Gasoline....low, mid or premium

[Yellow Jacket]

The Kawasaki engineers could have made the speedometer and the odometer rock solid dead on, and they probably would have preferred it knowing how engineers think. You can blame the lawyers in the company who tells them exactly how much error they are going to engineer into the speedometer and the odometer.

[macmac]

Too bad the lawyers and bean counters worry about little grease so much, and also never recalled the U Joints. That U joint not getting any grease at the factory is one of my pet peeves. Another is the chaff left in the forks at the top from threading the tubes.

[dshelly]

The debates on fuel and CT's IMO comes down to $$$$ . For less than a dollar a fill up you can run premium fuel and get better mpg. (at least I do) Are you that run reg gas really that cheap??? So how much did you spend on a fuel processor to save that dollar a tank anyway??

As far as car tires, do you that run car tires do it because of money ???? I have ridden a bike with a car tire and know that's one mod I'll never do. I'm not that cheap that I'd have to run a CT on my bike to save money. and I sure wouldn't do it for improved handling...........

[macmac]

Originally Posted by dshelly

The debates on fuel and CT's IMO comes down to $$$$ . For less than a dollar a fill up you can run premium fuel and get better mpg. (at least I do) Are you that run reg gas really that cheap??? So how much did you spend on a fuel processor to save that dollar a tank anyway??

As far as car tires, do you that run car tires do it because of money ???? I have ridden a bike with a car tire and know that's one mod I'll never do. I'm not that cheap that I'd have to run a CT on my bike to save money. and I sure wouldn't do it for improved handling...........

I run a CT because I like the way it takes the wiggle out of the Nomad frame and the way the bike handles on road grind, wire bridges, paint, and adds under steer in the curves. I like the added braking power too. The bike is less alive this way, and does what i want instead of what it wants.

I didn't like pinging rocks off the dirt roads as the rear mc tire did. I thought it was both mc tires doing that, but I was wrong to a point as it was mainly the rear which almost stopped with the ct on.

I am old enough to know mc tires used to be a more square profile too. I used to have Brit bikes that were and 2 old harleys that did too. pre Evo HD from the 50's when I bought them very used in the late 60's.

I run regular gas because that is what the 9:1 compression ratio engine calls for when it has the proper air to fuel mix instead of that factory lean.

I will admit the extra traction of a CT will eat apx 2 MPG's. The last time i had both mc tires on I was getting close to 48 MPG on regular, and now get 44/46 2 up, which is 99% of my riding 2 up.

What octane you run is based on comp ratio. When you add fuel to an engine expecting less MPG's to trade for more power and ALSO happen to improve MPG you have proof the engine was starved for fuel!

I have added TFI's to more bikes than my own and ALL of them gained MPG's so far. I had a 1500 that improved MPG's by 10% and my 1600 did as well.

What can I know? I have only rebuilt and installed more than 1,000 air cooled VW engines, rebuilt and installed volvo injected engines, porsche, BMW, Saab, and etc as a pro tech for the way i earned a living....

I saw D jet which the Nomads have a take off of first in 1968 in the last 122 Amazon Volvo cars. Back them the system had a method to adjust fuel mix as stock.

IMO running hi test gas is just the best way to build rock hard carbon in the combustion chambers, and another way to reduce the power the engine cam make.

The rule of thumb is to run the lowest octane the engine will run with out PING. I have seen first hand what PING does.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by macmac

You can't be serious about a ct making oil work harder......

Of course I'm not serious Mac.
Some times these opinions from different people on here are so far out in left field I have to add an even more ridiculous statement.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Of course I'm not serious Mac.
Some times these opinions from different people on here are so far out in left field I have to add an even more ridiculous statement.

Ah yeah I see that too...... Sometimes from guys I would think know better.

[dshelly]

Well I'm no Volvo Expert, but from what I know about Octane and Engines . There is more to octane requirement than just compression ratio. It has also has to do with port design, head flow and ignition timing.

I've tried the lower octane fuel in my bike and it doesn't like it. Gets worse mpg and pings on hot days. If it were flatter around here I'd probably have better luck with it. But for $1 to $1.50 a tank why bother? I'll just have 1 less beer when I stop. Well........ maybe not

[macmac]

Originally Posted by dshelly

Well I'm no Volvo Expert, but from what I know about Octane and Engines . There is more to octane requirement than just compression ratio. It has also has to do with port design, head flow and ignition timing.

