Fuel selection at the pump


arnie

New Member
I recently purchased my first motorcycle, a 2012 FZ6R from a buddy of mine, and today I had to put fuel into it for the first time. I tried to skim the service manual on my phone at the pump but wasn’t able to find anything. So I chose the standard (87 octane - 10% ethanol) here in Pennsylvania.

Apon reviewing the service manual further when I got home, I did find some information on fuel.



Recommended fuel:
Unleaded gasoline only
Fuel tank capacity:
17.3L (4.57 US gal, 3.81 lmp.gal)
Fuel reserve amount:
3.2L (0.85 US gal, 0.70 lmp.gal)

NOTICE
Use only unleaded gasoline. The use of leaded gasoline will cause severe damage to internal engine parts, such as the valves and piston rings, as well as to the exhaust system.


Your Yamaha engine has been designed to use regular unleaded gasoline with a pump octane number [(R+M)/2] of 86 or higher, or a research octane number of 91 or higher. If knocking (or pinging) occurs, use a gasoline of a different brand or premium unleaded fuel. Use of unleaded fuel will extend spark plug life and reduce maintenance costs.
Gasohol
There are two types of gasohol: gasohol containing ethanol and that containing methanol. Gasohol containing ethanol can be used if the ethanol content does not exceed 10% (E10) Gasohol containing methanol is not recommended by Yamaha because it can cause damage to the fuel system of vehicle performance problems.




It seems as if Yamaha is saying - If you have to, you can use E10.
Is anybody out there using standard gasoline without the added ethanol? And which octane? Any thoughts with our engine?

If the oil is the lifeblood of the engine. Would fuel be a close second?
 

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TexanFZ6R

Senior Member
I generally run 89 only because I couldn't find a definite answer in the manual. As for ethanol, I'm pretty sure it's up to 10%.
 

MrFrzZ

New Member
Ive always used 93 in mine. I've never noticed any issues and my plugs looked good for being 3k miles over their change due date.
 

Just_Jim

Active Member
Due to the altitude (Denver, CO), regular unleaded in my area is 85 octane E-10. The FZ6R runs fine on it - no issues.

Heck, I run 87 octane E-10 in my R6 in the cooler months (November - May) without any problems, but I definitely have to use 91 octane in it in the hot summer months.

Oh, and I add Star Tron to every tank (in both bikes) to counteract the effects of ethanol.
 

alaskanflyboy

Premium Member

vcdstroyr

Member
A sticker on the swing arm says to use 91. The manual says 86. I've used 87 E10 since I've bought the bike. Once in a blue moon, I throw in some non ethenal 87 or 89 which ever the gas station has available. I think I used 91 once or twice in the 2.5 years I've owned the bike.

TLDR
Use what ever gas you want as long as it's not more than 10% ethenol.
 

mlehto

New Member
After doing a bunch of research on this the general consensus is 87 with 10% ethanol is fine.

The issue I have is that Ethanol can hold water, and can cause corrosion internally if you are storing the bike for a long period.

I live in Canada and will be storing the bike 4-5 months out of the year, so I don't want anything to do with Ethanol, so I run premium from Sunoco as it is easy to find and contains no ethanol.

Performance wise it makes no difference and I have ran both in the past.

Its a couple bucks difference on a tank so I feel its worth it.
 


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