[danketchpel]

i noticed same 2 mpg lost w/ ethanol blend fuel. so i started using sta-bil ethanol fuel treatment and got back those 2 lost mpg's. works ok for me.

That's some interesting feedback.

How much to do you put in per tank?

 

[JRWalker]

How much to do you put in per tank?

1/2 oz of ethanol treatment per 5gals of fuel.
1 bottle of ethanol treatment treats 20 tanks full or 4000+miles.

 

[vanditto]

Higher octane fuel has absolutely 0 effect on MPG's and is a complete waste of of money for an engine that does not require it. Turbo/super charged, high compression engines, then yes, it is required, but does not give better performance. It allows the engine that was built for higher performance do its thing without destroying itself through pre-ignition and detonation. This is a simple explanation, but hopefully gets the point across. If in doubt do some research as it is a proven fact and not just my opinion.

 

[Ches_Man]

This will be my 4th year of ownership with my Vee and I haven't tracked MPG or in my case Litres/100kms once.

I fill her up and ride 'er hard and happy and she never lets me down. That's good enough for me.

 

[jonesy792]

I used to only get 40mpg from my ninja 250 (I suffer from heavy hand syndrome) so a "downgrade" to 35mpg on my vee doesn't seem so bad to me :mod2_stuart:

This is the way I see the mpg issue when I look at the big picture:

@$4/gal

35mpg= $.114/mile
40mpg= $.100/mile
45mpg= $.088/mile

sure over 10,000 miles you will realize $250 in savings from 35 to 45mpg but personally I will gladly spend the extra $.025/mile to have a big, fat, ear-to-ear grin on my face :thumbup:

It's a liter bike, it doesn't get phenomenal gas mileage, this shouldn't be a surprise.

 

[biggyfries]

Here's the latest development in my town--several gas stations are running large signs saying "no ethanol in our gas"--so I buy my fuel there and it is easier to get better fuel economy with the non-ethanol gas.
Look around or ask for non-ethanol gas. If the fuel vendors get the idea there is a market for straight gas they will respond.

 

[sweetcreek]

The "boat gas" is better for your bike, mileage is better by about 8% /12% but it cost about 20% / 30% more. On my Vee I'm getting hi 40's to mid 50's mpg. US-1 is single lane, straight and flat here, lucky to 60 / 65 mph. I use "boat gas" all the time but it's costly.

 

[DBuck12]

Higher octane fuel has absolutely 0 effect on MPG's and is a complete waste of of money for an engine that does not require it. Turbo/super charged, high compression engines, then yes, it is required, but does not give better performance. It allows the engine that was built for higher performance do its thing without destroying itself through pre-ignition and detonation. This is a simple explanation, but hopefully gets the point across. If in doubt do some research as it is a proven fact and not just my opinion.

vanditto, you have the single best answer. In the American car culture (folklore), and motorcycle culture, there are many misconceptions about octane. Even though I have read several good explanations about the true nature of "high octane", the misconceptions persist. The following puts it together well.

BMW and MINI – Fuel (Gasoline) Octane vs. Economy vs. Quality | Bavarian Autosport Blog

 

[richw]

High test, low test, tier one, fungo, aviation, boat, race etc.

Gasoline is a family of organic molecules. Benzene not used in gas anymore based upon cancer has double bonds and as such releases more energy when it burns. longer molecules with less hydrogen require more air. Additive packages effect combustion and complete combustion rates.

Yes a geezer story was that high test was created to allow for higher compression engines need it to avoid pre-ignition etc. Actually we have VERY high compression compared to a 1940 ford that required Ethyl.

SO IMHO that we poor savages in bush in the dark have no idea whats really going on. We are better off relying on anecdotal information then some physics based theoretical paradigm where all factors not understood are considered the same or irrelevant.

Remember Megan Fox share over 99 percent of the DNA with a chimp. The outside somewhat different the brain not so much