87 or 91 Octane?

[vulcans2]

Just wondering if anyone runs 87 octane gasoline in their 1700 engine. If so, have there been any problems with pinging or knocking? Gas is getting expensive(er) and filling up 2 bikes every time we go riding gets spendy, so if I can save a couple bucks, that would be good. Otherwise, I'll just bite the bullet and burn 91 octane gas. Thanx.

[nomad38028]

I run the 91 all the time. , I "bite the bullet" and keep on riding...LOL

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Since gas prices have gone up so much I have started using 87. I do have the Cobra FI2000R fuel processor though. Without that you would need to run at least 90.

With the Nomad, I ran 91 + most of the time. Sometimes, I would put 89 in it, and had no problems, but as an example, if 91 is 20 cents higher than 89, you are only saving one dollar per fill up. I know that may add up over time. Like, Gene said, a fuel processor will make 87 more doable.

[cactusjack]

You can run whichever grade doesn't make your bike ping. If it runs okay on 87, then no problem. Try a tank of 87 and see, it's the only way you're going to find out.

[pirate]

I have the 1600 engine, but just to toss my 2 cents in, I have run 87 before without any problems. I have V & H baggers but no processor. Like CJ said, just try and see what works. Most of our gas here is 89, but 87 has worked with no problems.

[flightdoc]

I have a 1600 and am able to use 87 when the weather stays cooler. When it gets hot ( 80 degrees or higher) I have to switch to 89 or 91 to keep it from pinging. It kind of pisses me off that the book says 87 octane is recommended but I need 89/91 most of the time. My bike is completely stock.

vin

[Sin City Stan]

1700 Nomad
Below 80 degrees 87 has worked fine.
Below 105 it's 89
Over 105, yes I ride when it's that hot, 91.

That being said, it took a couple years of trial and error to figure this out for my style of riding. I tend to use a gear higher than most people. Rode a 100 miles with the cruise on at 50-53 mph last Saturday. All of it in 5th gear. (that's the first OD gear on a 1700 to you 1600 guys) Mostly flat with a few hills and allot of constant radius sweepers. A very enjoyable Saturday. Also, for the whole day (245 miles) got 40.3 MPG riding 2 up. A very rare occurrence on a 1700.

[sakirider]

I have an 2009 1700 Nomad and have a little more than 30,000 miles. I have been using 87 octane since the first day I purchased the bike. No problems so far. I rode to Northern Arizona and that was about the 7,000 foot level and no problems. I don't plan on changing to higher octane.

[ringadingh]

I too get by on 87 octane, If it doesn't ping there is no reason to use the higher octane fuels.

[Jared]

I use the cheap stuff too. No problems.

[vulcans2]

Well, it looks like an experiment to conduct. Thanks for the input guys.

[ponch]

What does the owner's manual say? I never could run less than 91 or it would ping, but that was my bike. For the 1600, I believe Kawasaki suggests 90 or better. I have no idea what the 1700 requires.

[peterdarby]

I run 87 in my 1700 with no pinging at temps from 100 to 25.

[usranger74]

I have a 1600 and am able to use 87 when the weather stays cooler. When it gets hot ( 80 degrees or higher) I have to switch to 89 or 91 to keep it from pinging. It kind of pisses me off that the book says 87 octane is recommended but I need 89/91 most of the time. My bike is completely stock.

vin


My 07 Nomad says it needs 91. Stamp is on the gas cap. Are you sure your 1600 book says 87?

[ponch]

I have a 1600 and am able to use 87 when the weather stays cooler. When it gets hot ( 80 degrees or higher) I have to switch to 89 or 91 to keep it from pinging. It kind of pisses me off that the book says 87 octane is recommended but I need 89/91 most of the time. My bike is completely stock.

vin


My 07 Nomad says it needs 91. Stamp is on the gas cap. Are you sure your 1600 book says 87?

IIRC, my OM said 90 for a 2007.

[usranger74]

My 07 Nomad says it needs 91. Stamp is on the gas cap. Are you sure your 1600 book says 87?

IIRC, my OM said 90 for a 2007.

I stand corrected - tank label says 90

[ponch]

IIRC, my OM said 90 for a 2007.

I stand corrected - tank label says 90

And with the swill in Iowa, it's basically 91. You'll find if you can get away from ethanol in the gas, mileage improves greatly, but that is another story. The beemer can run on 89, but the OM says 92-94 is best. It's damn difficult to find a top tier gas station around town.

