Unleaded or super unleaded?

I use normal unleaded. However I switch to super in the colder winter months- seems to let the bike start easier, early on a freezing morning..

You are wasting your money using Super Unleaded in the SV. Unless an engine is fitted with a knock sensor or the ignition timing is altered some other way, you will get no benefit from it.

Tim

I swear they pee in the tanks at my local Jet. The petrol even smells different. Just been bought over by Sainsburys I think.

Its a conspiracy!

I only use super in the winter as it helps prevent carb' icing, and the Pro FST expensive compared to using super. Though I do still have a litre for those really cold months.

Only a handful of bikes are able to run super unleaded - as far as I know most of the litre sports bikes get no benefit from it. I know some of the beemers have been built to run on it.

I've heard that it's not advisable to run an engine designed for super-unleaded on standard unleaded fuel without problems developing, so a subaru-driving friend used to tell me.

If your bike runs fine on standard unleaded and the manual doesn't state that it should be run on super, it's highly unlikely that you (or Rossi) could notice a genuine difference. Most of the stuff people notice is just daily changes in themselves and the bike.

My bike didn't feel right for the last 2 days and this morning it felt great, but nothing's been done to it, just rider and environmental changes is all.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Grinch

I only use super in the winter as it helps prevent carb' icing,

Yep I found that to. Dont know whether thats because of the higher octane or that normally super is provided by main branded petrol stations and it has more aditives etc in it though.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Yep I found that to. Dont know whether thats because of the higher octane or that normally super is provided by main branded petrol stations and it has more aditives etc in it though.

Maybe so, but I tended to use the Super unleaded at my local Sainsburys.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Yep I found that to. Dont know whether thats because of the higher octane or that normally super is provided by main branded petrol stations and it has more aditives etc in it though.

Nah its because that all Unleaded it actually Super-Unleaded. They just water it down at the pump and its that water that freezes in your carbes.

Saves them sending two tankers to the stations, just one tanker and a hose-pipe and you are good to go.

Diesel is just the same Super-Unleaded except they chuck a load of earwax in the tank.

FACT

Originally Posted by Spanner Man

Morning all.
If you use normal unleaded from one of the major companies you're unlikely to notice much difference in performance if you try super.
However. if you normally fill up with supermarket muck or any other cheaper brand like Jet, you will probably notice a difference if you put super in, especially if you purchase it from one of the majors.
One point worth mentioning is that certain internal temperatures of your engine can increase by as much as 100 degrees C when running on super, which isn't necessarily a good thing in my book.
All petrol is not the same, it's usually cheaper for a reason at supermarkets etc.
Stick with branded fuel, & try to fill up at busy stations, as they have a higher turnover, & hence the fuel is fresher.

Cheers.

I agree with this to a large extent, it's more important to fill up at a station with a high turnover so the petrol isn't too old. I think petrol from any place with a high turnover is ok though.

I know nothing about this really but my mate is a chemical engineer (not just got a degree in it, he really knows his stuff) and he works for BP (who don't just supply BP stations, they do others) and he swears that there is no difference in the petrol when it leaves the plant. And there's no point in using super-unleaded. His words not mine, but I trust him.

Any tests where more bhp was measured or fuel consumption differed could be down to any number of other factors!

Cheers,
Matt

I haven't looked at my manual in a while, but I'm pretty sure it said to use at "least" regular fuel, which is 87 over here.

edit: It actually says, "Your vehicle requires regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum pump octane rating of 87 ((R+M)/2 method)."