I've tried the lower octane fuel in my bike and it doesn't like it. Gets worse mpg and pings on hot days. If it were flatter around here I'd probably have better luck with it. But for $1 to $1.50 a tank why bother? I'll just have 1 less beer when I stop. Well........ maybe not

How is your bike set up? Of it is stock you better be burning hi test fuel to even out the burn.

If it is modified with V&H Baggers a BAK and a TFI or like fuel chip set then you should burn regular. because then you have given the engine the fuel the factory should have given it.

The problem when you have a all stock bike that PINGS on high test then you have a big problem and my 01 did!

What is you elevation?

Here I ride from sea level to about 3,000 ft but i can't stay that high but for a few seconds time then I go down over the back side of what ever. The only way i can ride above that is to go up Mt Washington where it will be colder and there will be more 02

[dshelly]

I run V&H exhaust my own BAK and a Dobeck Gen 3 . Elevation here at my house is 4400 ft. Just got back from a 550 mile weekend through MT and WY. Rode over the Beartooth pass at 11K ft. Bike ran great. Averaged 40-45 mpg riding 2 up. As far as carbon buildup from premium fuel which is 91 here. I run some Chevron Pro Gard through it every 1000 miles or so. Supposed to reduce carbon and clean the injectors.
I was always told that carbon build up is from short trips and the engine not getting up to operating temp. I don't make short trips, When I get the bike out is an easy 30-40 mile min.

[Yellow Jacket]

Originally Posted by dshelly

The debates on fuel and CT's IMO comes down to $$$$ . For less than a dollar a fill up you can run premium fuel and get better mpg. (at least I do) Are you that run reg gas really that cheap??? So how much did you spend on a fuel processor to save that dollar a tank anyway??

As far as car tires, do you that run car tires do it because of money ???? I have ridden a bike with a car tire and know that's one mod I'll never do. I'm not that cheap that I'd have to run a CT on my bike to save money. and I sure wouldn't do it for improved handling...........

I've tried the lower octane fuel in my bike and it doesn't like it. Gets worse mpg and pings on hot days. If it were flatter around here I'd probably have better luck with it. But for $1 to $1.50 a tank why bother?

Well Dave, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with a couple of your comments here.

My 2006 1600 is stock with the exception of a TFI and a car tire. My decision to make these changes was definintely not because I'm too cheap to buy either premium fuel or a motorcycle tire. Comments like that add nothing to the debate.

The reason I added the TFI was because Kawasaki has set the air/fuel ratio on these bikes WAY too lean. Mostly due to EPA or government regulations. Now that my air/fuel ratio is correct I have an engine that runs cooler, has more responsiveness, does not ping on any fuel (from 87 octane up to 92 octane) in any conditions and still gets the same fuel mileage. My mpg runs anywhere between 38 to 45 depending on how much I twist the throttle. By the way, before adding the TFI, I could still get pinging on hot days even with the 92 octane.

If you put regular octane in your stock bike (without any type of fuel processor) of course you're going to get pinging/pre-ignition/detonation or whatever you want to call it. Regardless of what you call it, it's going to damage your engine. What do you do on those nasty days when you get pinging even with premium? Park the bike?

Now for the car tire. I didn't go to a car tire because it was cheaper. The fact that it is cheaper is just another side benefit.

The benefits I have found with the car tire are: A much larger contact patch on the ground than a MC tire. Increased longevity which means fewer tire changes. Handling that is just as good as with a MC tire. . .not any better mind you, but not any worse either. Keep in mind, a Nomad is not a sport bike and no matter what kind of tires you have on one, it is never going to handle like a sport bike.

Finally, I will never dispute the fact that you have the right to your opinion. That doesn't mean that your opinion is right. It may be right and then again it may not be.

Likewise, I have the right to my opinion. Also, that doesn't mean that my opinion is right or wrong either.

I imagine that if everyone had the same opinion this would be a rather dull world.

The truly important thing is to set your bike up in a manner which makes you comfortable and then ride the daylights out of it.

