1. After 20+ years it's time to pass the torch. If you are interested in acquiring this forum please contact support@cv-performance.com for details. Any spam will be reported and blocked.
  2. Welcome to Bike Talk, a forum for all bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts. If you are new to Bike Talk, be sure to register for free and join the conversation.

    There's always someone around willing to help out with questions or give a friendly wave back. All Harley and metric riders are welcome.

Regular or higher octane for Harley's

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Tech Talk' started by HellBoy, Jan 30, 2008.

  1. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    That slope is exactly what I hope to avoid. I told the dealer if there's any trouble getting the pipes baffled, don't touch anything. No sense doing stage 1 and still needing baffles. Today I heard some Vance & Hines pipes and thought mine sounded way better, no offense to those here with V&H pipes. Perhaps it was just the model I heard. I like the sound of my pipes and hopefully baffles will dial the volume down a bit while helping with performance. I'll now soon which way it will go.
  2. cowboy

    cowboy Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2006
    Messages:
    9,926
    Likes Received:
    50
    Location:
    Alvin TX
    hellboy have you tryed the big city thunder baffle site , you will have to messure the inside of you T pipe , if you can get them they will give you a good throaty sound & give you bike the back presure it need to run better
  3. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks Cowboy, that looks to be exactly what I need. I'll call my dealer tomorrow and see if I can get those installed.
  4. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Well, I finally received my 2003 Sportster manual and guess what... it does indeed recommend regular gas on pg. 40, I quote:

    "For all Sportster models (except XL Sport), use regular 87 (91 RON) pump octane."

    Now, it doesn't say not to use higher octane, so I guess it won't hurt it, but that's what it says. EVERYONE at Harley never heard of using regular, so I'm up to 93 octane now. next thing , I'll try different brands. Is there any current gas company that DOESN'T use ethanol? It would be nice to try 100% gas.
  5. fujimo

    fujimo New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2008
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    0
    octane

    I hauled fuel from terminals of most major distributors,, same ship unloaded to all,,, only difference is additive that shell,, texaco,,mobile etc adds,,,, also hauled from what they call unbranded terminal,,, that fuel went to many different stations,,, i have ridden for some years with friend out of seattle area who burns only reg,,, in 2006 we rode to wall with him from here and same reg gas in new bike,,, softail,,, but we do use boost in every tank,,,,, he gets as good gas mileage,,,better,,, than i do,,, ethonal is usually a product the government,,,city ,,county,, state,,, demands the stations use to restrict emmisions,,,most big citys,,, i will run reg,,87 octane,,, on long trips with boost,,, difference in 30 cents a gallon is not some thing to sneeze at in 15000 mile trip,,, the higher octane is to help your bike stay cooler,,,but our travel is 160 miles,,first tank at 6;00 am in morn,,, than next tank ,,, than stop at end of third tank ,,,usually by 3 in afternoon,.,, so only really hot will be second tank,,, i have 75000 on this bike,,,no problems yet,,, 2005,,, pops
  6. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    Messages:
    731
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    middleburg, pa
    what about lead additives

    never hear about anyone running lead additives:eek: . what do you guys :confused: think seems like it would help with heat.
  7. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2004
    Messages:
    13,682
    Likes Received:
    584
    Location:
    Mouseville USA
    Bikes are designed for unleaded won't JMO do you a bit of good but lighten your wallet.
  8. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Damn Fujimo, that's a lot of riding! Good luck, stay safe. Thanks for the replies guys. I guess gas is like audio tape was, only a few manufacturers and many brand labels.
  9. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    Messages:
    731
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    middleburg, pa
    i've always been of the impression that the lead was removed due to health concerns of the general population. What design changes took place:confused: probley the valves had to be designed to with stand higher temps. heads got hoter. i've always thought that leads only function was to remove heat which i would think is a god-send for an air-cooled engines. often i hear folks talking about keeping the engine running cooler. but never anything on lead
  10. ringo912

    ringo912 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2007
    Messages:
    625
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Michigan
    If I remember right, and believe me my memory is not what is use to be. Went to a doctor once and told him I was having trouble with my memory, he asked how long I had been that way, I said what way?:eek: :roflmao: :roflmao: Anyway lead was an additive to also lube the valve guides. Valves and valve seats had to be redesigned to run unleaded fuel. Not sure how leaded fuel would affect today's engines.
  11. enokradeht

    enokradeht New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2008
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    canton, oh
    On the 883 87 is fine. The Sport is different animal and the recommended octane fuels is based on compression ratios. Anything 10:1 or higher definitely premium, and race fuel if 12:1 like my stupid fairmount I thought was cool(dumb) to build that way. If it pings with regular its either carboned up decreasing combustion chamber and increasing ratio or some body's been inside playin about. Your stumble is more than likely the goodies with a stock carb. Been building engines of all sorts for almost 20 years, its all in the comp ratio and timing
  12. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Lead also created a "cushion" on the valve edges & valve seats. I remember well the transition for leaded to low-lead to unleaded & seeing engines with the edges of the valves chipped & burnt off from running unleaded in an engine originally designed for leaded. Valve seats cooked too. But with different materials used after the complete changeover to unleaded only, you don't need or want that "cushion" anymore.
  13. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks enokradeht. I assume that higher octane won't do any harm, correct? I'm putting 93 in now.
  14. AZroaddust

    AZroaddust New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2006
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I only use premium in my Sportster. (95) Changed plugs 6 months ago just cuz. They looked great and the engine fires right up instantaneously when it's warm outside.

