Don't confuse ethanol content with octane. Pretty much all gas in PA is 10% ethanol, including the Premium stuff, unless you go to a specialty racing shop, where the gas is both super-high octane and ethanol free for different reasons.

Generally, you should use the recommended octane for best performance. Higher octane is just to prevent piston knock at higher compression. If your engine is designed to run 87 octane, just use that. Running super-high octane may actually make it run a little bit worse (though it won't damage anything). I tried premium in my car once, and it ran measurably worse: less smooth, worse mileage, etc. Went back to regular immediately. My '03 883 is meant to run 87 octane according to the manual, so that's what I use. I'd have to jump up to at least 91 if I did the Hammer conversion, I believe. I think the newer fuel injected models recommend 91, even for the 883.

The ethanol content leads to corrosion if the fuel sits for too long. If you have the option of the same (or slightly higher) octane as recommended in your manual as ethanol free, get that. Otherwise get used to putting in fuel additives all the time if it takes more than a week or two to get through a tank. :/

 

Don't sweat the small stuff. Ethanol will actually dry up any moisture and it hurts nothing in modern FI motors. All we have had for years here on the coast. Don't let the tin men sale you their BS or fall for gpaws old stories.

Been working on motors since the 60 and still do.

 

You can get Ethanol Free Gas around me but it's very hard to find at the pump. When we Go to Bike week in OCMD even the Royal Farms have at least 3 pumps with it. When we are there it is all I use. I definitely see a change in mileage when I use it

 

I would have to ride an hour out of town to Allentown for ethanol-free gas that wasn't specifically high-octane race fuel. There's a place near me that I think has 94-octane E0, but again, it's a racing specialty shop, with no apparent external pump, and terrible hours. *shrug* So I just deal with BJ's 87 octane and some Seafoam to try to keep things from getting gunked up again. Hopefully I'll be riding more now that I've gotten the tires done, though.

 

I don't buy corn gas because I don't support the bastards who are getting rich from government subsidies. They're not happy with E10, they're pushing hard for E15, but they won't be satisfied until everyone has to run E85.

The local group had a chopper built to run on E30. Wave of the future, if people keep supporting it...

This chopper, which was built in Orange County (N.Y.), was commissioned by North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU). The creation and reveal of a Family Farms chopper – designed and built by Paul Teutul, Jr., of Paul Jr. Designs – was revealed on the Discovery Channel’s “American Chopper” program on Tuesday, March 5. The motorcycle operates on E30 and continues Farmers Union’s efforts to create demand for corn and higher ethanol blends.

 

My `89 Softail has been using 10% Ethanol gas for over 20 years, never hurt the carb, didn`t dissolve fuel lines.

I never use any additives in the fuel.

I just took the bike out of storage (10 months) and it fired right up on the old gas that had been in the tank.

OT a bit:

I like corn on the cob, I hate corn in my gas...

 

Wow! Good to know! Thanks all for the replies!

 

LOL! Given the "agricultural" nature of Harleys, you'd think that they'd thrive on the Corn Crap. :P

The idea of a renewable fuel source is cool. In practice kinda sucks, sadly.

 

[QUOTE=Packgrog;18427284
The idea of a renewable fuel source is cool. In practice kinda sucks, sadly.[/QUOTE]

Corn isn`t the answer, it takes too much energy to make it for one thing...

 

True. Like I said: nice idea, not great in practice.