Cheers, Bob

[macmac]

Originally Posted by dshelly

I run V&H exhaust my own BAK and a Dobeck Gen 3 . Elevation here at my house is 4400 ft. Just got back from a 550 mile weekend through MT and WY. Rode over the Beartooth pass at 11K ft. Bike ran great. Averaged 40-45 mpg riding 2 up. As far as carbon buildup from premium fuel which is 91 here. I run some Chevron Pro Gard through it every 1000 miles or so. Supposed to reduce carbon and clean the injectors.
I was always told that carbon build up is from short trips and the engine not getting up to operating temp. I don't make short trips, When I get the bike out is an easy 30-40 mile min.

I have no idea how chevron products are. I know for a fact if there is a carbon deposit a direct dose of seafoam set to soak a while will soften it and cut it to metal over night.

I KNOW this because a chain saw i was cutting thru a stack of slab wood dumped on the ground forever deep, a mess to get cleaned up and dried out became too much for my saw a husky and I made a carbon deposit that seized the rings.

Saw quit 0 comp..... i yanked off the covers to tear the cyl off, and got so far as taking off the muffler, when the seafoam idea hit me.

I could see the comp ring and the carbon cake mass on the piston and felt it with a thin screw driver. Any more heat and pressure and i would have been rich!

I soaked it down for starters still believing i would at least need a new ring and since it was dinner time I called it quits for over night. Next day I dumped out the carbon and then blew it out.

For grins I pulled the engine over and found i had compression again. That was several years ago and I still run that husky with another one.

I have ridden parts of the Beartooth and spent around 10 days in Cooke City. Nice out there but kinda lacking in any hardwood trees. In the Big horn I almost camped for a road kill cow elk.

Don't know if that is legal, but it is here in NH. I can claim any road kill if i want for what ever I want.

Back to fuel do you have 86 octane there? There was in new mexico in the 7,000 ft plateau.

Hi test here goes to 93 octane and if you want it bad enough you can get 110 and even 120. Way over kill for any 9:1 engines.

[dshelly]

Well Bob, I don't park my bike just cause it's hot. Just don't roll on the throttle as hard. That eliminates the ping.

Mac, good thing you didn't plan on keeping that elk, that's a no no here. Might even get you some time in the pokey. Road kills here are literally for the birds. Magpies, Eagles etc...
Oh and our gas choices are 85,87 and 91. Octane values go up in the western part of the state. Another reason I buy 91 is that it's the only one you can get without Ethanol. Not sure if that's a government thing but I think it's

[macmac]

often time boat mariners will have real gas because Ethanol IS hydroscopic, and if a boat was left 2 weeks with 1/2 tank full leaving a lot of space for surface contact, that fuel would be as good a pissin' in the gas tank.

And as low octane as i can buy is 87 and at std pumps to 93, which is related to sea level yours and mine and the why you can get 85.

i am not looking to make any enemies either. Just in case you were thinking so. My whole point is to try and save souls, err no, save guys a buck

i wasn't going to keep the elk it was dead, i was tempted to set up a tend and spend time there near the east and top of the bog Horns to eat that elk! i would have given that elk back as fertilizer...

I was on a Nomad when I found her..... real Fresh road kill still twitching. I can only guess a big rig headed west hit it, as I was pretty much alone on that road other than my pillion wife. That pass at 9,666 ft.....

[Yellow Jacket]

There are a few stations here in Georgia that claim that they have gas without any ethanol it them but they want an arm, leg and one of your children for it.

We've got 87, 89 and 91 and all of them have signs on the pump saying up to 10% ethanol content. My Tahoe is capable of running on up to 85% ethanol but for the life of me I don't know why anyone would want to buy that junk. There's no way I will ever put that in the tank.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by Yellow Jacket

There are a few stations here in Georgia that claim that they have gas without any ethanol it them but they want an arm, leg and one of your children for it.

We've got 87, 89 and 91 and all of them have signs on the pump saying up to 10% ethanol content. My Tahoe is capable of running on up to 85% ethanol but for the life of me I don't know why anyone would want to buy that junk. There's no way I will ever put that in the tank.

I am just curious to know what is the most ethanol fuel you can buy, and if you ever ran anything on it that can safely? I have no way to try that. I bet the engine will run like crap, and lose power and drop MPG's real hard.

Ethanol pure and simple is bull shit, unless you have the engine built to run it at 100%

I personally find it comforting that CEO's from around the world can use is as test pilots for their new and feeble designs.

I just love it that to get at a EGR valve on late model Dodge pick ups it takes 10 hours to R&R that commonly replaced part. Gee suz ya gotta take 1/2 the engine apart to reach that thing on the fire wall!