[flightdoc]

I double checked my Manual and you guys are coorect....90 octane. I must have mixed myself up with my previous bike. Thanks for asking the question.

The Goldwing owners manual says to run at least 86 octane. I have been running regular. So far, so good. Now with my Nomad, I always ran Premium. A couple of times I ran 89 with no problems. I went back to premium, because your only talking a buck or so difference per tank full.

[ponch]

The Goldwing owners manual says to run at least 86 octane. I have been running regular. So far, so good. Now with my Nomad, I always ran Premium. A couple of times I ran 89 with no problems. I went back to premium, because your only talking a buck or so difference per tank full.

My nomad would ping on 89. PITA.

The Goldwing owners manual says to run at least 86 octane. I have been running regular. So far, so good. Now with my Nomad, I always ran Premium. A couple of times I ran 89 with no problems. I went back to premium, because your only talking a buck or so difference per tank full.

My nomad would ping on 89. PITA.

I guess I never really gave it much chance to ping. Didn't used it but a couple of times. You are right, ponch it is a PITA.

[usranger74]

When I ride in rule KS, NE and IA it is hard to find Premium gas - it just is not sold in a lot of places. As such, after 50 miles or so, I will not pass up a station selling it.

Side bar - in NE it is State law that if you blend corn into gas, you have to post such at the pump. Some state senators want to change that law and not require such a posting. They think they will sell more corn that way http://s2.images.proboards.com/tongue.gif And, OBTW, they are corn farmers http://s2.images.proboards.com/angry.gif:(" title=">:(" border="0"/>

[ponch]

When I ride in rule KS, NE and IA it is hard to find Premium gas - it just is not sold in a lot of places. As such, after 50 miles or so, I will not pass up a station selling it.

Side bar - in NE it is State law that if you blend corn into gas, you have to post such at the pump. Some state senators want to change that law and not require such a posting. They think they will sell more corn that way http://s2.images.proboards.com/tongue.gif And, OBTW, they are corn farmers http://s2.images.proboards.com/angry.gif:(" title=">:(" border="0"/>



I have another term for them, but I'll refrain. With the Nomad and bikes with lesser fuel capacity, it can get dicey trying to find the right fuel. Once you get out of the cities, and I mean larger ones, finding anything higher than 89 is a chore. My curent ride says minimum 89, but I haven't put less than 91 in it. Which reminds me, I think I should refill it soon.

[usranger74]

When I ride in rule KS, NE and IA it is hard to find Premium gas - it just is not sold in a lot of places. As such, after 50 miles or so, I will not pass up a station selling it.

Side bar - in NE it is State law that if you blend corn into gas, you have to post such at the pump. Some state senators want to change that law and not require such a posting. They think they will sell more corn that way http://s2.images.proboards.com/tongue.gif And, OBTW, they are corn farmers http://s2.images.proboards.com/angry.gif:(" title=">:(" border="0"/>



I have another term for them, but I'll refrain. With the Nomad and bikes with lesser fuel capacity, it can get dicey trying to find the right fuel. Once you get out of the cities, and I mean larger ones, finding anything higher than 89 is a chore. My curent ride says minimum 89, but I haven't put less than 91 in it. Which reminds me, I think I should refill it soon.

One reason I now carry two 33 oz MSR Fuel bottle. But, even with them - I may not be able to fill up with Premium.

[ponch]

I have another term for them, but I'll refrain. With the Nomad and bikes with lesser fuel capacity, it can get dicey trying to find the right fuel. Once you get out of the cities, and I mean larger ones, finding anything higher than 89 is a chore. My curent ride says minimum 89, but I haven't put less than 91 in it. Which reminds me, I think I should refill it soon.

One reason I now carry two 33 oz MSR Fuel bottle. But, even with them - I may not be able to fill up with Premium.

My tank holds 7.1 gallons. I usually get about 300 miles to the tank. Usually that gives me enough time to find premium somewhere. ::)

[ringadingh]

If you ride a lot in rural areas with low grade fuel you should carry a bottle of octane booster with you to get out of those tight spots.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

There was a time I ran at least 90 octane all the time. Even though I have the Cobra FI2000R installed I still ran premium most of the time. Since the price of gas has gotten so expensive I now run 87 octane exclusively. It seems to run just as good as with the premium. No pinging detected. I usually find a local station that has the pure gasoline but ever now and then I use the 10% ethanol.

[ringadingh]

I always try to use the lowest grade gas that will run without pinging. Its of no real benefit to use a higher octane fuel than neccessary.

