Proper Feed for the FZ6

Robmac

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FYI,

I've got about 3,500 KM on my 08 fz6 and I've always put 89 octane in it since new. With 12 to 1 compression and an 14K redline I just can't bring myself to put 87 octane fuel in it. (I know what the manual says).

A couple of days ago I accidentally filled him with 87, no biggie I thought, one tank won't hurt. I put 100 KM on him just cruising around town, never noticed any difference and I quickly forgot all about it.

I went for a cruise with my buddies tonight and at one point I "stretched the legs" for the first four gears. We'll he felt way down in power at anything over 8K rpms, at full throttle he simply crawled passed 200 KM/H at the top of fourth, and the engine seemed to sound a little off. (normally he passes 200 KM/H like it's not there at all...).

I slowed down and starting thinking that something was wrong, but what ? Everything is working normally and then it hit me, I had put 87 in the tank two days before.

If I didn't experience it for myself, I wouldn't have believed that a tank of 87 would have made such a difference (at full throttle above 8K). Perhaps I got some bad fuel?

I got back to town and topped him up with 91. I'll run this tank out and then top him up with another tank of 91 and "stretch the legs" again to see if everything is back to normal.
 
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4drfocus

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I've fed my FZ6 91 octane from day one. I was on a 500 mile trip with some friends, we stopped at a station that only sold 87 octane, I filled up and took off, I did notice when getting on the highway the motor was a bit weak, and the exhaust made a lot of popping and grumbling whem you let off the throttle.
 

pkoosa

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It depends on the type of weather/environment and riding I will be doing. 87 for normal everyday street riding with the occasion sprint. 91 during hot summer months and for prolonged spirited rides to protect against burnt valves and pre-ignition.
 

Motogiro

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I know most CPU's also have a learning curve it takes quite a few warm ups and they average out data to adjust for sensor differences. I'm thinking if you disconnect the battery for a few minutes. When hooked back up there is probably a relearning period so if it learns to adjust with one octane it might react differently when you change octane. My bike grew up on 91 and when it was dyno'd 91 was recommended. I live in dry air, mild weather most of the year, ride to high altitudes and desert heat.

Cliff
 

DaveOTZ

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The bike told me 87 was too high...
I now cut it will Kool Aid OH YEAH!!!!

My bike gets all big and round and red and we crash through walls!!!
 

Nick J

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Like Robmac said.....12 to 1 compression and red line at 14000. Come on, this is a no brainer. 91 for me since day 1. Take care of this thing and feed it the healthy stuff.
 
W

wrightme43

No see it is not a no brainer.

We have tiny little pistons, and a very smooth combustion chamber. There is no need for higher octane in a engine like ours.
The experince of being down on power is a placebo effect.
The experince of being up on power is a placebo effect.

Octane does not effect the amount of power in a charge of fuel as you think it does.

The higher octane fuels actually produce less power for the amount burned.

Use high octane fuel if you want to. If it makes you happy thats great. If you are telling people that it makes more power or is required its wrong and needs to be corrected.

You are not getting more BTU per gallon with high octane fuel. You are getting less BTU per gallon. You are losing energy and paying for the privilage.

Please do some research on fuels. They are very very interesting and things are not at all as they are presented in advertisments or popular culture.



Basicly to boil this down. Anything over 87 costs you extra money for less performance no matter what anyone wants to believe.
 

DefyInertia

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No see it is not a no brainer.

We have tiny little pistons, and a very smooth combustion chamber. There is no need for higher octane in a engine like ours.
The experince of being down on power is a placebo effect.
The experince of being up on power is a placebo effect.

Octane does not effect the amount of power in a charge of fuel as you think it does.

The higher octane fuels actually produce less power for the amount burned.

Use high octane fuel if you want to. If it makes you happy thats great. If you are telling people that it makes more power or is required its wrong and needs to be corrected.

You are not getting more BTU per gallon with high octane fuel. You are getting less BTU per gallon. You are losing energy and paying for the privilage.

Please do some research on fuels. They are very very interesting and things are not at all as they are presented in advertisments or popular culture.



