Forum

[Hemant]

Well to add my views... I switched from 95 to 97 on my 500 1993 Bullet and I have noticed a slight improvement in pulling away and better in starting, In india they use assorts of grade !! sold in mineral water bottles at roadside !!

[TimG]

My 2006 iron barrel 500 Classic definitely prefers 97 RON, but will run happily on 95. I will NEVER run any bike on supermarket petrol again after a nasty experience with some "Every Little Helps" stuff...
Cheers
TimG

[Grumpy]

FWIW: I bought a diesel car in February to get to a new contract job that is 45 miles from home. Now it's July I have done 13,000 miles and average 75 per day.

I started by using supermarket stuff. Then I read various forums saying branded stuff had better additives and would prevent/reduce carbon fouling on valves etc.

So I decided to do my own test.

I realise a diesel car isn't that same as comparing 95 to 97 ron petrol in a bike, but may be of interest. And the car is almost 100,000 miles old.



Despite being more expensive I get at leat 10% better miles per pound.

[Paul M H]

I find my bike most certainly runs better on good quality fuel. It don't pop & Bang so much and if used continuously I find it makes starting much easier some cheaper fuels don't seem as fresh or to have the same kick to them its hard to explain. But for instance If using say shell v power 97 Ron for a few weeks continuous everyday I find the bike starts first or second kick without fail. But If I use the Tescos fuel after a a few days the bike takes a good few kicks to get going.

Here is a link to some heavy but interesting reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

[MickB]

Over here in France they have just introduced 95 Octane E10 and 98 Octane E5. The E10 and E5 is the percentage of ethanol added to the petroleum mixture and is in the process of being introduced in the UK. Apparently the 95E10 is not compatible with some engines over approximately 15 years old but should be ok on modern engines but, funnily enough not on lawnmower engines or some boat engines. So. is 95E10 ok to run a modern Enfield? Could be bad for the older and vintage models. Looks like I will be using the 98E5 with less ethanol just to be on the safe side at the cost of another 4c a litre. Confusing, isn't it....?

[Jimmer]

97 ron from now on.
Of all the performance mods I have done to the Electra (pretty much everything bar changing cams) putting 97 ron has been the simplest and most notable improvement. (PAV was already removed before I got the bike.)
Pulls harder, power delivery is more instant and pops less on over run.
What a difference.
I tried it in my VFR750 and the same story. Pulls like a train although it did that anyway so it doesn't really need it.

[Frank]

Certainly I've notice a big improvement since using 97 RON fuel but I'm not convinced the benefits are solely to do with the octane rating. I started using Shell V Power for which there was an immediate improvement in performance but have since switched to BP Ultimate, also 97 RON, which I believe has made further gains. One noticeable improvement since switching to BP was the idle speed which I had to reduce significantly. This would indicate there is more power derived from that fuel.It may therefore be more to do with the overall blend and additive differences between manufactures. As far as I can make out from the internet ethanol is not added to Super Unleaded but the articles were old and things may have changed recently. I wonder whether this has more bearing on the performance gains experienced. As a side note I have also used BP Ultimate in my lawn mower, fixed throttle and surely the most basic engine there can be, but that too runs faster than ordinary unleaded. A waste of money I know but I convince myself the grass is cut faster that way!

[Spitting Bull]

Thanks for all the comments, mates. In about 2004, when I first got my bike, I put the occasional tankful of 97 octane through the engine and I formed the opinion that the bike seemed to run better on it, though I couldn't really say why. So it's interesting to see that so many other owners have the same kind of opinion. I'll try another tankful when it stops raining. Tom

[Andy C]

Must admit that when I had my 612 it ran far better on "branded" fuel such a Texaco / Shell / Esso there was a noticeable difference if I used Supermarket fuel - Morrissons being the worse.

Even though I no longer have my bullet I still avoid Supermarket fuel like the plague, lately I have found that Shell V power seems to make my 1972 500 Daytona run soooooo much better.

Anyway IKBA - just my comments for what it's worth.

[SFC1000]

All fuel is the same no matter where you buy it, the only difference is if any additive has been put into the fuel.