Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Self proclaimed bike experts everywhere seem to be unable to agree on what sports bikes should run on... I've been told everything from "Only use premium!" to "Never use premium!" - around here the premium isn't much better than the unleaded, but still.

What is the general consensus on fuel amongst people here?

My bike has a sticker on the tank that says only use 98 or above octane fuel..
I think i'll go by it...

Ask Yankee (Lurpee) hes the Official Fuel expert for Qld KSRC ....... Now.
Cheers Brett

U Bueat Premium Preferrably BP.

My ZZR runs ok on normal unleaded. In cold weather (5 celsius down to zero) she runs like a dog unless you use premium unleaded. The local servo has morphed from a Shell to a BP so at least she doesn't get fed Opimax any more.

In really cold weather (below zero) the carbs ice up, once this happens it don't matter what you put in there, she runs crap until you pull over and let some heat percolate through

Yeah Tanya was telling me she was talking to Mick from Goodna about this the other day. He reckons that any fuel darker than your morning pee is bad for the bike, so he only uses Optimax.

I run premium in the 9. I don't think it will kill you to have unleaded in a carbied bike, but I quell any doubts by paying the extra cupla bucks a tank. Cheap peace of mind. I'd definitely use premium in an injected bike, as we do with the VFR.

I avoid Optimax, never heard anything good about it (except maybe from Mick, who can tune a bike by ear over the phone with a strong breeze blowing)

BP for me. Runs fine on premium, but better on ultimate.

I was told by some Honda petrol guy that modern bikes don't need premium but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. I always use premium if it's available otherwise unleaded is fine.

go by what is recommended for your bike
either the sticker on the tank or in the owners manual

Most (not all) carbied bikes will be happy on plain ULP
(Made in Australian refineries, not Indonesian ones)
so stay away from Liberty or equivalent*
but some carbied bikes (or their riders) like a Premium ULP
like BP Premium (NOT Ultimate)
The high density fuels in bikes with carbys can be a problem
I tried Optimax in mine and it killed the engine..it stopped
coz the fuel destroyed the plugs
I now get by on plain ol' Mobil ULP (Mobil is my closest servo)

Bikes with FI can get by (if you want to spend the $) on the
higher density higer octane premium brews (Ultimate, Optimax 8000 etc)
but
These are primarily aimed at the HiPo car market,
but some people report good results in bikes
(but NOT with Optimax for some reason)

*some servos like Jet now use Mobil fuels, not imported
garbage fuels from overseas. And Safeway now get fuel from Caltex
not overseas.

hth

cheers

We goto Shell........... i TRUST tape he tests petrol all the time ( considering it's his job). We put optimax in the z once, she didn't go that well. so we stay away from it now.

So what I'm hearing is... stay away from the fancy fuels and just use 'regular' premium...

the only *fancy* fuel you need to avoid is Optimax

I run my bike on BP ultimate, or Caltex Vortex, happy with both

tanyathecheeky wrote:the only *fancy* fuel you need to avoid is Optimax

I run my bike on BP ultimate, or Caltex Vortex, happy with both

blimey
not down here....try it at about $1.18 - $1.25 a litre
you should be happy the Qld govt subsides your petrol habit

us poor mexicans have to make do with 'normal' fuel at $1.05-$1.10
(inc excise, duty and Jonnys GST)


cheers

Not me mate. I run mine on Premium all the time. Will use mainly Mobil or caltex, but won't push my bike past a BP or Shell either.
As Tanya said, our bikes are recomended to run a minimum RON, so who are we to argue. (I think it's 96 RON Tanya, gunna have to check the sticker tonight) Wouldn't be the first time i've been wrong though

Smitty wrote:

tanyathecheeky wrote:the only *fancy* fuel you need to avoid is Optimax

I run my bike on BP ultimate, or Caltex Vortex, happy with both

blimey
not down here....try it at about $1.18 - $1.25 a litre
you should be happy the Qld govt subsides your petrol habit

us poor mexicans have to make do with 'normal' fuel at $1.05-$1.10
(inc excise, duty and Jonnys GST)


cheers

we are the same kinda prices over here in happy land, but for an extra $3 or so a tank, id rather the higher octane fuel myself.