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If you live near a drag strip you'll find a station near by that'll have a VP race fuel pump. Other than there, I've never seen anything more than 93 octane.
Same here ... I live close to Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove, WI. There is one station about a mile down the road that has 105 race fuel.
__________________
'06 XL1200C, Stage 1, V&H Short Shots, Kuryakyn Corsair A/C
You should be able to find Cam2 / Sunoco GT100 unleaded at a track. Check w/ the local speed shops in your area for other suppliers. Best I've seen for a while at a pump is 93. Even the old Sunoco Ultra 94 is now 93. Honestly, unless it's a serious race motor on the bike, I think you'll be fine w/ pump 93. If it's a FI bike, you probably won't even notice the difference between 93 and 97. FWIW, there's a place near me that has a Cam2 GT100 pump. The stuff is $9/gallon!
Picked up a new-to-me Softail this week () and the seller said it runs best with the 97 octane/no ethanol gas, which he went on to point out, it's hard to find. Well, I've made a point to see if my usual gas stations have it (Shell, Exxon, Chevron and the like) and none do.
Both cages take Premium as well, so I've never been one to use RaceTrac, Citgo and the like. I was under the impression, I was buying "better" gas. Hmmmm...am beginning to wonder if that's the best I can do.
Does anyone know if they still offer 97 octane anywhere?
I've seen >100 oct gas in NC, near the Cherohala Skwy, at almost 7 bucks for a gallon. I don't remember the exact octane but it was 3 digits.
93 is the highest I can find here. Unless your bike has a very highly modified engine, you don't need super-premium gas.
__________________ "Frenchbiker"
2009 Vivid Black Ultra Classic FF Edition w/ ABS
SE AC / PC-V / CFR slip-ons
"Sex is like bridge, if you have a lousy partner, you better have a good hand."
As stated, find a drag strip or race track if you think you need it. I cant imagine you needing that much octane unless you have some radical mods and high compression. What are your mods by the way?
It does have high compression, but I don't think the bike has anything unusual that many others don't have.
Anyway...Screaming Eagle Stage II+ big bore; 105 hp/98 lbs torque, CNC ported HTCC heads, 95 cu in, 50 mm throttle body, 251 cams. This stuff is per the seller so if something looks off...it probably is as it came from him. I haven't picked up all the paperwork yet from the Dealer who did all the work. He actually quoted it as Stage 3, but I called his Dealer to ask his tech a couple of questions and he said it was stage 2 plus some other mods.
I took it up to my Dealer to show my tech/salesman and the tech noticed the compression relief buttons & told me I needed to push them in before I fired it up. wtf! Had no idea since seller didn't point them out. As a matter of fact, he'd actually told me it had automatic compression release, which I must confess, I had no idea what he was even talking about . I even asked him if I needed to do anything because of it and he said no.
Anyway, I know (sort of) understand some things about all that after talking with my tech. I just hope the starter lasts since I'm guessing the previous owner never used the buttons himself! It fires up like a champ, so it seems okay.
As far as the octane...the seller made himself out to be quite the "expert". Well, now I'm realizing he's a doofus. I thought I'd never seen 97 octane! I tend to notice details and for some weird reason, remember numbers - didn't ever remember seeing 97 octane...just 93.
NOW, next question....Ethanol. Is it now present in all gas and is it something to avoid if possible? Forgive me if this is answered in this thread...I'm getting ready to go back through and read all your replies.
As usual....Thanks guys!
EDIT...what's wrong with this picture when someone living in Texas (oil refineries galore) can't find fuel over 93 octane and peeps living in Canada/Sweden, etc can find it with regularity!? There are some race tracks around here, but I think I'm okay with what I can find around here...esp at >$7 a gallon! I am quite sure I wouldn't notice the difference in performance.
I don't use that 'corn blended crap' in any of my vehicles, no matter what the octane rating...
Here in the lower midwest we can still get the real "non-blended" fuel.
