[wilsondude]

Got a Maverik(cheaper gas) and Chevron(up to 10 cents more per gal.)close to me. Is there really a diff in the quality?

 

[Rocketman]

I have used gas from every retailer in Western Canada and every grade available, never missed a beat or noticed any difference. Not sure if the inside of the engine has been affected, but I havn't noticed.

 

[bikendad]

I really don't think so. The gas in most areas comes from the same depot, just different additive packages in each brand.

 

[FishWitch]

You ride a Victory! Don't eat beans and ya won't have gas. FUEL IT!!! I buy what I can afford. I try to use higher octanes but when the $$ for gas is high I go El Cheapo. On my KP I buy regular & add Victory Fuel Additive on occasion. I also mix reg & then then High Octane and do the mix and match. I honestly can't tell the difference but I love a filet mignon on occasion so figure my bike deserves the best as well.

 

[randysfishing]

I dont know if I am crazy but I wont use Maverick I figure for 10 cents more on 4 gallons of gas is a whopping 40 cents. I am sure the Maverick will work and I do useit for the company car but not myJP.

 

[bubba]

Have had to use Mid Grade at times and seemed to run good on that. Don't think it matters unless you really build it with performance stuff.

 

[kevinx]

My number one concern when I look at fuel is how old the tanks are. Pretty much every fuel you can get today is far supeior of the quality of stuff you gat as little as 5 years ago

 

[spider]

I really would like to know is if higher octain really does help our engines run better or not.
I use the highest octain usually 91but when I find a Sunoco it is usually94.
Is there really any benifit ?
Or is this just me being brainwashed into thinking I " have " to run the highest octain, because I was told to by the Manufacturer.

 

[Sutherland]

Just like Spider I was using Sunoco 94 in my bike most of the time, I spoke to a person with more knowledge on Victory motorcycles then most about this and was told that these bikes don't need high octane to run good and than 91 octane was good for them.
I do beleive you can get away with less octane as I have seen people use 87 octane in there Victorys with no problem.
As far asthe octane value ourgas we have no way of knowing what valueit really is.
Best I can say if bike is not pinging the grade of gas should be good.
I now try and use Shell V Power 91 or Ultramar supreme when I can, my bike seems to work a way better on either of these brands
Regards

 

[wilsondude]

I can afford to pay gas prices, even if it it is $3.03 at Chevron and only $2.82 here in Salt Lake City. I wastold by my Dealer when I bought the VVto run 91 octane in my Vic, after running Reg.(85 octane in Utah) for 56K miles on my VTX. I have no problem paying more for quality, if it is needed.

 

[Clubford00]

I did experiments all summer with fuel. After buying the bike from our fearless leader it always had the high (93o) fuel. I started using the 89 then after about 4 tanks of the 89, I started using the 87. After about 3 tanks of the cheap stuff , on hard acceleration i noticed quite a bit of pinging. I couldnt figure out what it was at first but then realizing what it was and going back to the 93, the ping stopped and it did seem to run smoother. I have on occasion gone back to the mid grade without issues, but I wont use the low grade any more.

 

[mjw930]

This is another pertty much black and white issue. The newer Vic motors REQUIRE a MINIMUM of 91 octane. Using less will reduce performance, using more is simply a waste of money.

Many probably don't reslize that 91 octane at altitude (CO, UT, CA, etc.) is pretty much the exact same as 93 octane at sea level. Vic publishes the 91 octane number because of this. Those using 93 - 94 octane at or near sea level are using roughly the same blend as those using 91 octane in Denver.

As far as different brands, unless you want a specific additive package, like Techron from Chevron then it's really just down to personal preference. I've noticed differences in blends with older boosted motors that didn't have the sophisticated electronics to cope with variations but with the newer EFI motors I rarely see a difference. I do steer clear of the 1 or 2 pump stations and try to use larger stations that get a high turnover just so the fuel is fresh. Also, if you are using a pump with a single nozzle know that you will get ~1/4 gallon of whatever the previous person bought before your selection starts to flow. Usually not an issue with a 16 gallon car but it can be if you are only pumping a few gallons. Also, avoid stations where the fuel truck is filling the tanks, this stirs up the crap at the bottom of the tank and again, when you are talking the lower amounts of gas we pump it can make a difference in the longevity of your fuel filter.

 

[Putter]

I've tried different fuel in my cars and bikes and seem to get better mileage with Top Tier brands.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

Always try to use the recommended octane. Figure the auto and bike fims wouldn't recommend it unless it was warranted. Also ge better mileage with it.

 

[bikendad]

My number one concern when I look at fuel is how old the tanks are. Pretty much every fuel you can get today is far supeior of the quality of stuff you gat as little as 5 years ago

+1 I won't fuel up at a real old station with old tanks full of crud. My riding buddies pulled into a station that looked like Orville and Wilbur Wright fueled up there, I said no way!

 

[kevinx]

Since thes bikes do not use a knock sensor using 91 octane with ambiant temps below about 90 is a waste of money. If you want the best performance you use the LOWEST octane number you can; that does not ping

 

[Sutherland]

From my above post
(Best I can say if bike is not pinging the grade of gas should be good)
Now that makes two people with more knowledge than most, including myself on Victory bikes with just about the same opinion.
Regards

 

[Clubford00]

Since thes bikes do not use a knock sensor using 91 octane with ambiant temps below about 90 is a waste of money. If you want the best performance you use the LOWEST octane number you can; that does not ping

Exactly what I found with my experiment. 93 is expensive and didnt offer any big advantages, 83 makes the bike ping and 87 works just fine.

 

[Chas_K]

Here I have 4 choices in gas, 91 octane without ethanol, 91 with ethanol (different station), 89 with ethanol and 87 without. In IA the ethanol fuels are cheaper than others for a given octane rating, actually the 89 ethanol blend is cheaper than the 87 non alcoholic version by 10-12 cents but I try to avoid them if at all possible. Currently the cheap stuff (89o with ethanol) is $2.559, round up to $2.56, the 91o non alcoholic is $2.86. At the most I spend $1.20 more per fill up for the best available, I justify that by not buying a candy bar or cup of coffee while I'm there. If I filled up 100 times a year it would cost $120 more a year, but I gave up my 1 pack a day Marlboro habit 7 or 8 years ago so I'm WAAAY ahead.
My owners manual says to use 92 octane which is not an option I am sure I have heard my bike ping on a few occasions with 91, usually on 6th gear passing a car doing ~50-60 MPH up a hill. I have the S&S filter & download, not the factory program & maybe that is partly responsible. I wish I had the option of higher octane.

 

[Kuip]

I've tried different fuel in my cars and bikes and seem to get better mileage with Top Tier brands.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

Always try to use the recommended octane. Figure the auto and bike fims wouldn't recommend it unless it was warranted. Also ge better mileage with it.

+1 on the toptiergas
Some of the brands (stations) on it are surprising.

Kuip

 

[kevinx]

I've tried different fuel in my cars and bikes and seem to get better mileage with Top Tier brands.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

Always try to use the recommended octane. Figure the auto and bike fims wouldn't recommend it unless it was warranted. Also ge better mileage with it.

Octane recomendations are for a blanket coverage, and a machine operated at sea level in high ambiant temps ha vastly different needs then a machine at a couple thousand feet with lower, or higher temps. So what the manufacturer knows is that they can stay out of trouble if they list high recomendations on octane
Octane in VERY simple terms is a measure of how well a fuel RESISTS combustion. This means that you get lower MPG since it is less willing to burn