Basicly to boil this down. Anything over 87 costs you extra money for less performance no matter what anyone wants to believe.

+1 that about sums it up

can we lock this thread now? :D
 

Robmac

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I agree with you on everything... but I had forgotten all about the tank of 87 and it wasn't on my mind. (I'm fairly skeptical about this whole octane thing as well).

I noticed that he crawled through the 200 KM/H mark, when normally the numbers just fly by. For the first 20 seconds or so I thought that something was wrong and then remembered that I was running 87, so I rule out placebo effect.

The weather was warm and I wasn't driving into a strong headwind, and I'm thinking that the strange noise might have been pinging. I know what pinging sounds like in an auto engine but not sure what it would sound like at +10K rpms.

During normal driving (less than 1/2 throttle and below 7k) I noticed nothing different.

Anyways, I'll run through this tank and then top him up again and repeat the test to see how acceleration through 200 feels, or rather looks like on the speedo.

No see it is not a no brainer.

We have tiny little pistons, and a very smooth combustion chamber. There is no need for higher octane in a engine like ours.
The experince of being down on power is a placebo effect.
The experince of being up on power is a placebo effect.

Octane does not effect the amount of power in a charge of fuel as you think it does.

The higher octane fuels actually produce less power for the amount burned.

Use high octane fuel if you want to. If it makes you happy thats great. If you are telling people that it makes more power or is required its wrong and needs to be corrected.

You are not getting more BTU per gallon with high octane fuel. You are getting less BTU per gallon. You are losing energy and paying for the privilage.

Please do some research on fuels. They are very very interesting and things are not at all as they are presented in advertisments or popular culture.



Basicly to boil this down. Anything over 87 costs you extra money for less performance no matter what anyone wants to believe.
 
W

wrightme43

If you experinced detonation, there is either something wrong with that batch of fuel or there is something wrong in your bike.

Detonation at 8k or above can quickly cause horrible engine damage. These engines are designed not to detonate. Everything about them is designed for mid-high rpm.

Seriously, find a quality brand of fuel, and stick with 87, it will save you money and give you more power. A tiny tiny unfeelable amount of power.

If the bike wont accel, or makes horrible noises there is something wrong with the fuel, or the bike.
 

(none)

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All these FZ6s out there, anyone had a motor blow from detonation? These motors are based off R6 motors, right? I wonder if they recommend premium and if so, what is the difference in the motors (probably ignition mapping, maybe compression).

When i got this thing, i ran through a few tanks of 87, got a baseline feel and mileage rateing (about 47-49 mpg). Ran a few tanks of 93 through it, felt no difference, same if not a bit less mileage. I switched back to 87 and have been running that since, without an issue. I'll stick to what the manufacterer recommends.

I went through this on my VFR, too. I switched from 87 to 93 for periods of time to try to get better fuel economy and to quell the surging, the fuel didn't matter, so i ran the recommended 87, no problems. The BMW, on the other hand, required 91+, so it always got 93.
 

Jonno271

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There was me thinking the Ocatne ratings in the US were low until I read this....Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the UK, 95 is the norm and the super unleaded fuels are around the 99-100 mark. I saw an intersting article on a motoring TV program called Fifth Gear not so long ago that tested the difference between lower and higher rated fuels.

Interestingly enough, the higher octane fuels reduced horse power in most cases apart from in a Honda VTEC engine, I think, which produced the same output on both fuels.

Higher octane fuels are used when advancement of the ignition is required, thus preventing knocking, so in most modern vehicles you don't need it. Some higher performance vehicles may benefit, I had an Subaru Impreza imported from Japan that had an octane sensor to control the amount of boost from the turbo via a solenoid operated waste gate. Higher octane fuel made a big difference in that, proven on the rollers!

Just goes to show that you don't need to shell out for "the good stuff". my personal preference is to use normal rated unleaded from a premium brand, i.e-Shell. I still don't really trust supermarket fuels in bikes because I read they don't have the same quantity/quality of detergents in them as premium fuels.

Slightly off topic I know but.......In the Fifth Gear test, "super" diesel fuels produced 6-8bhp more in the average family diesel engined car, so that's what goes in my oil burner!!!:D
 
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