Ducati fuel octane

[andym]

I don't worry about fuel economy when I ride my Duc, if I did I'd buy a scooter.  I use 93  on all 4 of mine. 

I would have thought that fuel economy was a good sign of the fuel being burnt correctly. 

I use 95 RON (90 (RON+MON)/2) as this is what Ducati recommend. One thing I noticed at the weekend is how much smoother she ran on the fuel in the Hill Country, I do not think it had the ethanol in it.

I found an interesting article here.

http://www.desmoducati.org/octane.html

[svoloch]

My bike does not require gasoline.  It runs for the pure pleasure of making me happy, and in return, I love it more than my family. 

[Jester]

Chevron was one of the first to have their gasoline rated top tier.  BMW and Honda tested their cars on it exclusively so the rumor went.  Shell at least in their premium blend is also now top tier so the rumor goes

Yeah, I also know some of the American manufacturers used to have Chevron trucked in for testing on their cars as well.  Good gas.  That's primarily why I started preferring Chevron over other gasolines.  If the car manufacturers go out of their way to test on a specific gasoline, then I'm using that gasoline. 

I used to have a turbo eclipse with a ton of mod work. ( bigger turbo, front intercooler, air/fuel comp, larger radiator, ceramic clutch, suspension work, no-cat 3" racing exhaust from downpipe to back, etc etc etc ).  I never trusted anything but Chevron in that car.  I used to run 18-23psi boost and punished that thing for about 75k miles before I put it into a wall and totalled it.  She ran like a charm with zero engine problems.  I blame the gas, and frequent oil changes! =P  Maybe good tuning was also a factor LOL!.... but anyway, I got hooked on Chevron then, and haven't strayed off it it for any vehicle I consider performance oriented since.  If I have no choice I'll use something else, but you get the picture.

[Slag]

I don't worry about fuel economy when I ride my Duc, if I did I'd buy a scooter.  I use 93  on all 4 of mine. 

I remember our 1098's not liking 87 octane in Arkansas 

[fastwin]

I like Chevron too. I believe they use Techron in all their gas... I think. I use Techron fuel additive/fuel injection cleaner from Pep Boys in all my cars/trucks before any long road trip. Even take some with me when we stop to top up. At the moment I am running a s#@t load of it through my ZRX1200. It's one of the few carbed bikes I have running and with the gas being so sh#tty in town I always try and start it once a week (if I haven't ridden it) in the garage and warm it up to run some fresh gas through the carbs/jets/etc. to prevent the dreaded sludged up carb death. I have to do that even though I use an extra dose of Sta-bil in the fuel.

Well, I screwed up and missed 2-3 weeks. Would think about it while away from the house and then would forget when I got home. Last weekend I started it up and yep, you guessed it stumpled on 2 to 3 cylinders and would not idle at all. That's called being a dumba## for those that don't know. Since I had nothing to lose I dumped several ounces of Techron in a half full tank of gas, shook the tank to mix it in and have been religiously starting it at least twice a day and running it up to operating temp and blipping the throttle. You know what? It now runs just fine! That heavy dose of Techron did the trick! Saved me a major open heart surgery carb operation and boy, do I hate those! Thank God for fuel injected bikes. Yet another believer in Techron. [moto]

[cdc]

Yeah, I also know some of the American manufacturers used to have Chevron trucked in for testing on their cars as well.  Good gas.  That's primarily why I started preferring Chevron over other gasolines.  If the car manufacturers go out of their way to test on a specific gasoline, then I'm using that gasoline. 

I used to have a turbo eclipse with a ton of mod work. ( bigger turbo, front intercooler, air/fuel comp, larger radiator, ceramic clutch, suspension work, no-cat 3" racing exhaust from downpipe to back, etc etc etc ). 

No CAT!  Hmm... does the EPA know about this? 

cdc

[Jester]

No CAT!  Hmm... does the EPA know about this?

Still passed inspection at Jiffy-Lube 

[cdc]

Still passed inspection at Jiffy-Lube 

Thank God for Jiffy Lube!

cdc

[GeorgeInDallas]

I would have thought that fuel economy was a good sign of the fuel being burnt correctly. 

