--What Type of Gas?--

[baard]

Thanks. That 2-litre turbo was an '81 SAAB B-engine built for built for racing, so it always ran at the same load, so no sensing other than airflow. It didn't even have a termostat. (not the easiest to start). It made about 320 hp at the wheels. If detuned to run on 95RON it would make somewhere in the region of 200hp (which would be a guesstimate, I suppose)

My current car, a SAAB 9-5, has all the sensors I could wish for. It is designed for 91RON or higher, but it will make way more power on 98RON. It will produce 150+ hp on 91 and about 190 hp on 95. The difference in torque is even higher.

I agree that running higher octane on a stock CB-1 would be fruitless. I've never experienced any ill effects from running higher octane other than price, so I'm just curious. This looks like one more reason to get my own Dyno

[Lyrad]

Your notes are very informative , thank you for clearing this up! as it will save a lot of us money at the pump!!!!!!!!!!! while feeling confidant that there shouldn't be any damage to the pistons!!!!!! what is your opinion on synthetic oil??
Windsor rider?

[91cb-1]

I had no idea that the type of fue; you used would make a difference to you're performance, i thought it was all to do with saving the environment, gonna keep a close eye on the numbers on the pumps from now on, thanks

[clarkdw]

Your notes are very informative , thank you for clearing this up! as it will save a lot of us money at the pump!!!!!!!!!!! while feeling confidant that there shouldn't be any damage to the pistons!!!!!! what is your opinion on synthetic oil??
Windsor rider?

Hate to see money being thrown away when there is really no benefit.

As far as the synthetic oil is concerned, I suspect that there is much less difference today than years ago but considering the conditions under which a motorcycle engine runs I do not use anything other than an oil designed specifically for bikes and either a semi or full synthetic. Going back to my days of building and racing the Minis which share the one seriously negative aspect with motorcycles of using the same oil in the engine and transmission I know without a doubt that high quality synthetic oil makes the engine last longer. I used to rebuild the race Mini engines after 2 hrs running when using Castrol 'R' caster bean based racing oil. The main and rod bearings would show considerable damage from the transmission grindings floating in the oil. The single change of switching to Mobil '1' full synthetic oil extended that life to 10 hrs.

My feeling is that the most important thing is to change the oil and filter on a strict schedule. Never stretch the oil life to save a little cash. If that means using a cheaper oil then do so but DO change it. Always an oil designed for bikes. If you do a lot of city running then more often is better due to the constant shifting and the junk that it adds to the oil. If you are in a hot climate and the bike runs hot then keep to a short schedule. If you do mostly highway commuting with few shifts and no hot running then the factory schedule is fine.

I just think that $40 CAN including oil and filter is pretty cheap insurance so I do it every 4000km. The grand sum of 1 cent per km.

[X.A.]

Interesting!
Trying right-now with full tank 87 Octanes. From 91 previously.

What about Ethanol??
I have been told by Petro-Canada employee that they put now 10% !!
I hate the smell...

X.A.

[TrailCub]

clarkdw summarized the fundamentals of octane very well; and as is appropriate, I use 87 octane in my CB1 most of the time.

Different gas companies have different additives (detergents etc.) in their gas, and I tend to alternate between Shell and Chevron gasolines. Every 10 tanks or so, I'll fill up with the highest grade of gas (V-Power; Techron Supreme) to put an extra high concentration of the additives through the engine.  I refuse to use "bargain" or no-name gas in any of our vehicles (well, unless the alternative is walking, I s'pose...)

I'm also curious about ethanol-blended fuels. Does anyone have any good info?

[clarkdw]

I'm also curious about ethanol-blended fuels. Does anyone have any good info?

The short answer: ethanol 11,500 btu/lb, gasoline 18,700 - 19,100 btu/lb. Ethanol is also less dense than gas so to even extract all the power available requires jetting changes to richen up the mixture.  Less hp and worse mileage on 10% ethanol but better emission numbers. Pure or in higher percentages it can be very damaging to plastic, rubber and aluminum components. Since the mid 80's most vehicles were designed to cope with low concentrations with no serious negative effects but when you have as little hp as we have in the CB-1 you don't really want to give up any unnecessarily. I always try to use fuel with no ethanol added but that is getting harder to find. I particularly avoid putting the bike away for the winter with ethanol in the tank due to it's corrosive effects.

[X.A.]

I tend to agree with Clarkdw.
My "test-87" tank-fill is from Petrocanada, said to add 10% ethanol.
I noticed an obvious loss of torque (compared to usual high octane fuels), holes in acceleration, influence of engine temperature, don't like the sound either ... all this does not exist on my "normal" CB1!
Web search does not help much, but I see the tax exemption on Ethanol by federal gvt...smell bad too.

Next test: 87 oct. with no Ethanol (where??).

X.A.

[Daveontheedge]

I find my -1 tends to like Shell better than Chevron or Petro Can. I haven't noticed any flat spots in acceleration or lack of power but I tend to get a little better mileage out of it. I personally only use the 87, the more expensive 92 didn't do a thing for it.

[X.A.]

Better outside temperature today, 15C, compared with 0-3C passed mornings...
Cold start no fail, although I notice Engine warm-up takes more minutes. Before ture needle gets alive, do not try and open throttle too fast!
Hot, I need more twist to accelererate the same.
This is what I called «less torque»,«holes».

X.A.

[X.A.]

Finally, after 4 tanks, I return to Shell highest octane. There it purrs!

X.A.
2009/11/09

[Raid3n]

This is a hard topic to compare between us north america guys, and europe. Because NA uses Anti-Knock Index (AKI; this is RON + MON / 2) and I believe europe uses motor octane number? (MON)
I could be wrong but I know that's how it is in japan.