I have never used premium in any of my Harley's. My 08, like all the others, runs just fine on the mid-grade. I haven't tried the 87, but I believe I just might have to.

 

There is no gas left in the hose! I is syphoned back into the tank. Yuo will not get one drop of fuel from the last person that pumped.

 

I can't verify the math...dropped college algebra twice cuz I hated it.

What about the fact that 1/2 or more of the hose is springloaded to a line that reels up the hose to drain...so only about half the hose has anything in it.
Also, here in Oregon we cannot start the pumps...the attendant has to start it and hands us the nozzle.....most guys will hold the hose down and pull the trigger before handing you the hose so as not to drip any fuel on your bike...only a few drops comes out of the nozzle when they do this.
So...there is only a little bit of the previous fuel in the hose.....

 

87 octain is all i ever use. 1985 flhtc with about 90k on it. the motor has never been apart. so no, we all don't use premium fuel.

 

Once late at night I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere and I walked untill I found a gas station. Just so happens it was closed. I found an old coke bottle and tried to drain enough gas to get my car to the gas station. Out of six pumps, I couldn't get enough gas to fill 1/4 of the bottle. I had heard that as soon as the pump is shut off, any remaining gas is vacumed out of the hose to prevent theft. I don't know if that is true or not, but there wasn't any gas left in those hoses that night. I found out by accident that the bike will run just fine on 87 Octane.

Mark

 

My calcs show just under a quart if a 3/4" i.d. hose 10' long is full of gas.

 

This is a perfect example of why when riding you need to be a gentleman. Let your buddy fill up first.

 

First things first..............ok, first is always first, I sell fuel, all of it, gas, diesel, jet fuel, methanol, VP Racing fuel, kerosene, ya all of it. The nozzle at yer favorite station or bulkplant is "pressure sensitive" there must be line pressure to get more than a drop of fuel out of it, yes the hose is full of the previous product up to the manifold in the dispenser, prolly like others have said, a liter or 2, or, a quart or 2 in American, and it has very little effect on the actual octane unless you fill up at a place with a super long hose. Way too much for most of us to worry about unless you have some hi-po, hi compression rig! My bike doesn't care at all 'bout what octane it is as long as it's good fuel! Ride On!

 

There are many variables to consider when using a lower octane fuel in an air cooled engine; altitude, temperature, humidity are just a few. I’ve run the lowest grade octane available in cold weather (South TX cold) with no problems whatsoever. Try that same fuel in summer time at 100+ degrees and high humidity and you’ll have noticeable performance issues. The amount of fuel left in the hose is negligible and I’m not concerned about it.

 

Ahhh, I thought E85 was only for "flex fuel" vehicles. Didn't know HD made any of those????