hmmm.... sooo..... does higher milage = lower power the same way that NOT hammering the throttle = higher mileage??
These are all great responses!
more junk:
http://www.msgroup.org/TIP037.html
Assuming your engine is properly tuned, then you need to think about the octane rating of the fuel you use.
Octane ratings
I think that some attention should be paid by all of us to both altitude and temperature in the selection of our fuels. When it is hot a higher octane is often called for. The closer to sea level you are, the more likely you should be running with a grade of gasoline above 'regular'. Note, however, that the newer your motorcycle is, the less likely you need to run anything other than 'regular' - ever. Motorcycles manufactured after about 1980 (other than the odd 'Boxer Twin') were made to run quite well with regular gasoline. In the middle of summer, if you notice a slight pinging from your engine, a medium grade of gasoline might be just the right 'fix', and it's cheap.
Using a higher octane than is needed does not cause unusual engine wear, though it may tend to cause a carbon build-up within the engine - particularly if you use premium grade. Using a lower rating, if it results in pinging, DOES do engine damage (the theme of this message, after all.)
Pinging is the sound of damage being done to your engine (directly or indirectly - and, of course, it could simply mean that you are driving in too high a gear.) A higher grade of gasoline eliminates pinging - however, it may also merely camouflage what is really wrong by eliminating those pings.) In other words it is perfectly safe (assuming that there is not something fundamentally wrong with your engine and you do not use a higher octane to eliminate symptoms), though a bit more expensive, to use a higher octane gasoline for part of your driving year.
If your bike does not ping (at all) when using regular, fine, use regular. If it does, then move up a grade of gasoline.
http://www.dansmc.com/gas.htm
There is a lot of misinformation on gas octane out there. So let's take a look at it. If you have a high compression ratio, you are squeezing a lot of air into a little space. Whenever you compress air it gets hot. Lots of compression equals lots of heat. When you heat an explosive mixture it tends to explode. Now this explosion is what we want, but we want it to occur at the right time. That is when the spark plug fires. If the fuel mixture starts to burn before the spark plug fires you end up with two flame heads. One from the spark plug and one from wherever a hot spot developed in the combustion chamber. When these two flame heads hit each other there is a lot heat and pressure, and it goes PING ! This is called pre-ignition. Also known as knocking or pinging. When you hear that ping it's kinda like someone is hitting your piston with the round end of a ball peen hammer. The piston can handle it for a while, but not for long. Sooner or later it will put a hole in the piston. What can you do ? You can retard the ignition a bit and lose your horse power or you can use a fuel that will not fire off as easily. The higher the octane number the harder it is for the fuel to start burning. This reduces the chance that a hot spot, in the combustion chamber, will pre-ignite, causing pinging. Lead worked really well for this, that is, lead helped raise the octane numbers in gasoline. Lead also helped lubricate the valve seats. But lead is bad, bad, bad. Or so we are told. So they put in other stuff that does not work as good. Now that other stuff is getting into our water supply. Do you think maybe the cure is worse then the disease ?
Because of this octane thing, it is always a good idea to try different brands and/or grades ( regular, hi test, premium, etc. ) of gas, especially if pinging is a problem. I can think of at least one bike ( the old, old Honda 50's ) that ran better on low octane, regular gas. Oh yes, most of those oxygenated fuels are just gas with up to 10% or so alcohol added. Alcohol can damage carb bodies and rubber parts in older machines. However, it is good to take moisture ( water ) out of the fuel system.
Do I dare mention "ethenol"
Should I have just posted the links?