Exactly.  My reason for asking.  I'm not averse to paying for premium, but my gas mileage on my recent run to Barber Museum (Birmingham, AL) and back netted only 38 mpg.  Seems a lot of folks are doing much better, so I'm trying to pin down how/why they get better gas mileage.  Octane?  Tuning? Dragging my feet?  Flat tires?  It's all so complicated.   [moto]

[Jester]

Seems a lot of folks are doing much better, so I'm trying to pin down how/why they get better gas mileage.  Octane?  Tuning? Dragging my feet?  Flat tires?

Well, and aerodynamics.  Some of us are tall, some short, some in between, some heavy... you get the picture.  Just our difference in body sizes among the group can change your gas mileage a good bit.  You may be pulling around more or less weight than another guy, or you may be catching more wind at higher speeds that kills your gas mileage.  The bikes tuning is only part of it.   

[hiero]

I use regular gas in both the monster and the 748 with absolutely no issues, generally only put in shell or chevron (I use shell only in my car, but I'm not usually distance limited to some extent on getting fuel for the car when I'm down to empty). 

I'll pour a bit of seafoam in each bike from time to time and do a tank of premium from time to time for the extra additives, but really, it's not a habitual thing. 

I got 49-51mpg on the 748 on the trip up to the hill country this weekend and 44-46mpg on the trip back (I was wearing about a 30 lb backpack on the way back down, plus a freakin strong crosswind the whole time), with extended periods in the 80-110mph range...

[♣ McKraut ♣]

i can tell you from FHE that ducatis do not like diesel, just FYI.

[dallas2r]

From an inferior motorcycle forum.   

The last post it the most interesting.

http://bmwk1200s.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1647

[GeorgeInDallas]

Well, and aerodynamics.  Some of us are tall, some short, some in between, some heavy... you get the picture.  Just our difference in body sizes among the group can change your gas mileage a good bit.  You may be pulling around more or less weight than another guy, or you may be catching more wind at higher speeds that kills your gas mileage.  The bikes tuning is only part of it.   

a-HA!!!  I think you may be on to something - I'm 6'0", so if I could cut my head off, I could reduce the wind drag!  Hmmmm.     Many would say that would be an improvement in many ways.

[gmerri]

I know this is an old post, but perhaps this will help - My new Monster 796 refers to minimum 95 octane in the manual.  I was obvioiusly confused - then on WIKI I noted a couple interesting factoids - Europe uses RON and US uses AKI as a standard of Octane measurement.   For  Italy it says that - "Italy: 95 RON is the only compulsory gasoline offered (verde, "green")"

Accordingly Octane in US "United States: in the US octane rating is displayed in AKI. In the Rocky Mountain (high elevation) states, 85 AKI (90 RON) is the minimum octane, and 91 AKI (95 RON) is the maximum octane available in fuel[citation needed]. The reason for this is that in higher-elevation areas, a typical naturally aspirated engine draws in less air mass per cycle because of the reduced density of the atmosphere. This directly translates to less fuel and reduced absolute compression in the cylinder, therefore deterring knock. It is safe to fill a carbureted car that normally takes 87 AKI fuel at sea level with 85 AKI fuel in the mountains, but at sea level the fuel may cause damage to the engine. A disadvantage to this strategy is that most turbocharged vehicles are unable to produce full power, even when using the "premium" 91 AKI fuel. In some east coast states, up to 94 AKI (98 RON) is available.[21] In Colorado as well as parts of the Midwest (primarily Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri) ethanol-based E-85 fuel with 105 AKI is available.[22] Often, filling stations near US racing tracks will offer higher octane levels such as 100 AKI[citation needed]. California fuel stations will offer 87, 89, and 91 AKI (91, 93 and 95 RON) octane fuels, and at some stations, 100 AKI or higher octane, sold as racing fuel"

I guess I'll run 93 (AKI )here in the US, which is above the requirement now, albeit the 89 wouldn't be far off. 

Hope this helps and isn't a repeat of previous information.