Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

what fuel to use?

1491 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  BlackTigNYC
I know it has probably been asked millions of times but I have just bought a new Thruxton and the dealer said to use premium (95 octane) although we have (98 octane) fuel available in OZ, ..it seems like a better idea to use better quality fuel...any thoughts please?
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Owners' manual states 87 octane for the '09 twins, which is "regular" around here. I use that in my Bonneville too, which the manual says to use 89 octane. I found absolutley no difference in milage or performance - I only have more money now. :D
I had the same question. I have been putting 93 octane in my bike since I purchased it in February. Lately gas prices have been going back up and I was thinking of switching to 87 octane, but I don't want to screw with the performance. I know that when I made that switch with my Audi last year when gas was over $$$$$$4.00 a gallon for 93, the car absolutely drove like crap.
paulie
I live in Perth and i use BP 98 in a 06 Thruxton(no airbox..etc).
these bikes will run happily on 95 but I've found that in longer rides it does make a difference in range .
cheers
Rod
the dealer said to use premium (95 octane) although we have (98 octane) fuel available in OZ, ..it seems like a better idea to use better quality fuel...any thoughts please?
Higher octane doesn't mean better quality (or more power). Higher octane means the fuel is harder to detonate. Higher compression engines need fuel that is hard to detonate. The reason higher octane fuel is more expensive is not because it is higher quality but because it is harder to make. Generally the 'power' you get out of the same quantity of fuel is the same for all grades and if an engine is designed to run on a particular grade of fuel, using a higher grade won't usually have any effect (other than on your wallet!).

I use the 95. The bike is designed to handle that grade (higher won't hurt but is unnecessary and isn't doing anything to make the bike run or last better).

NB Oz fuel octane is specified differently than is US/Canada.

95 (RON) in Oz and Europe = 89 'Octane' in the US (I think). May be of use when you hear people discussing fuel grades on the internet.

Have a google for 'octane myths'
the bonneville/thrux owners manual says use fuel "with an
octane rating of 91 RON minimum" (that would be 87 octane in the US)

this might be for the new fuel injected models, not carburetor


http://www.triumph.co.uk/media/900_OHB_UK.pdf
difference in fuel grade between EFI and Carbed

the bonneville/thrux owners manual says use fuel "with an
octane rating of 91 RON minimum"

http://www.triumph.co.uk/media/900_OHB_UK.pdf
curious...

my bike (2006 Thruxton) didn't come with a manual as I bought it at auction.

I have always been using the owner manual I found at http://www.triumph.co.uk/media/900.pdf

which says 95 RON (page 31)

but on your link it says (on page 32) 91 RON


assuming your link is for fuel injected models(?)
See less See more
curious...

my bike (2006 Thruxton) didn't come with a manual as I bought it at auction.

I have always been using the owner manual I found at http://www.triumph.co.uk/media/900.pdf

which says 95 RON (page 31)

but on your link it says (on page 32) 91 RON


assuming your link is for fuel injected models(?)

ok I have just looked in the physical handbook I got when I bought my bike.


here is what it says: "AKI rating of 89 or higher" (the US system)

according to wikipedia, to convert AKI to RON you add 4 or 5 points. So 89 AKI is about 93-94 RON. This manual is for the carburetor models. Our bikes are, of course, the same engine.

So if you are using 95 RON, you are good. Any higher is a waste of money and any less than 93-94 RON is not reccommended


It is important that the americans reading this understand that our octane is not in RON, it is AKI, so we should be using 89 octane


I don't know why the manual I was linking to on triumph site was different, but liek you said, it might be for the new fuel injected models. I'll scrap it and stick to my handbook
See less See more
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top