[YOGI-G]

Guys,

I can't recall from reading the manual, but (1) do you guys remember if there was a mention of using which fuel grade? My dealer told me regular (87 Octane) is fine.

(2) Does the high octane grade increase the life of the engine?

(3) Additionally do you know if >10% Ethanol in fuel mixture is bad for the 959?

 

[avigil]

Guys,

I can't recall from reading the manual, but (1) do you guys remember if there was a mention of using which fuel grade? My dealer told me regular (87 Octane) is fine.

(2) Does the high octane grade increase the life of the engine?

(3) Additionally do you know if >10% Ethanol in fuel mixture is bad for the 959?

You should at least 90 octane. And you shouldn't use more than 10% ethanol.

Do NOT use 87 octane.

 

[DarR]

Unleaded fuel with a minimum octane rating of 90 (RON+MON)/2.
The vehicle is compatible only with fuel having a maximum ethanol content of 10% (E10).Using fuel with ethanol content over 10% is prohibited. Using it could result in severe damage of the engine and motorcycle components. Using fuel with ethanol content over 10% will render the Warranty null and void.

 

[MotoMillion]

Get fuel from Shell, so there is no Ethanol in it. They say upto 10% is fine, but I'd rather run on fuel with no ethanol.

 

[YOGI-G]

Thanks Avigil, DarR and MotoMillion! I can't believe the dealer told me regular is fine

Thanks a bunch, i hope past fueling with 87 ocatane did not do any damage, i've done about 800 miles. :|

 

[dougo1199]

Get fuel from Shell, so there is no Ethanol in it. They say upto 10% is fine, but I'd rather run on fuel with no ethanol.

I knew there was a reason I liked Shell! But I didn't know it contained zero ethanol. I avoid ethanol whenever possible!

 

[MotoMillion]

For those people who care, this website is very useful.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

On the bottom of the page, you can select the state you are from and it'll show you all "pure" non-ethanol gas stations and which gas they offer that is "pure".

 

[Panza]

(1) 91 Octane was recommended when I last checked the book. ie. California has 87/89/91 but here in MA/NH I get 87/89/93 so I use 93.

(2)Going below the recommended octane rating is not recommended but there's no real detriment or benefit to going over. It should maintain the expected life of the engine.

**Since or bikes aren't tuned for more than 91/10%, we won't benefit much from say, 110 octane. If you ecu tune your, vehicle remember which grade of fuel you filled up with.

 

[msdss]

The higher the octane, the less chance for engine knock to occur.
While your engine will run fine with the minimum recommended by the manufacturer, using above the minimum will always be the better choice.

 

[dougo1199]

For those people who care, this website is very useful.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

On the bottom of the page, you can select the state you are from and it'll show you all "pure" non-ethanol gas stations and which gas they offer that is "pure".

Awesome link, but Dayton, Oh is not listed! :crying:

 

[FK482]

Confusing that you guys use different numbers for octane/RON to us in OZ. Metric vs Imperial is bad enough!

 

[FK482]

I fill up on what we call 98. Not sure if the minimum is 91 or 95 which are the other 2 main ones around (+ the 10% Ethanol option). Shell used to have 100 F1 fuel which wasn't around long before they stopped offering it. I'll just stick to the premium I think.

Had a few issues with my car (mx5) where the engine error light kept coming on and off. Mazda couldn't do $#!t about it but a family mechanic told me to stop changing between 95 and 98 and sure enough the error light stopped coming on.

 

[Helishmeli]

Get fuel from Shell, so there is no Ethanol in it. They say upto 10% is fine, but I'd rather run on fuel with no ethanol.

Not every shell is ethanol free.

I'm in RI and always get the v-power but every shell here has ethanol.

The only ethanol-free gas we can get here is those sunoco race gas pails.

Ive never tried the sunoco race, anyone know if I should only be using that?

Would tank damage due to ethanol swelling be obvious?

 

[Jep863]

You will not benefit ethanol free gas you are wasting $$. My 16 959 say 90min octane. Much past 93-95octane un less you have a tube your waisting $$. Sunoco race gas is good. In NV we have Arco/Rebel gas station some of them have 100 Octane race gas. It’s is Sunoco. Because we have 91 out here I usually every once in a while add .5gal to my tank that bumps up the octane. Race mode is a bit quicker with it. My computer is stock. Other Race gas will have a higher ethanol % than 10 so stay away.
As for the tank. If you live near lots of water and or cold wether make sure you put a fuel stabilizer in the tank I would recommend sea foam or stabil. Make sure do not over fill the tank.

 

[Helishmeli]

un less you have a tube your waisting $$. Sunoco race gas is good.

What do you mean by tube?

Also, which Sunoco race do you use?

 

[Jep863]

Sorry auto correct from phone. Tube so post to be tune. It’s 100 octane race gas. It’s made by Sunoco for Rebel/Arco stations.

 

[Helishmeli]

Gotcha, thank you.

This one? Or are you saying it's at the pump ar Arco?

I'm thinking of adding 0.5gal every now and then like you said.

 

[DarR]

This comes straight from Brock Davidson, one of the world's premier bike tuner and drag racer:
The best and most powerful gas for the street is Shell 89.
I then contacted them for clarification.
Here's their reply:
Using a higher octane than necessary will hurt performance. That is why we use lower octane, most stock motor bikes do not need to run 91 or whatever the manufacturer recommends. In stock motor 99-07 Suzuki Hayabusas we use 87 octane, they are lower compression than the newer bikes. Most of the newer bikes are little higher compression from the factory so we use 89 octane. We have had better performance results and no issues with detonation, and we save money at the pump. As for your Ducatis, we do not do a whole lot with the Ducatis. It would be up to you whether you try a lower octane or not. If it were my bike, I would throw some 89 in there and see how it does, if there is any “pinging or knocking” I would switch back to the higher octane. But that is a choice that you will have to make yourself. Also, keep in mind all this is assuming we are talking about stock motor bikes with NO power adders such as nitrous, turbo, supercharger, things like that. I hope this clears things up a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Steve Syx
Brock's Performance
Sales Manager

I've been using Shell 89 in both bikes all year with no issues.
Truth be told, my happy butt dyno probably couldn't tell the difference with 91 anyways. YMMV.

 

[Jep863]

Gotcha, thank you.

This one? Or are you saying it's at the pump ar Arco?

I'm thinking of adding 0.5gal every now and then like you said.

its actually at the pump it reads 100 octain racing fuel. That one you showed is 110. I think they blend it just for them. So you can fill up 91 at the pump and move down to the other pump and fill up at 100.

 

[Helishmeli]

its actually at the pump it reads 100 octain racing fuel. That one you showed is 110. I think they blend it just for them. So you can fill up 91 at the pump and move down to the other pump and fill up at 100.

gotcha, thank you!