, or even when on shell nitro diesel

[Jak*]

On my Cali it seems to not make much difference, although when I have been in France I have used their higher octane fuels as on longer runs I got better Mpg, but quite often they were only between two and five cents dearer. In the U.K. Frequently the difference is 10p a litre or 45p a gallon difference.
CCM recommended Shell super or whatever it is called but I have found no discernible difference. I accidentally filled up with BP super unleaded once and I could tell the difference both in the performance and the mpg I got. Fuels do seem to vary across the U.K. and I am not sure but I think some of the super market brands come from the same refineries and distributors as the main brands.
A friend of mine once raved about the mpg that he got out of his Benly but he was using premium unleaded and fuel additive. When you added in the fact that he changed the oil ( semi synthetic) very 1,000 miles he running costs per mile were not much different to my Cali running on the cheapest petrol I could find.
Again I could be wrong but generally the biggest problems I have experienced with ethanol fuels have been if bikes have been stood a long while, or on my Serow which had a breather on the carb. This seemed to allow the 'good' bit of the fuel to evaporate and the crap to sit in the carb. The solution was to turn the fuel tap off about a mile from home which left me with a virtually dry carb.
Cheers Jak

[FERDINAND PICK]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. So in short I will be treating the Honda rally to the good stuff from now on, hoping to further break the 90mpg. I swear the last few fill ups of super unleaded the bike was slightly quick and rev'ed better, maybe I was just imagining it...

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[DaveCon]

When I bought my 800GS I was told to only use 98RON and certainly not use supermarket fuel. I thought it was something I'd never notice but I did a comparison over a couple of months anyway. The bike was clearly smoother from tick-over to around 40mph under part throttle, whether it was quicker I couldn't tell.

As to fuel economy, again it was certainly better with 98RON by 4 or 5mpg as mentioned earlier. So even though the fuel is 10p per litre more expensive, it works out to only 4p with the better mileage, which I'm happy to spend for better performance.

When I was in Sweden a few years ago I tried the 92RON because it was so cheap (in an Aprilia this time). The bike wouldn't even tick over!

Interestingly my Multistrada had a sticker on the tank saying it was compatible with all three. Er, no thanks!

[Nigel]

When I bought my 800GS I was told to only use 98RON and certainly not use supermarket fuel. I thought it was something I'd never notice but I did a comparison over a couple of months anyway. The bike was clearly smoother from tick-over to around 40mph under part throttle, whether it was quicker I couldn't tell.

As to fuel economy, again it was certainly better with 98RON by 4 or 5mpg as mentioned earlier. So even though the fuel is 10p per litre more expensive, it works out to only 4p with the better mileage, which I'm happy to spend for better performance.

When I was in Sweden a few years ago I tried the 92RON because it was so cheap (in an Aprilia this time). The bike wouldn't even tick over!

Interestingly my Multistrada had a sticker on the tank saying it was compatible with all three. Er, no thanks!

I was told the same thing and used 98 in my previous bike 800s (same engine) then I found out that 98 ron in Germany is 95 in the UK, from then on ran GS on 95 and didn`t make a blind bit of difference!
I just avoid cheap supermarket fuel and run My S10 on 95 Ron and get 52-55 mpg

[bill_qaz]

98 ron in Germany is 95 in the UK

RON Research Octane Number is worldwide so 95 RON is the same octane rating wherever you buy it. Different sellers may use different blends.
Ethanol can be up to 5% in E5 spec or up to 10% in E10 but I don't believe they have to state the actual %. I believe they have to mark at the pump if its E10 but E5 has been standard for many years.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

The BM 800 has very sophisticated engine management and would be able to get the best from the 'Super' fuels.

My old KTM has a wire to disconnect if you have to run it on crap fuel.

[Nigel]

The BM 800 has very sophisticated engine management and would be able to get the best from the 'Super' fuels.

Beg to differ it doesn`t have a knock sensor, the GS flat twins do and will run on lower octane but prefer 98 and you will get better mpg/power.
Bill you are right RON rating is universal the confusion with 800 is it says use super unleaded but in germany that is 95 RON!
Just got this off a forum
Here is a copy of an email from BMW UK!

Thank you for contacting BMW Motorrad Customer Information. The grade 95 RON stated in your handbook refers to super unleaded in Germany .

That was what originally confused me and when I realised I used 95 RON with no problems.

[Nigel]

Found an old post from 800 forum
I have been running my F800s on 97-98 RON (premium) since I bought it secondhand last year, have done 15,000 miles on this fuel but after seeing this thread decided to try 95 RON (regular) I did 500 miles to and around the yorkshire dales and then home and averaged 63 mpg with no noticable loss of performance. I had panniers and top box fitted carrying all of my camping gear and rode on motorways at 85-90 mph, through towns, on A roads and country lanes, so mixed riding conditions.
Using 97 Ron I was getting 63 mpg, so 95 ron is cheaper, produces the same power and mpg despite what my dealer (and BMW UK) told me! so guess what fuel I will use in the future!

[DaveCon]

it's a bit of a "chain lubrication" topic - people will be entrenched in their opinions one way or another.

I did my comparison tests for over a month over the same route (commuting) and I did notice a difference in performance but it was subtle and only while up and down the throttle at around 30 - 40mph. After that I didn't notice any difference. On my touring trips fully loaded, especially abroad, I used 95 or 98 RON (even supermarket if that's all I could get) and never noticed any difference. Totally different circumstances and riding mindset.

However the fuel economy with the better fuel was definitely measurable at around 6% more mpg (I do spreadsheets for fun ) as you would expect with more bang for your buck.