Was wondering what octane people use.Alot of people say 87 until summer.Some say 89 all the time.Brock recommends
89 with his pipe and map.I was running 89 pump from this station across the street.Then my bike started popping around 3-5 grand.I went to an Exxon station and filled it up with 93.Felt like a different bike.Was on the interstate
and hit 125 before I got off the entrance ramp.Then I was doing 80 and dumped it in 3rd up to 10 Grand then hit 4th.
By then I was doing 145.Bike was running great.Got off the interstate before I got arrested.Haven't had the old girl up like that in awhile.And it didn't take long to get there.What a rush.
Craig

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Whatever is the highest octane at the pump where I happen to stop. If I was ever forced by circumstance to put regular in it, I'd take it easy and not run the tach anywhere near 5 figures.

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recently read a post at BL that preongnition is not likely to happen at high rpm but rather more so lugging the motor.

IDK??? I thought race fuel was higher octane than even premium.

To answer the question, I only use premium after hearing all the crackling inside my aftermarket pipe (i guess you'd call that post ignition). The popping was much worse with lower grade gasoline. I know the pipe is not the concern, it's the engine but the principle seems to be the same.

Premium is gonna cost you a few more cents/gallon but that's the price for peace of mind. I also pour a few ounces of Seafoan fuel treatment in about every other tank or two.

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Thats what I was thinking.It ran at low revs like it was loading up.You know how those 2 strokes ran.I almost thought my plugs were fouling.Brocks maps are notorious for running rich.The end of my pipe is all sooty.The difference was so great after getting 93 in her.Maybe the gas I been running at that no name gas station sucks.Been running my Mustang on that too.No more.I payed $4.29 a gallon but what the heck.I was getting 37MPG not that I care.
Mustang gets 14MPG.Going to get dynatuned on BP 93 which used to be Ammaco.
Craig

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It's a conspiracy to take your money. The factory has lots of stock in oil companies. The engineers who designed it don't know what they're talking about. Ignore the recommendations of the literature that comes with your machine. Put in the cheap crap and save the difference for fringe and tassels.

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Brock Davidson told me on the phone when I was ordering my exhaust to just run 89 octane. I asked about higher, because I'd always tried to put the highest octane in could on previous bikes. He told me it wouldn't run better on higher octane, so why spend the extra money?

EDIT: My Connie says in the manual and on the gas tank sticker to use AT LEAST 91 Octane Gas. Why in the world would I have to do that on my C14 when I didn't have to do it on my ZX14?

* Last updated by: privateer on 4/20/2012 @ 4:26 AM *

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Emissions related maybe?

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^^^Actually, low octane burns cleaner than high octane. Octane is a fuel additive that inhibits combustion. More unspent fuel and combustion byproducts get shot out with the exhaust when burning higher octane gas. The PAIR system is there to burn those contaminants more completely. The 2 or 3 catalytic converters in the stock exhaust are there to chemically treat whatever gets past the PAIR.

High octane = preignition protection. It simply doesn't burn as well.

Low octane = more power. More of the fuel burns on ignition---but if it burns before ignition is set by engine timing, that's gotta make your motor pretty unhappy. I never felt my motor had any more pep burning regular. The increase in power must be very small.

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MR12 race fuel is 89 octane.

Is there an ingredient... or lack of common contaminant that segregates MR12 from 89 octane pump?
Ive never heard of MR12 prior to joining Bikeland and here... im very interested in this fuel. Is it petroleum based or a nol?

I just googled it and found a specification sheet. The research octane number (R+M divided by 2) is 93.

* Last updated by: hagrid on 4/20/2012 @ 8:18 PM *

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The manual calls for 90 octane. I've been using 91. I think maybe I'll try some 89 for a while.

Then my bike started popping around 3-5 grand.I went to an Exxon station and filled it up with 93.Felt like a different bike

Funny you said that! In NE I was running Shell 93 (no ethanol) I also ran 95 from the harley station. All grades have ethanol in TX, so I decided to run 89 shell which seemed to give me a better gas mileage. The other day I was running low and had to stop at Exxon. Right when I got back on the road, I fell the difference. So much so that I must have emptied my tank in 60 miles, I was playing so much. The bike definitely run smoother and stronger, I almost started a thread lol. Exxon 89 from now on. One more thing... I was out for a group ride yesterday and we were looking for gas and the leader passed a Texaco and Shell gas station to stop at Exxon. Next time, I'll ask him...
My advice would be to run 89, just get it from shell, exxon or mobil. You notice the difference more on full exhaust IMO

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Wheeee!I run 91 ethanol free exclusively.The manual says...90+ ...the tag says...90+...so what's going on you book thumpers?Read and follow directions....okay?Good....NOW...I've run 87,and 89.A few times.Loss of power?Yes...the cripness CAN be felt.The 'take off power' CAN be felt.Anyone running MR12 exclusively best be on the dragstrip.No reason to run that on the street...remember...Brock's doing this to get every last ounce of power from his test bikes.You won't benefit by going MR12 on the street.89 as Drag said...okay...yes....that's good as well.Some 89's aren't very peppy.87 IF you must...IF you're convinced it's fine....I'm convinced...it doesn't work as well in MY engine.