    Premium around here is about $.30 more than regular per gallon. If you're getting around 50 MPG like I am, that isn't even a penny a mile more. Why mess around?:D
  15. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Makes sense AZ.
  16. enokradeht

    enokradeht New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2008
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    canton, oh
    Higher octane won't do any harm, except to your wallet. Find true facts about where you buy your fuel. A lot and I mean most crap I'll try and find the link. Most fuel company's out there today are seriously skimpin on the detergents in the fuel. Don't ask I found out first hand. Ended up talking to some seriously educated folks about the gov regs and what the oil company's are doing. Started with the lead, then they said caused health issues. (and yes engine prob's because of hard and soft valve seats). Then they went to mtbe google that for a sec. I can't remember all of it but google mtbe and fuel quality and that should get you there. But trashed my ford ranger motor it was a al gore tree huggin flex fuel that only got 9mpg even after the valve job. Carbon built up so bad that it smacked and bent valves. All within 60k miles. That is when I talked to the anonymous gent about the fuel
  17. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    I have been curious about which brand gas is considered the best. I've tried BP and Mobil so far and with Mobil my Sporty seems a little calmer, if that makes any sense.

    There was a time when it was illegal to put any additive in a food, I believe it was under Teddy Roosevelt's administration. It was considered the same as poisoning and those who did were severely punished. Look how far we've come, now we have to pay a premium to keep crap out of our foods. Today, when a company gets caught cooking the books, we bail them out and leave the pension plan in ruins, or when Chinese imports are found to contain poison, we only pay it lip service. No wonder oil companies cheat, no one's doing much about it because the politicians are in their pocket. Fortunately, some companies and many people thrive on doing right by their customers. Finding out which one's isn't always easy though.
  18. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    North Carolina
    A lot depends on where you are. In this area (western 1/3 of North Carolina) there are no Mobil stations, but there are BP & Texaco, both of which have good quality gasoline & those are the two I prefer. BP sells Amoco premium, which we used to call "white gas" years ago - it's almost as clear as water & burns clean. Texaco has the "Techron" additive which Chevron has too, but there are no Chevron stations here. My understanding is that Shell uses that too, but the few Shell stations in the area always have higher prices.

    There's a "tank farm" in Charlotte & that's where most of the fuel in this general area comes from. Most of that comes up by pipeline from refineries near the Gulf of Mexico (Hurricane Katrina caused the 2 lines to be shut down for a couple days & the price went up 50 cents the 1st night & another 50 cents the next) but the additives are added locally. Go by the tank farm & you'll see tanker trucks from all the area brands loading up - the major brands put in additives (like "Techron") & the "discount" brands don't. But with the exception of proprietary fuels like the BP (Amoco) "white gas", regular, mid-grade & premium all comes from the same place.

    I run premium in the street bikes & I figure when you're getting 47-53 mpg, the price difference from regular is pretty much irrelevant @ today's prices ($3.27 vs. $3.47). And the only time I've ever had "pinging" was when regular unleaded was my only choice. Didn't ping but just a lttle bit under load (like going up a long hill in high gear), but enough to say don't buy that anymore & stop into the next station to top off with premium.

    Adding 93 octane to about 1/2 tank of 87 solved the issue. Some folks say the mid-grade works great in their bikes, but that's only 89 in this area & a dime/gallon higher than regular, so what the heck, for another dime/gallon get the good stuff & don't worry about it. My Sportster tanks only hold a bit more than 3 gallons & I don't wait 'till I hit reserve to fill up. Handing over a $10 bill vs. digging change out of my pocket ain't good though, but that's the dollar going down in value, not gasoline going up.
  19. HellBoy

    HellBoy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2008
    Messages:
    706
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks Art, very informative. The BP station is closest to me, and I'm OK with it. Good to know it's a re-branded Amoco. I think I put a half tank of Sunoco in once, so it's hard to tell if it made any difference at all, and if memory serves, it did seem a hair quieter. Still, it's a subtle thing and it was late at night. I'll try to use full tanks of each and pay closer attention when I do.

    Now, all I have to do is figure out how many miles to the gallon. Why the Sporty didn't have a little gas gauge in the speedometer casing is beyond me. I've had starting problems twice, once I was out of gas because a friend had turned the petcock to "reserve" and another when I thought I still had some gas left. Fortunately that time I used Reserve to get me to the station. Funny, I was caught off guard because it started up OK with the enhancer full out, but would stall when pushed in..
  20. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    North Carolina
    'Cause it wouldn't be accurate. Semi trucks don't have a fuel gauge either & for the same reason (I drove for several years). But you do have a fuel-mileage gauge in the trip odometer.

    Reset it to -0- every time you fill up & then see how many miles you rack up before you have to fill up again. It won't always be the same, but it won't take long before you get a good average. I leave the odometer on the trip setting all the time so I know when it's time to look for a gas station.

Share This Page