CB650R 93 gas?

[Satilla]

After searching the forums I couldn’t find any threads about this. The service manual says 86 or higher for the fuel grade. Does anybody run 93 for better quality? Also, does this cause any problems later down the road for power commanders, ecu tunes, or exhausts?
I’m still fairly new to motorcycles but I’ve ran 93 gas on all of my performance cars as suggested.

 

[OkiCB]

Ran ~95 up until a couple weeks ago. Ran great.
Switched up to ~87 after I actually looked at the manual and saw regular up in there. No appreciable difference except the 500 yen/tank which will certainly add up. I could go elsewhere and save 1000yen/tank, but, eh. Don't trust the fuel there quite as much.
Any piggyback ECUs are going to make it richer for more power from my understanding. Shouldn't be an issue. An exhaust that maintains the cat should be no issue either.

 

[Satilla]

Thanks for the reply, I think I might go with 93 unless it’s gonna be detrimental in the long run for a power commander/tune.

Ran ~95 up until a couple weeks ago. Ran great.
Switched up to ~87 after I actually looked at the manual and saw regular up in there. No appreciable difference except the 500 yen/tank which will certainly add up. I could go elsewhere and save 1000yen/tank, but, eh. Don't trust the fuel there quite as much.
Any piggyback ECUs are going to make it richer for more power from my understanding. Shouldn't be an issue. An exhaust that maintains the cat should be no issue either.

 

[OkiCB]

Only thing it's bound to hurt is your pocketbook, mate.
If you get a tune done on a dyno, they'll tune it for whatever fuel you're running. You decide whether the extra 5hp (or whatever it happens to be) is worth the extra coin every fill-up. When I go through a tank a week, that extra 500yen adds up remarkably fast.

 

[Devilsfan]

I always run 87, unless there's nothing else. On occasion when I can find a non-ethanol gas pump I'll put some of that it. But most of the motorcyclists I know have always run 87 unless they have a "super-charged, dual overhead cam, N.A.S.A. rocket engine with Nitro oxide"! 🏍

 

[Road Hog]

Satilla,In thailand we only have a choice of two 87 ethanol or 95 ethanol but we do have small supplies of 95 non- ethanol

which to me is the best for our bikes as this fuel is much cleaner and you get a better mileage than on an ethanol mix.

 

[kingn8dogg]

In simplfied terms, think of the octane rating as rating how much pressure/heat it takes to ignite the fuel. The higher the number, the more it takes to ignite the fuel. Yes, that's right, lower is actually easier to ignite. So why is higher octane associated with more power? Because the additional power associated with higher octane comes from many other factors than just different fuel. Factors like increased compression ratios, turbochargers, air fuel ratios, rpm, EGR, thermostat, timing advance. Factors that all can contribute to increased pressure/heat inside the combustion chamber. When the pressure/heat increases enough, the lower octane fuel will ignite early causing a condition called detonation.

 

[miweber929]

But most of the motorcyclists I know have always run 87 unless they have a "super-charged, dual overhead cam, N.A.S.A. rocket engine with Nitro oxide"! 🏍

Or unless their “normal” bike calls for it, a lot actually do.

@Satilla, You will not hurt anything even if your bike does not call for it, and only you know if it’s worth it or not to spend the extra money. My car calls for premium, and I’ve read several reports on high compression DI vehicles having better longevity between fuel system cleanings if you run higher octane so I run it my truck, my Ducati calls for it as have several other bikes I’ve had in the past. So I normally just try to run a non-oxy premium if I can find it just to always stay in the habit.

To me running clean, non-oxy fuel is what makes a difference to running so by me that means premium and I don’t notice the “extra” it costs, it just is what it is.

 

[FogDucker]

Stick to your Bible > User Manual > 86
higher fuel octane will actually mess up with the timing of your engine mechanism

 

[Brammers]

No actually, it won't. It won't do anything except waste money.

Go too low on octane and that'll cause knocking and other issues which could be harmful though.

J