Privateer said.. "My Connie says in the manual and on the gas tank sticker to use AT LEAST 91 Octane Gas. Why in the world would I have to do that on my C14 when I didn't have to do it on my ZX14?"...because in at least TWO places the MFG's SAID to?No...you don't HAVE to....it's your bike afterall.These aint yer Dad's Harleys.I ran diesel one time in my Harley accidentally.It ran....poorly...but it ran.I doubt my zx would run at all with diesel in it.

Hub says the correct deal....for the peak performance do as the manual says.That's what it's about right there.(my finger is pointing at me)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 4/24/2012 @ 11:53 AM *

Well, when you think about it, Kaw wouldn't advise you to do a reflash, or switch exhaust, change sprocket, pull flies OR use block off plates so I don't see why we should do all that but then follow the manual for fuel grade.

I've got Brock's map and use 89 and my baby loves it, when she sees an exxon gas station she acts like a crack fiend! lol More seriously, I urge everybody with a full system from Brock to try Exxon 89: the best kept secret! lol

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I run 91. Only time I put regular in was during a trip through Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, 'cuz that's all they had. I didn't like the idea but figured I'd better top off. I did have about 3 gallons of 91 still in the tank so I guess I was really running something around 89 mixed?
The manual says to run 91 and I'll go with Kaw's advice before anyone else. And how much difference in cost we talking here? 10 cents cheaper per gallon? Maybe 50 cents to fill it up if you were under a gallon left? We think nothing of spending big bucks for our bikes on mod's but go cheap when it comes to gas?
Maybe there is a case for using cheaper gas but for my peace of mind I'll follow Kawa's advice since they made the bike.

Their must be something completely differant with the emissions on USA ZX14-ZX14R to

* Last updated by: bean07 on 4/27/2012 @ 6:08 PM *

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bean07. not sure if your aware, the 95ron rating in your pic is just a diff way of calculating octane than we use in the USA. IIRC we us R+M/2 95ron = 90/91 rm/2 depending on where you get it, etc.

Best octane we could get in Michigan was 94 at RM/2, which would have been RON 98. but I believe its been discontinued, so were stuck with 93 in this state. some states in the us can only get 90? or 91.

I would personally follow Kawasaki's recommendation of using a 90 octane rated fuel (R+M/2 method) for the basic dynamic reasons. High compression matched to high RPM will do strange things to the burn rate of the air/fuel mixture. Kawasaki is simply trying to control the results by starting with a certain baseline.

Intake opens around 34ºBTDC and ignition likely starts around 28º-32ºBTDC at revs above 10,000 RPM. The pistons are cruising high velocity at these RPM and the flame propogation has to occur before the exhaust valves are ready to open at 66ºBBDC. A burn that occurs too quickly will cause excessive combustion temperatures, pinging due to detonation, and excessively high emissions. A burn that occurs too slowly will cause exhaust afterburn and popping from the exhaust. So the mfgr sets a parameter in order to control the results as best they can. Even valve clearance plays a role in this transaction.

Brock may be setting the ignition timing with his mapping to perform best with 89 octane fuels. If he recommends it with his mapping then that's what I'd follow. If you're using factory settings then I'd stick to the 90 octane or better recommendation. Is there a huge difference between 89 and 90+ octane? There can be.

Pre-ignition occurs when something inside of the combustion chamber sets off the air/fuel mixture before the spark plug does. This is a uncontrolled ignition usually caused by glowing red carbon. The only real solution to this problem is to remove the carbon. The best method is to use a high quality fuel or purchase a fuel detergent that contains polyether amine (PEA). Chevron Techron is the most common version of this but products such as CRC's 'Guaranteed to Pass' fuel additive also contain very high concentrations of PEA. Ultimately it's wise to figure out why the engine is producing such dirty combustion to begin with (clogged air filter, leaking injector, weak spark, etc).

Detonation is another problem and is the more dangerous of the two. Detonation is a uncontrolled burn of the air/fuel mixture. The air/fuel mixture burns at a certain rate as the piston travels through it's stroke. The flame burn, known as the propagation rate, is controlled by the start of ignition, octane rating of the fuel, and the air density of the intake charge. Using too low of a octane rating will allow the air/fuel mixture to burn too quickly and will rapidly cause cylinder pressure to increase during the wrong position of the piston in the power stroke. This is what causes the knock that is heard. High octane doesn't give you more power, it just gives a more efficient use of the BTU's already within the fuel.

If you cruise around all day long under 5,000 RPM then you're not going to notice any difference in octane rating with the bike. Ignition mapping keeps things slow and calm. But if you run at maximum output you'll definitely see, hear and feel the difference. Kawasaki is just trying to make their engines last, meet the government requirements for emission standards and give us a fantastic bike to enjoy.

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I run 89 with a little mixture with 93. But 89 works just as good, and its cheaper!!!

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Yeah I don't think you'd damage anything. Brock's map is made for 89 and he recommends it, I don't think he would put is reputation on the line just to make us save a little. I also understand the theory behind running "better" gas but after watching a documentary which explained how the oil industry is linked to cars manufacturers, I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind those study. I guess only with tell but then again a motorcycle life is short compared to a car's so.

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