What Grade Petrol (gas!) for my R1150R

[John I. Stephen]

Do you guys have any views on this; or is standard unleaded petrol (gas) OK. There's quite a price difference (in UK anyway) so the lower octane fuel would be preferable; but is it recommended ?

[Silverr]

My K12r calls for super unlead. I also had an r1150r which I ran on super. However, my thoughts are that if it doesn't ping, you can run low grade with no worries at all.

[cworley5150]

I have heard of some being able to run on the low octane stuff, but my Rockster doesn't like it. I have to run 92 or higher or it pings pretty bad. I am assuming it is differences in the timing setting of different bikes causing the variation. I wish I could use the cheap stuff too.

I'll second the advice as to using whatever you can get by with without the pinging.

[Boxer]

89 octane for mine..Unless I have been in a spot where I could only get regular. Been using it for 4 years. I tried the 87 stuff early on for a bit, but after some pinging on acceleration I switched back to 89. I also use 5 oz. of Seafoam in a tank of gas about every 3 months or so.

[MIXR]

Mine runs ok on low octane unleaded, but only when I'm doing 'slab' work or low stress riding. Hit a hill or high speed, and it will ping a bit.

Generally, I fill with premium unleaded, but throw in the occasional tank of unleaded, especially when it's not a full tank (from near empty).

If I know I'll be in the mountains (cimbing hills and altitude effects), or loaded up, or on a fast ride with lots of low gear fast overtaking, I will always use PULP.

On my round Aus ride, we often only had the choice of low octane unleaded. No PULP to be found in the outback. Bike ran fine even with a heavy load of gear, but we were also at sea level most of the time.

I'd be happy to run on low octane stuff for steady commuting, but will always use PULP for my weekend rides unless it's just a top-up.

[riceburner]

Use the "Super" or "Optimum" at UK pumps.

I commute a 112 mile round trip over all sorts of roads* daily (well on the train for month at present), and my daily fuel costs DROPPED by a £1 by switching to Super. Somehow the bike seems more efficient on it. I also found that my range to the reserve light coming on went UP by about 10-15 miles. Previously I could get roughly 125-135 to reserve (depending on riding style), no I can get nearly 150 if I'm particularly gentle (or it's a crappy day). Combined with the 50 mile reserve that's a 200+ mile tank range on Super, and roughly 175-180 on "normal".

Find an out of town petrol station who's prices are a bit lower than the rest and reap the benefits.




* about 30 miles of non-trunk A-road each journey, then the rest is within the M25, some urban dual carriageway, but most of it is regular city roads.

[Martyn]

Shell Optimax, or V-Max as I believe it's now called, or BP Ultimate, as a first choice. If the fuel light has ben on a while, I'll take what I can get !

[Martyn]

Shell Optimax, or V-Max as I believe it's now called, or BP Ultimate, as a first choice. If the fuel light has been on a while, I'll take what I can get !

[John I. Stephen]

Shell Optimax, or V-Max as I believe it's now called, or BP Ultimate, as a first choice. If the fuel light has ben on a while, I'll take what I can get !

Right so these are the highest octane fuels I believe. (My car is a diesel so I am not overly familiar with the "brand names" (neither, I suspect will be those in teh US or Australia!). So if it's the highest Octane fuel then I take note accordingly !

Thanks

[Martyn]

Shell Optimax, or V-Max as I believe it's now called, or BP Ultimate, as a first choice. If the fuel light has ben on a while, I'll take what I can get !

Right so these are the highest octane fuels I believe. (My car is a diesel so I am not overly familiar with the "brand names" (neither, I suspect will be those in the US or Australia!). So if it's the highest Octane fuel then I take note accordingly !

Thanks

Well, if they will break away from the Imperial mother country.......

V-Power as I should have called it is 99 RON, & the BP Ultimate is I believe 98 RON, as was the old Shell OPtimax

[Beemer1150]

Sorry guys - a bit late as I have been off line for a while.

I belong to the local BMW dealer's email group and there was a mention that some RTs had been sufferring from burnt valves and there was a suspicion that there had been some changes in the make-up of lower grade unleaded. Recommendation was to change to super unleaded just in case.

I'd always run my 1150R on 'ordinary' unleaded with no apparent problems but I've changed to super unleaded for the last coupe of tank-fuls.

Absolutely no difference in performance and/or running that I can detect...!

[elmandarino]

I have always used basic unleaded on my R1100R and R1150R without any problems at all. Unless I am mistaken the GS uses the same and they are ridden all over the place (Long Way Round etc etc) and presumably use whatever fuel they can get hold of. Of course I could be naive... again.

[duke]

I also use basic (Shell, BP, brand_name, another_brand_name, etc., etc.) RON 95. Also - I was sticking to what the UK manual (plus label on the petrol cap) say (RON 95)? I may be wrong of course.

I read that you guys use premium derivatives - RON 98/RON 99 ... I may as well switch to using premium.

Unfortunately the best I get is 100 - 110 miles to reserve.

That is what you get when you do short trips in town while playing "Traffic Lights Drag Rocksters (Racers) Unlimited - London Limited Edition"

[wncbmw]

The general concensus from the guys that know (I'm not one of them, I just repeat the advice! ), is to use the lowest grade that won't ping. I find mid-grade works during colder months but usually use high grade when it gets warmer.

Sometimes the ping won't show up for me until I get enthusiastic on the throttle!

[John I. Stephen]

Forgive the foolish question, (but I have returned to biking after sonme 25 years), how would I recognise pinging ?!

Sorry !

[R4R&R]

The general concensus from the guys that know (I'm not one of them, I just repeat the advice! ), is to use the lowest grade that won't ping. I find mid-grade works during colder months but usually use high grade when it gets warmer.

Sometimes the ping won't show up for me until I get enthusiastic on the throttle!

+1 I use the lowest grade that doesn't ping. In the warmer months I have to use super-unleaded and when the temps are under 40F then I can get away with the middle grade. BTW, American fuel (gas, petrol, or whatever you want to call it) is rated as regualr (87 octane), mid-grade (89 octane), and super-unleaded (91 octane).

The ping is pretty noticeable - it almost sounds like an instant sharp rattle when you are on the throttle.

[Martyn]

Forgive the foolish question, (but I have returned to biking after sonme 25 years), how would I recognise pinging ?!

Sorry !

Pinking as it's usually called in the UK is a metallic rattling sound - if you hear it, you'll recognise it. Stick to a good fuel, avoiding supermarket crap, & don't labour the engine by being in too high a gear, & you're unlikely to ever hear it.