[ponch]

I always try to use the lowest grade gas that will run without pinging. Its of no real benefit to use a higher octane fuel than neccessary.

I'll qualify that. My bike has a closed loop engine management system with a knock sensor etc. It can run on 89 octane, but will run best on 93-94 octane. The computer will retard the ignition timing to prevent pinging to an extent, and this is with a 12:1 compression ratio. The Nomad doesn't have a closed loop system, so it cannot adapt by itself.

[ringadingh]

And we don't have nothing close to 12-1 compression either, Thats a large part of why the Nomad engines are so conservately powered for their size.

[usranger74]

If you ride a lot in rural areas with low grade fuel you should carry a bottle of octane booster with you to get out of those tight spots.

Any brand recondition?

[ponch]

And we don't have nothing close to 12-1 compression either, Thats a large part of why the Nomad engines are so conservately powered for their size.

Compression ration doesn't make as much difference as you might think it would. May be 2% per point? There are other factors like how well the heads flow, RPM capability and what RPM it makes power, which is controlled by the cam.

[ringadingh]

If you ride a lot in rural areas with low grade fuel you should carry a bottle of octane booster with you to get out of those tight spots.

Any brand recondition?
I havn't used a octane booster product in many years now, but the one I did use was called 104 Octane Boost. Im not even sure if it exists any more. But Im sure there is some product available.
Any car or bike performance shop should carry it.

[ringadingh]

And we don't have nothing close to 12-1 compression either, Thats a large part of why the Nomad engines are so conservately powered for their size.

Compression ration doesn't make as much difference as you might think it would. May be 2% per point? There are other factors like how well the heads flow, RPM capability and what RPM it makes power, which is controlled by the cam.

Im aware of that, but thats part of the package required to get some power out of these motors. Larger valves and ports, higher lift cam, larger FI unit and it will wake up. But its probably not worth the investment on these motors for what youll gain.

[ponch]

Compression ration doesn't make as much difference as you might think it would. May be 2% per point? There are other factors like how well the heads flow, RPM capability and what RPM it makes power, which is controlled by the cam.

Im aware of that, but thats part of the package required to get some power out of these motors. Larger valves and ports, higher lift cam, larger FI unit and it will wake up. But its probably not worth the investment on these motors for what youll gain.

That aftermarket doesn't exist for kawasaki. HD for sure. Some bikes you get that from the get go.

[ringadingh]

Thunder Mfg and Muzzy have big bore kits available for the Vulcans they are about $1500.00 and require the heads to be ported as well as the FI body.

[ponch]

Thunder Mfg and Muzzy have big bore kits available for the Vulcans they are about $1500.00 and require the heads to be ported as well as the FI body.

But that's it. In fact, I am not sure Muzzy does it anymore. Still, what is to be gained? It's still a open loop system with stock cams. Ok. 80HP at the rear wheel? May be 85? What's the longevity after that? I am not sure. If there was a better aftermarket or really demand I suppose, we'd see a lot more results and therefore would have a better idea.

I suppose if someone is buying a vtwin cruiser, they aren't looking for a sport bike or a bike with a lot of power to begin with. It is what it is. Might as well save some money and buy a C14 as a second bike. ;)

[ringadingh]

Id love a second bike with some power in it, but our insurance rates here are stupidly high and most can't afford more than one bike. Although my brother is toying with the idea of possibly getting an older Hyabusa for those days when you want to wring something out. He just got his K1200RS out today for its first ride.

[ponch]

Id love a second bike with some power in it, but our insurance rates here are stupidly high and most can't afford more than one bike. Although my brother is toying with the idea of possibly getting an older Hyabusa for those days when you want to wring something out. He just got his K1200RS out today for its first ride.

May be he can give you the beemer if he gets the hyabusa. http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[ponch]

Id love a second bike with some power in it, but our insurance rates here are stupidly high and most can't afford more than one bike. Although my brother is toying with the idea of possibly getting an older Hyabusa for those days when you want to wring something out. He just got his K1200RS out today for its first ride.

With a country of such a low population in proportion to it's size, it's difficult to understand why the rates are so high. Mine was around 400 for the year.

[ringadingh]

I take the Beemer out once in a while to get my frustrations out. it a nice quick handling bike with a bit of zip in it.

[ray2]

Always ran 91 oct gas but after reading the posts on this thread I tried 3 tanks of 89 oct gas and the bike ran good no pinging but I thought bike had a little more zip with the 91 oct gas so went back to the 91 oct gas. the MPG stayed the same.