erod550 wrote:And Barn did I read that right that you're using 85 octane gas??
Oh yeah. 85 octane FTW.
After having this discussion ad nausem on the CO Sportbike forum, the consensus of some very brainy folks, is that high-octane gas is only needed if, in fact, you are experiencing the symptoms of knock.
Adding higer octane fuel to a vehicle that doesn't even have these issues, is essentially causing horsepower loss, as you are removing the combustable ingredients from the cocktail. To compound this, being at the altitude we are here in Denver, we already have less oxygen and less-dense air going for us.... So by virtue of those geographical physics, we are less prone to knock anyway.
This is why you will see many varieties of "race gas" that are 80some octane. The super-high octane fuels are for already built engines, that would otherwise not run properly w/out them. And again... We were talking about sportbikes here, which are already running a very high compression ratio, compared to cars.
Here is a snipit from somebody who I consider a local authority on the subject. But yeah... it make sense to me that there is no need to address an issue, if it really isn't even happening.
High octane *inhibits* combustion. In high compression or high performance engines this can be necessary to avoid pre-detonation, however increased elevation (like Colorado) has the same effect of reducing compression due to less air density (less air+fuel means less mixture being squeezed, so while the ratio is the same, the tendency to pre-ignite is reduced). You should therefore use the lowest octane possible, which will give you the most power, best mileage, and reduce carbon buildup. If you're pumping premium into a stock sportbike motor (or even a mildly tuned one) at this elevation, you are not gaining a thing (and in fact spending more money to reduce HP). There are exceptions to this with race fuel blends that might need higher octane because of the chemistry (note: VP U4e is actually in the mid 80's I believe), but pump gas is not anything special, so just buy the cheap stuff and be happy.