Changing Fuel Type


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FSauve

New Member
I just purchased a 2009 FZ6R with 1800km and the previous owner always filled it up with premium 91. Would it cause any issues to switch to Regular 87? I've filled it up a few times with 87 and although I haven't noticed any hiccups or power issues, could it cause the engine to tick or have a different sound?

Thanks
 
S

Scott_Thomas

Insert title Here
Elite Member
FSauve said:
I just purchased a 2009 FZ6R with 1800km and the previous owner always filled it up with premium 91. Would it cause any issues to switch to Regular 87? I've filled it up a few times with 87 and although I haven't noticed any hiccups or power issues, could it cause the engine to tick or have a different sound?

Thanks
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Motorcycles are high compression, high performance engines and require higher octane. If you are not already knocking, you will eventually. It is said to lower performance on sport bikes as well. Also in the US most 91 or 93 octane gas is .20 to .30 a gallon more then 87 octane. Since our bikes are under 5 gallons that is only a saving of maybe a $1.00-$1.50 per tank. Not enough of a price variant for me to justify using 87. Now my 02 Z28 called for 91 and I used 87. Cars have anti-knock capabilities and it generally doesn't affect performance. Just my .02
 
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D

dart1963

Super Moderator
Elite Member
just shy of 45,000 miles on my '09

ran 87 from day one.... just my experience :p
 
M

Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
Here we go again... All depend what kind of oil filter you have.
 
Kdubb223

Kdubb223

New Member
I use 91 because I support oil companies! :D
 

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S

Scott_Thomas

Insert title Here
Elite Member
M

MNGreg

waiting out winter
Elite Member
You are fine to save your money and use regular 87 gas.. The only real reason to put in higher gas if you want, is if you want to get NONOX gas to avoid the ethonal. If you are ever going to let your bike sit for a while and usually get regular, then I would get NonOx especially for that fill up or the one before it. But again, you are fine with regular 87.

Gas grades are as hot a topic as politics/religion or oil choice!
 
F

FSauve

New Member
So the tick tick tick noise I get while at 6000+ RPM is nothing to worry about? I'm not really sure what the difference between pinging/knocking and normal yamaha engine noise is.
 
S

SurfJunkie

New Member
FSauve said:
So the tick tick tick noise I get while at 6000+ RPM is nothing to worry about? I'm not really sure what the difference between pinging/knocking and normal yamaha engine noise is.
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Thats regular yamaha engine noise. Has nothing to do with the octane of your fuel.
 
J

JSP

Super Moderator
No need to use premium at all in these bikes.
 
Y

yellowfz

FSauve said:
So the tick tick tick noise I get while at 6000+ RPM is nothing to worry about? I'm not really sure what the difference between pinging/knocking and normal yamaha engine noise is.
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Take off in third gear, you will hear knock then. :D
 
S

Scott_Thomas

Insert title Here
Elite Member
My initial response was based on what I was always told when I started riding. I'm a satellite signals engineer by trade, not a mechanic. I rode my buddy's R6 and he used 87 and it barely ran. He filled it up 2 or 3 times with 87. Went back to 91 and voila all better. Not sure if SS's have to have the higher octane. Anyways, I think my bike runs better on the higher octane and it only costs $1 more per fill up. Not exactly gonna break the bank, just my preference. :D
 
A

alh081

New Member
when i bought the bike, i was told to ONLY use 87 gas by the salesperson. apparently, using anything other will mess up the bike in the long run. so i'm staying w/ 87.
 
M

MichaelInVenice

Lot of Class, Mostly Low
Elite Member
alh081 said:
when i bought the bike, i was told to ONLY use 87 gas by the salesperson. apparently, using anything other will mess up the bike in the long run. so i'm staying w/ 87.
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The salesperson is an idiot. Using a higher octane can't possibly hurt, though on these engines I don't think it is likely to help.

Back in the old days of leaded fuels, there was good reason to avoid the higher octane fuels as they typically contained more lead, which could cause issues for engines not designed for those higher levels. Some practices from the "old days" get handed down as gospel, even though they became irrelevant years ago. I can't imagine where else this guy would get that idea.

All things being perfectly equal (which they never are) a higher octane should give you slightly lower mileage. But even in perfect test conditions, the thermal efficiency of 87 vs. 91 is at best a percent or so different, which is far less than you're likely to notice outside of a lab.
 

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