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Has anyone notices better mpg by switching from regular to super unleaded or premium? What would be benefits? I switched to super unleaded and now just waiting on next fillup where I will then do premium

I use only premium and am getting the 105 to 111 per gallon range. I have not put anything else in the tank.

I have been wanting to post something on this subject. In my area, there is ethanol-free gasoline available.
Should I put on that in my gas tank? The station that sells it is out of my way, but what the heck-it would
be a fun ride there and back!!!

What's the consensus? Should I dedicate my PCX to 100% gasoline with no ethanol?

Thanks!

Lecompte
2011 PCX (White)

Lecompte wrote:I have been wanting to post something on this subject. In my area, there is ethanol-free gasoline available.
Should I put on that in my gas tank? The station that sells it is out of my way, but what the heck-it would
be a fun ride there and back!!!

What's the consensus? Should I dedicate my PCX to 100% gasoline with no ethanol?

Thanks!

Lecompte
2011 PCX (White)

I dont run ethenol in any of my bikes. I had one that started spewing gas from everywhere after using it. I had to replace the fuel filter, tank valve, fuel lines etc to get it back running right again. I know premium costs more, but at the most its $5.00 to $6.00 to fill your tank for 160 miles of riding. Its well worth it.

The PCX is OK with up to 10% ethanol, which is just as well because that is all that's available in the UK.
Use the octane rating recommended by Honda, switching to a higher rating will make no difference whatsoever.

I had always been using premium(91), but last couple hundred miles I've switched to regular(87) and haven't noticed a damn difference!

Using premium is just flushing money, this myth has been debunked many times. Unless you're riding a high performance tuned sport bike like a Ducati, regular 87 is fine.

I use Premium every 4 to 6 Fill-ups for the extra cleaning additives in it...no performance gains whatsoever.....I do this in all of my vehicles regardless of the "wheel count"...the exception being my Miata, it "pings" on anything less than Premium and has the sticker on it saying to run it.....

98 RON for me. 1.5 mths between fill up doesn't cost me much. Per tank, it's nothing from going from 91 RON to 98 RON. Also been told not to use any ethanol which is fine by me because I reckon ethanol is terrible fuel and economically waste more money per km than straight petrol.

I have only filled up once (fairly new to 2 wheeling), and got regular (10% ethanol)- before I read MOM (Manufacturer's Operator's Manual), and it said up to 10% Ethanol ok, and recommends 91 octane. So I don't know if there is an agreement with auto makers and gas companies to try to push the higher stuff, or if there really is a performance advantage (or mechanical) to the higher octane. I mean, it doesnt recommend for me to use synthetic motor oil, but I choose to as I believe it is better. There is gas treatments that can rid the water in the ethanol, so that is not really a concern, but the octane is a mystery to me.

What I have read about higher octane fuels is this. The higher octane raises the combustion point of the gas. High compression, high performance engines ping on low octane gas because it combusts before the set timing mark. Putting high octane fuel, in an engine that's not designed for it, will not do anything to improve performance. In fact in some engines it can cause lower MPG and less power because it delays ignition. For the ethanol part. If you run an engine on pure ethanol you will get less mpg. Therefore if you run 10% ethanol in gas you will get less mpg than you would on 100% gas. Ethanol was put in gas to increase the world supply of gasoline. Now, this is what I have read and it seems to make sense to me.

Lecompte wrote:I have been wanting to post something on this subject. In my area, there is ethanol-free gasoline available.
Should I put on that in my gas tank? The station that sells it is out of my way, but what the heck-it would
be a fun ride there and back!!!

What's the consensus? Should I dedicate my PCX to 100% gasoline with no ethanol?

Thanks!

Lecompte
2011 PCX (White)

We just got a station with that fuel as well. We now have 4 gas stations in this little town

skuuter wrote:I use Premium every 4 to 6 Fill-ups for the extra cleaning additives in it...no performance gains whatsoever.....I do this in all of my vehicles regardless of the "wheel count"...the exception being my Miata, it "pings" on anything less than Premium and has the sticker on it saying to run it.....

I'm glad my mustang can take regular. I add stp to my car instead. As a college student currently looking for a job that would cost way too much. Glad I have my scooter for on campus riding. Just wish they zoned the motorcycle parking better

~Cheap_Ride~ wrote:I use only premium and am getting the 105 to 111 per gallon range. I have not put anything else in the tank.

I Only use regular grade and get around 95MPG.

Then again I weigh 240 pounds. I think it might help the accuracy of this discussion if folks would also include how much they weigh.

Slickvic wrote:

~Cheap_Ride~ wrote:I use only premium and am getting the 105 to 111 per gallon range. I have not put anything else in the tank.

I Only use regular grade and get around 95MPG.

Then again I weigh 240 pounds. I think it might help the accuracy of this discussion if folks would also include how much they weigh.

I'm 215 and only get around 76. How hard do you ride it?

logepoge1 wrote:

Slickvic wrote:

~Cheap_Ride~ wrote:I use only premium and am getting the 105 to 111 per gallon range. I have not put anything else in the tank.

I Only use regular grade and get around 95MPG.

Then again I weigh 240 pounds. I think it might help the accuracy of this discussion if folks would also include how much they weigh.

I'm 215 and only get around 76. How hard do you ride it?

I check in at 186lbs. Most of my driving is done commuting back and forth to work with speeds from 30 to 50 mph. It is a 14 mile round trip. I dont baby it by any means but I am not hell bent for leather either. I stick with premium as I think it is the best fit for the bike. It doesnt bother me if others want to use other fuels in theirs, moreso my decision has to do with my own experiences with different bikes I have owned over the years.

logepoge1 wrote:
How hard do you ride it?

Pretty hard. I have a 22 mile round trip commute. Some of that is in a 35MPH zone, but most of it is in a 40MPH zone that I ride at 50+. Sitting at a stop light I go full throttle as soon as the light turns green. I guess you could call me the opposite of a hyper-miler. But I don't really care that much about maximizing fuel economy because I can still commute all week for about $5.

Slickvic wrote:

logepoge1 wrote:
How hard do you ride it?

Pretty hard. I have a 22 mile round trip commute. Some of that is in a 35MPH zone, but most of it is in a 40MPH zone that I ride at 50+. Sitting at a stop light I go full throttle as soon as the light turns green. I guess you could call me the opposite of a hyper-miler. But I don't really care that much about maximizing fuel economy because I can still commute all week for about $5.

Yeah we have some 35-45 mile zones around here that I mostly ride at full speed. I don't take off that fast but i do try to leave other drivers behind

people have really attacked this subject with zest... and each with their own opinions! so, it's good to read what everyone thinks about ethanol vs non. so, here's my two cents worth, for what it's worth. after all, girls / women aren't supposed to know %$&&!! about cars and motors. I think ethanol is an extender. it's a junk additive (in my opinion) and if we had a station nearby that sold non-ethanol gas, I would buy my gas there. Then, I would do a comparison of ethanol vs non, mpg, servicing of the vehicle, etc. Anyway, we put 89 octane in ALL our vehicles, even my PCX and his Honda Rebel. the 4 wheeled vehicles don't ping with 89 octane and what the heck, I splurge the extra dime when I buy fill up the scooter.

ScooterKim wrote:... if we had a station nearby that sold non-ethanol gas, I would buy my gas there.

Well so would I, but here in south eastern Wisconsin it's all 10% ethanol gas. No choice. ... ...