[bassbronco_74]

so i have been riding my wee everyday (almost) for the past 3 months or so. and i have primarily used two different brands of gas. one being chevron, and the other being Safeway gas (for those of you not from the northwest/west coast it's a grocery store brand gas). I usually run Safeway gas since it's on my way home and averages at least $0.30 cheaper a gallon than chevron. side note for me is that my fill-ups are usually ~4.8 gallons every time (once a week). i should also note that my bikes always run premium (92 octane).

but...i have ran chevron a few times now, and noticed my wee does not like the "better" gas. for example, when i start the bike in the morning and afternoon it doesn't start as easily, and it really idles down low and idles rough for the first minute or so, then when riding it feels like i have less power and when accelerating the bike will "choke" out and chug a little. when i have the Safeway gas in her, she runs fine with no complaints? I have ran chevron in other cages of mine in the past with no problems either, and even my old Harley i had never complained.

has anyone else experienced something like this? just seems weird that the cheap stuff runs better than the more expensive name brand.

 

[PTRider]

Can you try Chevron from a different gas station? That station may have water leaking into their tank or some other problem.

 

[jeems]

Have you tried the lower octane? Your bike doesn't need the 92. I use 87 and haven't had a problem with any gas *knock* *knock*.

 

[Voluhzia-Strom]

...That station may have water leaking into their tank or some other problem.

...or sewer. :yikes:

I know that my Strom likes NC stations better than VA... I guess VA add more alcohol in theirs.

 

[bureaucrat]

Guys in the Honda ST-owners group have said similar about Chevron. Don't know if it means anything, but some Chevron refineries are locked to Venezuelan oil, which tends to be pretty thick and icky. West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude are the industry benchmarks for quality because they are light (specific gravity) and fairly sweet (low in sulphur); generally less than 0.40% sulphur. They also serve as the baseline for worldwide crude pricing. OPEC oil is typically a little heavier and more sour. But a lot of Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour, up to 4.5% Sulphur. Chevron has built some refineries around Venezuelan oil and so there is a lot of that product in their stream. Chevron gets crude from lots of other places as well, but I suspect a fair percentage of the oil at their stations comes from heavy/sour crude stock. Their oil most certainly meets API standards, but there may be some variants that have an effect on some engines.

Just guessing.

 

[V-Tom]

Have you tried the lower octane? Your bike doesn't need the 92. I use 87 and haven't had a problem with any gas *knock* *knock*.

No pun intended I'm sure!

..Tom

 

[bassbronco_74]

Have you tried the lower octane? Your bike doesn't need the 92. I use 87 and haven't had a problem with any gas *knock* *knock*.

I have never tried less than premium in my bike, I have always just felt that since it doesn't cost much more to fill my bike, then why not use the higher grade?

Can you try Chevron from a different gas station? That station may have water leaking into their tank or some other problem.

I have not tried another chevron station, maybe my next fill up i will try another nearby chevron and see if there gas does the same thing.

 

[bassbronco_74]

Guys in the Honda ST-owners group have said similar about Chevron. Don't know if it means anything, but some Chevron refineries are locked to Venezuelan oil, which tends to be pretty thick and icky. West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude are the industry benchmarks for quality because they are light (specific gravity) and fairly sweet (low in sulphur); generally less than 0.40% sulphur. They also serve as the baseline for worldwide crude pricing. OPEC oil is typically a little heavier and more sour. But a lot of Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour, up to 4.5% Sulphur. Chevron has built some refineries around Venezuelan oil and so there is a lot of that product in their stream. Chevron gets crude from lots of other places as well, but I suspect a fair percentage of the oil at their stations comes from heavy/sour crude stock. Their oil most certainly meets API standards, but there may be some variants that have an effect on some engines.

Just guessing.

you could be onto something there. some people say "gas is gas" but it isn't the truth. i work in the pump industry and we supply chevron along with some other big names there pumps, and we know that there is a difference in the crude coming out of the ground, and the refineries that produce the gas. but as i stated earlier i will try another chevron to see.

 

[jeems]

I have never tried less than premium in my bike, I have always just felt that since it doesn't cost much more to fill my bike, then why not use the higher grade?

Higher octane rating is not a higher "grade" gasoline. Higher octane is useful in higher compression engines to prevent detonation. There's plenty of info out there about this so I won't digress, but it is not necessary in strom. You also mentioned saving 30 cents per gallon at your safeway which is not much more than the separation of regular vs "premium".

 

[greywolf]

And different brands of gas come from the same refineries. It's only the additive package that changes and Chevron's is a good one. Use 87 octane like the manual says.

