[HellBoy]

Forgive me my newbie questions please....

The guy I bought my bike from said to only use regular gas, never higher octane. Is this true?

I also noticed it ran a bit smoother with BP brand.

[ironhorse]

quality of fuel is important, and most folks I know run premium, or mid with octane booster. My ops manuel dictates 90+ oct and if its efi no more than 10% ethenol is recomended

[HellBoy]

Thanks Ironhorse. Anyone else?

[skull2007]

seems that running anything but premium is about unheard of

[goats_hogs]

I don't know what you are riding, other than you have listed a Harley. My old bike, a 1991 FLHS, is fine with mid grade, actually runs best on it. The newer bikes with fuel injection recommend at least 91. My wife's bike (2005 Super Glide) does fine on 92 octane. My newer bike, (2007 Road King with 103) likes the very best I can get it.

Provided your air fuel ratio and timing is correct... if the bike pings much you have too low of octane. Personally, I don't want any pinging at all.

[maxpower_hd]

I always run super in mine as long as it's available. I have run regular in it as well. There is a small indy station near my house that only sells regular and he's the cheapest around. Once in a while I go there if I'm too low on fuel to get to the next station. It seems to run fine with the regular. No pinging or anything but it does seem to perform a little better with the super.

Either way, I'm pretty certain you won't HARM anything using super. Worst case is that you buy it but don't really need it. I'm not sure why he said NEVER to use it.

[Slimjim]

I believe the manual says to use at least 91 octane in mine. I always use 93 since the mid grade is 89 I think.

[HellBoy]

Thanks for all the input guys, most appreciated. I have the 2003 Anniversary 883 XLH Sportster. I do get hesitation when I hold it steady at one speed like 25, 35, 50, for a little while. It's kind of a stutter. Is that what you guys mean by pinging, or is that something else?

I'll certainly move up to mid octane next refill until I find out for sure what's recommended.

Harley's website doesn't offer access to info about older models, at least as far as I can see.

[hotroadking]

I run Premium IIRC the manual calls for premium grade, if you run less you need to be sure you have no detonation.

If you have a higher compression motor you need to run the super!

[cowboy]

hellboy, my daughter's 04 883 , book says to run 90 or higher octane
the hesatation (sp) you feel is different then the grade of gas you use
it seems all the sporty's have it once you change the pipes & air cleaner ,
sometimes you can adjust the carb , other time's you'll have to rejet it A good shop should know how to do it , if you can't , do a search here on carbs or sporty carbs , we all just talked about this about a month or so ago

[HellBoy]

Thanks Cowboy, Hot RoadKing. I'm guessing my 2003 883 isn't much different than your daughter's Cowboy, so next time I'll fill'er up with high octane!

Roadking, my pipes were changed to drag pipes before I bought it. I'm trying to resolve the excessive noise problem in another thread. I like the sound, but need to dial it down say... 20%. Once I find the solution to that, I'll definitely see if the mechanic can address the hesitation/hiccup. No reason to tune it for pipes that need changing/adjusting.

[SPORSTERBOY]

The O3 Sporster Is The Last Of The Old Sportsters. The O4 Is Much Differn't In The Tuneing Of The Motor. The Owners Manual Says To Run 87 Octane On All Sportsters Except The Xl Sport Which Uses 91. I've Always Ran 87, Put Premium In Before And Really Can't Tell Any Differnce. I'll Put Some B-12 Chem. In Every So Offten For Cleaning Where Ever The Gas Flows. I Would Say That It Doesn't Really Matter, But Every One I Know Uses Premium. Maybe The Big Twin Uses 91 Couldn't Tell Ya. If You Have Any More ?'s I Have The Owners Manual. Not The Service Manual YOUR HICK UP AND HESITATION IS PROBABLEY BECAUSE WHO EVER PUT ON THE DRAG PIPES DIDN'T RE'JET THE CARB, MINE DID THE SAME THING. MORE THAN LIKELY IF YOU PUT BAFFLES IN IT, IT WILL GO BACK CLOSE TO NORMAL WITHOUT HAVING TO DO CARB WORK, BECAUSE YOU WILL BE PUTTING IT BACK TO BEING CLOSE TO STOCK AGIAN.

[whacker]

I always use the highest octane gas I can find,on my 75 sportty

[HellBoy]

Thanks Sportsterboy, I'd love to find an owners manual. 87 is regular, but I have the 883 XLH Anniv. model, does that belong to the same XL sport category you mentioned that Harley was recommending higher octane for?

* Like your bikes style there whacker.

[Red Rider]

High octane gas is not as crucial in the coolest months, as the denser air correspondingly contains more oxygen. The hotter the temperature outside, the more octane matters. Check your plugs' color for a decent indication that you're gettng good burn.

[HellBoy]

Cool, Red. No pun intended thanks.

[voodoochild]

I have always run super, nothing else. Never looked at the manual for that info, just assumed it was the best thing to run in it.

[voodoo1]

02 wideglide "100pure gasoline" from shell or sunoco(BP makes everything I own run bad(ohio) 92oct is the lowest runs great. I take the lucas gas treatment when I get out of state and end up getting what I can whenya gotta stop. Lucky to have a family owned machine shop and see the difference(heads/valves/intake), in what people put in their tanks auto/bike or otherwise. My dad's 05 sprty "spit" straight from the day he got this one. Took it back twice and the stealership idled it up. ( i even checked to make sure there was no paint or anyhting obstucting the vent tube.) it spit until the day he got rid of it a year or so later. The thing ran great but spit and hicked in the middle of intersections etc. They tried to tell him they all did it to some degree. Needless to say we know better, but they tell people anything if they think it will help and think ya don't know better they really try to get ya. His bike was straight stock.

[chucktx]

i run the highes octane i can get also....try to stick with name brands....

[cardboard]

Originally Posted by chucktx

i run the highes octane i can get also....try to stick with name brands....

2nd that !


YouTube - Harley Davidson and the Hitchin' Hottie