Gasoline

ATA said:
What type of gas do you use in your ST? Ethanol free rec 90, premium w/ethanol? I’ve been using ethanol free or tier 1 premium. Just wondering what’s the best for my 1300?
Thx folks!
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Back on topic. I wish I could get ethanol free gasoline.
Even if it was 10c-15c higher cost per gallon. To me, it is well worth it.
YMMV and ride what 'ya brung.
 
Down here in Florida, they call ethanol free gas 'boat fuel'. I have seen it up to a dollar more per gallon. The local place I fill up sells it at about 50 cents per gallon more.. It's 87 octane. Some places have it available, but most do not...
 
fnmag said:
Back on topic. I wish I could get ethanol free gasoline.
Even if it was 10c-15c higher cost per gallon. To me, it is well worth it.
YMMV and ride what 'ya brung.
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Available around here but 60¢/gal. more. No thank you, except for always in the lawn mower or very infrequent use in a bike. And unnecessary anyways in an 1100.
 
bstig60 said:
From what I can tell so far, premium isn't required on the ST13 either! The recommended 92 RON is equivalent to 87 AKI in the US. (R+M)/2.
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US owners manuals don't specify 92 RON, MON, or AKI. They just state to use pump octane number of 91 or higher which in the USA is commonly AKI. No longer having an ST in the garage, is there a sticker on the bike showing 92 RON?
 
dduelin said:
US owners manuals don't specify 92 RON, MON, or AKI. They just state to use pump octane number of 91 or higher which in the USA is commonly AKI. No longer having an ST in the garage, is there a sticker on the bike showing 92 RON?
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My ST owners manual says 92 octane. It doesn't say RON, MON or AKI. However, the manual was written in Japan where the measurement is RON, so one can assume they don't mean AKI. My GL1800 manual says 91 Octane. My XV1100 Virago recommends 91 octane, these are all RON recommendations as they are all Japanese bikes.... As far as I can find out, North America uses AKI which is an average of RON AND MON (R+M)/2 .....
 
I'm paying about $.85 more per gallon ($3.00/gal) for the 90 octane non ethanol. Getting about 42-44 mpg and using the ST for my weekend stress relief mechanism, it's not too much to pay for the better grade. I can understand if you're a daily commuter and putting some serious miles/yr on it would make a difference in your wallet. Great discussion folks!
 
There are many places where you can't find non-ethanol gas, California for example.. I never seen it there in any grade, so I always used the cheapest gas I could find in my bikes and cars. Due to taxes and location, gas prices in CA can be more than a dollar a gallon more expensive than most states. The state just added a .12 cent tax last fall and another .75 cents in due to start in July.... One of many reasons I moved from Northern CA to Florida last year.
 
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bstig60 said:
My ST owners manual says 92 octane. It doesn't say RON, MON or AKI. However, the manual was written in Japan where the measurement is RON, so one can assume they don't mean AKI. My GL1800 manual says 91 Octane. My XV1100 Virago recommends 91 octane, these are all RON recommendations as they are all Japanese bikes.... As far as I can find out, North America uses AKI which is an average of RON AND MON (R+M)/2 .....
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I don't assume a USA market manual uses Japanese standards. Bike is not sold with kilometer markings or lights mandated in the JDM. If the product is sold in Japan yes, sold in Peoria no. Making US owners convert to or learn Japanese standards doesn't make sense, to wit, in the oil recommendations the manual advises American Petroleum Institute (API) standards with the addition of JASO MA (wet clutch suitability) because the API or SAE standards don't address this.

But I don't think RON vs AKI matters in the long run . The ST1300 will run just fine on regular 87 just with a little less power due to retarded spark timing.
 
I know cylinder ratio compression has a lot to do with fuel requirement. ST1100 is 10:1 ratio. So that's why I can use fuel as low as 86 octane. What is you guys ST1300 compression ratio? If its 10:1 then 86 should be fine.
 
red one said:
I know cylinder ratio compression has a lot to do with fuel requirement. ST1100 is 10:1 ratio. So that's why I can use fuel as low as 86 octane. What is you guys ST1300 compression ratio? If its 10:1 then 86 should be fine.
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According to wikipedia it's 10.8:1.
 
red one said:
I know cylinder ratio compression has a lot to do with fuel requirement. ST1100 is 10:1 ratio. So that's why I can use fuel as low as 86 octane. What is you guys ST1300 compression ratio? If its 10:1 then 86 should be fine.
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10:1 is usually considered the maximum compression ratio to run 87 octane. Most will jump to 90 octane or above if you get above 10:1. There are a few examples that dont. But that is because the knock sensors and computer set to more aggressively retard the timing. That takes care of knock but then you loose power.
 
I've ran non-ethanol gasoline in my truck, suv, car, boat and motorcycle engines while in Arizona. It's been the only state I have been able to find pure gasoline as the towns are smaller and further apart. My parents live in Havasu and a good majority of the stations there offered pure gasoline when we visit. After two fills ups, I've honestly never heard/felt my vehicles run better. You would think 10% Ethanol wouldn't make such a difference, but it does. Corn farmers petition and lobby the government like any other organization. Corn alcohol has no business in fuel imho. Ethanol has 30% less energy than pure gasoline. Meaning it's going to hit you in the mpg.

Having said that; as of May 2022, Biden has announced he will be asking fuel distributors to put 15% ethanol into our fuel to bring down prices and make supply last longer. In California it's a bit worse than most other states I assume, as the war on combustion engines here continually gains ground. I fill up with 91 octane in all of my bikes, and right now that is about $6.09/gal.
 
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ATA said:
I've also been advised not to fill up at a station when the fuel truck is there. Any dirt in the big tanks are stirred up during this station refueling process. Will end up clogging your vehicle's fuel filter faster.
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if you talk with the gas delivery guys next time you see one - they will tell you that the filter systems in place prevent that.
 
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