The local BP station here in town (in fact the ONLY station here in town) has the 92 octane gas, and it is what I use in my Harley's, including my built 95" WideGlide that is running 10.25:1 compression.
Friend of mine is running 10.50:1 in his Deuce and runs the same 92 octane non-blended gas. No problems at all, even in the hot 100 degree days of summer.
__________________ "Magna Res Est Vocis Et Silentii Temper Amentum"
(The Great Thing Is To Know When To Speak, And When To Keep Silent)
Also, for those of you living outside of the U.S.....
You need to be careful comparing the octane rating of fuel sold in the United States, and the fuel octane rating of fuel sold in most other countries.
In most "overseas" countries advertised fuel octane ratings are based on the RON (Research Octane Number). On average, this RON rating is 8 to 10 points higher than the octane rating of fuel sold in the United States.
Octane ratings in the United States are based on the MON (Motor Octane Number) system, and the advertised octane rating shown on the pump is the average of the RON and MON rating system for a specific fuel octane.
What this all means is that fuel that has an octane rating of 95 in most foreign countries would be rated either 90 or 91 octane in the United States.
Harley recommends 91+ octane fuel for there big twin and 1200 Sportster engines, based on the fuel rating here in the United States.
I just checked my '03 Softail Manual under fuel requirements and it read as follows;
"Use as least 91 (95 RON) pump octane (RON+MON / 2)."
__________________ "Magna Res Est Vocis Et Silentii Temper Amentum"
(The Great Thing Is To Know When To Speak, And When To Keep Silent)
It does have high compression, but I don't think the bike has anything unusual that many others don't have.
Anyway...Screaming Eagle Stage II+ big bore; 105 hp/98 lbs torque, CNC ported HTCC heads, 95 cu in, 50 mm throttle body, 251 cams. This stuff is per the seller so if something looks off...it probably is as it came from him. I haven't picked up all the paperwork yet from the Dealer who did all the work. He actually quoted it as Stage 3, but I called his Dealer to ask his tech a couple of questions and he said it was stage 2 plus some other mods.
I took it up to my Dealer to show my tech/salesman and the tech noticed the compression relief buttons & told me I needed to push them in before I fired it up. wtf! Had no idea since seller didn't point them out. As a matter of fact, he'd actually told me it had automatic compression release, which I must confess, I had no idea what he was even talking about . I even asked him if I needed to do anything because of it and he said no.
Anyway, I know (sort of) understand some things about all that after talking with my tech. I just hope the starter lasts since I'm guessing the previous owner never used the buttons himself! It fires up like a champ, so it seems okay.
As far as the octane...the seller made himself out to be quite the "expert". Well, now I'm realizing he's a doofus. I thought I'd never seen 97 octane! I tend to notice details and for some weird reason, remember numbers - didn't ever remember seeing 97 octane...just 93.
NOW, next question....Ethanol. Is it now present in all gas and is it something to avoid if possible? Forgive me if this is answered in this thread...I'm getting ready to go back through and read all your replies.
As usual....Thanks guys!
EDIT...what's wrong with this picture when someone living in Texas (oil refineries galore) can't find fuel over 93 octane and peeps living in Canada/Sweden, etc can find it with regularity!? There are some race tracks around here, but I think I'm okay with what I can find around here...esp at >$7 a gallon! I am quite sure I wouldn't notice the difference in performance.
Listen. I had a custom chopper with a 111ci S&S engine with high compression (automatic compression release valves) and never used anything other than Premium gas (93 or 94). If you want to waste money, that's fine with me, but with the build you describe, Premium gas will be sufficient.
__________________ "Frenchbiker"
2009 Vivid Black Ultra Classic FF Edition w/ ABS
SE AC / PC-V / CFR slip-ons
"Sex is like bridge, if you have a lousy partner, you better have a good hand."
) and the seller said it runs best with the 97 octane/no ethanol gas, which he went on to point out, it's hard to find. Well, I've made a point to see if my usual gas stations have it (Shell, Exxon, Chevron and the like) and none do. 
. I even asked him if I needed to do anything because of it and he said no. 
