I have a 2010 Iron with super tuner , heavy breather , and short shots. The guy at the service dept says these EFI bikes dont really like the ethanol gas and they gave me the idea of using a little octane boost. I have just a couple places to get ethanol free supreme gas. I sometimes will put about an ounce of NOS Octane boost or maybe Outlaw. I dont do it but about every third or fourth fill up if that. I know you can over do it. Does any of you guys run octane boost or mix racing fuel like maye 110 octane with your fuel. Any tip you got would be great. I want nothing but the best in this bike and just want it to preform at it top. I really like the shell gas. There is one near me that has 93 octane that is free of ethanol, but there 87 and 89 isnt. You info and posts will be greatly appreciated. Oh and i havnt tried the racing fuel yet but i have found a place to get it near the house so i was wanting to see if anyone else does it.

 

Of the options you mention, the only one you should be running is the Shell 93 octane. Adding octane boost does not remove the ethanol, nor does it increase the performance of your engine. Adding race gas does not help your engine perform, either, and is really expensive. 93 octane, ethanol-free gas is about as good as it gets for an HD motor.

 

i have been using the blue sta-bl. (i think thats how you spell it). my buddy repairs small engines, and he said that this stuff helps stabilizes the ethanol. take it for what it is. my 98 sporty started runnin a little bit better after i started using it.

 

Yes, Sta-bil will help, but it's a completely different product than the options the OP was discussing.

 

Octane boosters are nothing more than concentrated race gas. I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper/better to buy a couple gallons of 116 octane race gas and supplement many tanks then it would to pay $10 for a one time use octane booster. Unless you are experiencing pre-detonation there is no reason to run a higher octane. Your low compression 883 should be fine with 91 octane if its tuned right.

What I don't understand is why Harley people bash ethanol. Most educated people base their facts on Ethanol off their knowledge and experience with methanol race fuel which is much harsher. Methanol can strip the oil off the cylinder walls and eat away rubber lines and such. Ethanol has the potential to but at a much slower rate.

Why do you people think indy car/izod switched to ethanol? If you say to go green, you would be wrong! They switched because the series was dying and ethanol is nothing more than cheap race fuel. The going green publicity was an added perk. E85 averages around 105-110 octane. I know tons of people that have switched to e85 from pump in their high performance machines because it runs much cooler, has a much higher octane, and is a lot cheaper than pump gas and race gas. But the optimal air fuel ratio for combustion of ethanol is much richer (i think around 12:1) than the optimal afr for gasoline (14.7:1). So nothing that a tune can't take care of.

I have ran up to a 50/50 mix of e85 and 93 pump (that would be 42% ethanol) in my car with a 93 pump tune with great results. My car ran cooler and pulled harder because of it. (My car is a turbocharged 4 cylinder that runs 30+ psi of boost. I need better than pump octane)

Needless to say 10% ethanol is not going to do anything to the motor. Since it is so ingrained in people's heads that it is "bad", when people get non-ethanol pump gas they experience what us scientist/pharmacist like to term a placebo effect. You could also call it self-fulfilling prophecy where they legitimately believe it is running better. Things like air temp, humidity, and barometric pressure have a much bigger effect on engine performance than gas with 10% of a higher octane fuel in it.

 

Im not looking to remove the ethanol cause i dont run it. Im not saying it helps performance but it does keep things inside my engine from having build up. I know everyone has there on opinion but i also spoke with alot of professional biker and they have told me lots of things to help keep my engine clean and running smooth. By all means i check everything over and over before i put it in my bike. An ounce to 3 gal isnt that rich anyhow. I was just wanting to know basically if anyone else did this .

 

Not bashing ethanol i just dont like it. If you get any moisture in your tank then the ethanol will not alow the moisture to settle. I work at a auto repair shop that sale gas and we do have problems out of it in some autos. My bike runs alot better and smoother without it. thats all im saying. I have researched and tested it in my bikes and the ethanol gas doesnt please me. It will run and alot of people dont notice the little things. I notice evrey little thing. If my bike does something different i know it. Im just not a fan of ethanol no matter how clean it is.

 

Save your $$$, unless you plan to race the bike. Stick w/93 octane pump fuel & you'll be fine...

 

All More Octane does Is limit Ping or Spark knock In Hi-Compression engines,,
883's shouldn't need it, lower compression ya know,
But 1200's need premium.
Prolly just a waist of coin,,,Power comes from better breathing,,In and Out
An engine Is just an air pump, nothing more.

 

The higher the octane, the slower the burn. Will your ignition system compensate for that slower burn by advancing the timing far enough? If not, then any performance advantage is lost, and you get increased buildup in the combustion chamber.

Methinks most people over-think this stuff. Run the gas the mfg suggests, and don't worry about it. If the engine runs "funny" then find out if you got some bad gas, or find out what is wrong with your bike. The 10% ethanol in your HD will do one thing - reduce your gas mileage ever so slightly. Most will never notice the difference because their riding isn't so regular that a meaningful comparison can be made. And the effects of ethanol on moisture in a tank are pretty over-rated in a 3 gallon tank that gets filled every day.

And BTW, I run 89 octane in my Nighty. It has never pinged, even with my 240# hammering on it in 100+ temperatures. It loves 80 - 90 mph cruising, and gets anywhere between 41 and 50 mpg, depending on average speed and conditions.