 

[bwringer]

Use 87 octane -- that's what the engine was designed for. High octane gas isn't any "better" in an engine that doesn't need it, and quite often it's worse.

Let's put it this way: higher octane gas is just gas that's a little harder to burn.

 

[JRWalker]

when ever i run the cheap stuff i get a couple less mpg. :yesnod: if youre unsure which fuel to use simple do a
compar-o reg vs prem.. which ever one gives you the best mpg is the right fuel for your bike. no b.s..

 

[biggyfries]

Fuel is a subject that has been politicized by the Left (environmentalists) to the extent we are now FORCED to buy fuel with 10% ethanol, soon to go to 15%. It is a policy that is unnecessary, not cost effective, and has so many downsides we should all speak up about it and do away with this wrong-headed policy. We should not pay EXTRA to use food-producing resources to make auto-fuel. Its not working to our benefit at all. Have any of you had difficulties with rubber parts deteriorating (diaphrams, etc)? It can almost certainly be traced back to the use of ethanol. We get about 10% LESS fuel economy with gasohol.
Just wanted to state my feelings on this subject. Please learn about it!

 

[greywolf]

There are lots of negatives. I know ethanol only has 66% of the energy of gasoline. It would have to have 0% for E10 to drop fuel economy 10%. Different sides exaggerate the benefits and the problems.

 

[bassbronco_74]

i'll be honest and say i haven't even looked at the manual to see what gas it specifies for the wee. i guess just assumed that it was premium like most of the motorcycle i have owned or ridden in the past.

i will be making the switch to regular, but still want to test out my different chevrons. like greywolf said they have a good additive package, and it's always ran well in my cages.

 

[Chuck_U_Farley]

Fuel is a subject that has been politicized by the Left (environmentalists) to the extent we are now FORCED to buy fuel with 10% ethanol, soon to go to 15%. It is a policy that is unnecessary, not cost effective, and has so many downsides we should all speak up about it and do away with this wrong-headed policy. We should not pay EXTRA to use food-producing resources to make auto-fuel. Its not working to our benefit at all. Have any of you had difficulties with rubber parts deteriorating (diaphrams, etc)? It can almost certainly be traced back to the use of ethanol. We get about 10% LESS fuel economy with gasohol.
Just wanted to state my feelings on this subject. Please learn about it!

Made the mistake of running a tank of E85 in my "Flex Fuel" truck and my mileage dropped approx 30%. I will NEVER do that again and I add SeaFoam additive to my vehicles as it helps counter act the negative effects of ethanol.

 

[johnnail]

I always use the cheapest crap I can find. So long as it's 87octane. No problems at all.

 

[dtalk]

And different brands of gas come from the same refineries. It's only the additive package that changes and Chevron's is a good one. Use 87 octane like the manual says.

As usual, the voice of grizzled reason. :thumbup:

I've burned mostly Chevron 87 octane in my '08 Wee's 35k miles, and it likes it just fine. It also likes mom-and-pop gas just fine, when that's all I can get. Your particular station may or may not have a problem, as noted.

And I have to second the comment about price and octane. You are wasting more money on premium than you're saving by burning Safeway fuel. Higher-octane fuel has one specific application, and that is to avoid predetonation in some types of engines. It has no bearing on fuel quality or additive packages.

Buy whatever makes you feel better, but don't expect empirical data to agree with you. :biggrinjester:

 

[greywolf]

Some brands of fuel have better additive packages in premium. Top tier fuels have good packages in regular. Top Tier Gasoline

 

[teevee]

Guys in the Honda ST-owners group have said similar about Chevron. Don't know if it means anything, but some Chevron refineries are locked to Venezuelan oil, which tends to be pretty thick and icky. West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude are the industry benchmarks for quality because they are light (specific gravity) and fairly sweet (low in sulphur); generally less than 0.40% sulphur. They also serve as the baseline for worldwide crude pricing. OPEC oil is typically a little heavier and more sour. But a lot of Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour, up to 4.5% Sulphur. Chevron has built some refineries around Venezuelan oil and so there is a lot of that product in their stream. Chevron gets crude from lots of other places as well, but I suspect a fair percentage of the oil at their stations comes from heavy/sour crude stock. Their oil most certainly meets API standards, but there may be some variants that have an effect on some engines.

Just guessing.

i think it's citgo you are thinking of. Citgo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
but you are correct about venezuela crude being shit. in fact the US is one of the few places in the world that can actually refine crappy heavy crude like venezuela's. of course it comes at a greater expense, such as more pollution, more cost in refining...