Is Expensive Premium Fuel Really Better For Your Bike? Does It Make More Power? SSB Takes Them To The Dyno And The Street For A Ride To Find Out.
If you're anything like us you take your car to the station that offers the cheapest gas. There isn't much marketing that would convince us to buy the good stuff-so in goes the 87 octane. But, when we make a stop on our beloved two-wheeler for a squirt of go juice we always reach for the highest octane available. Is there good reason for going with the best fuel available or are we simply wasting our precious money on a preconceived notion?
The automobile industry has been developing its engines to run on 87 octane-check your owner's manual and you'll see that your car's motor has been optimized for 87 and actually requests that you don't run premium. Motorcycle engines, on the other hand, are considered "high performance" (high compression ratio) and require higher octane fuel to run their best. European-spec sportbikes even come with a sticker on the tank requesting nothing less than 95 octane, but we haven't had such luxurious petrol in America since the '90s. Naturally, there's an argument that higher octane fuel will be cleaner and in the long run be better for the engine. So what gives?
We headed to our dyno to find out what the cold, hard numbers would tell us. First and foremost, we wanted to find out if there was any horsepower difference between 87, 89 and 91 octane-the three most common fuels available at the pump.
The test was simple: four dyno runs with a tank of each type of gas followed by a quick cruise. The fuel was then siphoned out so the tank was completely dry and ready for the next gas.
The dyno doesn't lie, but it also only offers cold, hard umbers. A street ride confirmed our findings, though. | 
Out with the old, in with the new. |  |
 | | |