Triumphrat

o4petesake

Does the Hinckley Bonnevilles need Hi-octane gas?,previous owner said "regular" jells up after a while,anyone else have that problem?

KitNYC

Octane is a measure of how hard something is to ignite. The higher the number, the harder it is to burn. High octane is not high quality. Or low quality. It's just harder to burn. Regular gasoline will gel up if you heat it in a double boiler and mix in Ivory Snow flaked soap, but so will "Premium." Neither will gel under normal circumstances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_number

I don't know the particular ins and outs of the twin motors, but almost everything to come out of Hinckley has been spec'ed to run on mid-grade. That's 89 octane by the (RON+MON)/2 number we use here in the states. Not sure where Pinckney is, but if it's the UK or some other place that uses the RON number then 95 is the spec. If you want to get technical, the proper octane to run in a given motor is the lowest that doesn't cause premature detonation (AKA knocking or pinging).

Cheers,
-Kit

Forchetto

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk...n-06-t100.html

Funkbyte

I wasn't paying attention one day and accidentally put regular unleaded in my 05 Bon Bonnie instead of Premium. The poor girl ran like a dog and died in a Walmart parking lot. I am not sure if it was the regular, just bad gas, or maybe some dirt in the carb but after emptying the bowls, throwing in some octane booster, and cranking up the idler she came to life. Even though I don't completely know if it was the regular or not, I still go Premium at all times now.

__________________
"Only a biker knows why your dog sticks its head out the window."

Keepin' the shiny side up, and rubber side down, since 2005.

williamr

You'll find it very hard to measure, but regular actually delivers a tiny bit more power than premium - unless you advance the ignition timing a touch, but if you do that and then run regular you could hole a piston.

Don't know what your problem was, but it wasn't running regular.

Rob

Tokoloshgolem

I have seen gasoline gel up after a bike has been in storage for years. It can become almost like a varnish, especially in carbs and fuel taps. Then it is a bastard to clean out. However, storing a bike for long periods without proper preparation is never a good idea for a whole host of reasons, including what happens to residual fuel. Unless the bike will be sitting idle for months you will be fine.

As for the right gasoline to use, the quality and true octane varies by country, region and even gas station. I have had my share of bad gas when I have filled up from somewhere I don't usually go and ended up with water or dirt in the fuel. That is entirely different to octane performance. All I can say to help is that my '07 carbed Bonnie with slipons and airbox removal kit will run on anything you fill her up with. I live in Sydney Australia, so the gas will be somewhat different to what you get but I would think that any mid-range gas would do just fine.

tshadow6

My 2007 carbed Bonnie LOVES non-ethanol gas. Call your local marina if you cannot find it at a regular gas station.

Pauljp

I live in Canada.
I have run 87 & 89 in my 2012 Bonneville and didn't notice any difference.
I run 87 now.

For winter storage, I fill it with 87 and add stabilizer.

LuckyG23

Doesn't the manual say to use premium? I always used premium because I thought it was required.

Baltobonneville

No. It says to use 87 (US) octane.

__________________
Marty
2005 Bonneville Blue 790cc, AI removed, Staintunes RC, Uni filter, no snorkel, 118/40/NBZT "Thruxton" needles/1 shim/3 turns, tachometer, Ikon 7610s, Ricor Intiminators, Dunlop GT501s, D9 gauge panel.