Quote:
Originally Posted by LoD575
Manufacturers recommended fuel rating is normally correct for the stock application. By adding in major air induction/engine modifications fuel quality needs to be addressed.
I ran 88 octane initially which is mid grade in my locale then switched to 86. I have not had any problems with the 86 yet but will see come summer if the switch back to 88 is warranted.
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The point is that fuel quality has nothing to do with the octane rating. The quality is determined by what station you go to and where they get their fuel from, how it's delivered and how it's stored.
The "Octane Rating" is a measure of the tendency of gasoline to resist self-igniting using isooctane as the reference benchmark.
So a gasoline with an octane rating of 87 will be equavelent in self-ignition resistance to a mixture of 87% octane and 13% heptane.
But a higher octane rating does not equate to more energy in the fuel, cleaner burning, or inherently more performance.
In modern cars with variable valve timing. Higher octane rating does equate to higher performance for the simple reason that the engine controller is changing the timing to prevent knocking. When running higher octane fuels the valve timing can be more advanced for a performance gain.
I do not know of a bike that has variable valve timing. The 250 clearly doesn't.