what kind of gas you using?

[ryandood]

i've been puttng regular into my scoot but when i took my scoot apart the other day i noticed a sticker on one of the side panels. i'm not sure but i think it said that we're supposed to use 91 octane gasoline. can anyone confirm this? What kinda gas you guys using?

[waterinthefuel]

I use the middle grade. I think it states in the manual 87 octane.

If in doubt, use the supreme. It's a 20 cent per tank difference in cost! LOL

[sooznd]

I have always used the regular grade on my scooters& have never had problems. I wonder if you get better mpg with th higher grade? I average about 80-85 mpg & live at high altitude--so not sure if that makes a difference

[BarryT]

The manual says to use regular grade.....anything more than that and you could waste up to a dollar a tank !

As for performance.......I know of no "real" evidence that using premium in n egine designed for regular does anything to improve performance or economy.

[OldGuy]

I have always used the regular grade on my scooters& have never had problems. I wonder if you get better mpg with th higher grade? I average about 80-85 mpg & live at high altitude--so not sure if that makes a difference

Nope! I keep close track of mileage because it's much less subjective a way to measure performance/condition of my scooter than my behind or the speedometer. (This method found the belt was worn excessively before performance actually suffered noticeably.)

Last summer I tried an experiment. I used premium fuel for 5 tankfuls. Same station, same brand. The weather, as it is here in Texas during the summer was also consistent. (Hot, dry.) The only place I saw a difference was in my wallet.

[ScooterLibby]

Yeah, I just use regular grade from a name-brand gas station (no mystery food for my bike!)... I tried putting premium in it once when it was empty and it didn't make any difference. My car requires premium because it has a turbocharger (high compression), but our bikes are fairly low compression for small engines (about 8-9:1) so regular should be more than fine (contrast to a Vespa LEADER engine has a higher compression ratio so it requires 91 octane). Some folks claim premium is better for all types of engines because some gas companies put better detergents in their higher grade gas, but this is a point of contention.

[sooznd]

and then there is that conspiracy theory that it all comes from one big tank underground anyway.. ;)

or perhaps more factual---the first part of any gallon will have the residual gas in the hose from the previous user of the pump. So if someone filled their tank with regular & you select premium..., there is a still some regular in the hose.....
And with the Vino's tiny tank that could be the entire amount you are putting in.

[OldGuy]

and then there is that conspiracy theory that it all comes from one big tank underground anyway.. ;)

or perhaps more factual---the first part of any gallon will have the residual gas in the hose from the previous user of the pump. So if someone filled their tank with regular & you select premium..., there is a still some regular in the hose.....
And with the Vino's tiny tank that could be the entire amount you are putting in.

Sooznd brings up a good point. :ll Many years ago when I had a part time job pumping gas (For the younger crowd, back in the Stone Age when you pulled into a service station {so named because they actually provided service} someone would come running out and not only pump the gas for you but wash your windshield and offer to check your oil, water, battery and tires.) the station owner told me how to get my gas for free without stealing.

When there were no customers around just pull your car up to each pump and, without turning on the pump, lock the nozzle open and lift the hose up thus draining the left over gas from the hose. By the end of your shift you'd have at least 10-12 gallons of gas. :dance:

Now I know that someone out there will say, "But OldGuy, if gas was only 34-36 cents a gallon why not just buy it?" Well, you worked for 50 cents an hour with fringe benefits. The benefits were; (1)You had someplace to work on your vehicle. (2)The mechanic would offer advice and let you use his tools. and (3)You got your parts wholesale.

Different people, different culture, different times.

[BarryT]

Right on Old Guy.....I pumped gas back in the stone age too :) Used to get 2 cents bonus for every quart of oil I sold. Did the same trick with the gas hose too and I drove an Austin Mini which could only hold 5 gal when bone dry !

[burnt_toast]

I use the highest pump gas available, generally 92/93 octane on both my bikes. Zip especially with its 145-150psi compression, and triton's ported engine could use it too.

[GUNSGONZ]

I use premium in my Vino 125, all my motorcycles, cars, and boat in summer time here even though the manufacture recommends regular. The simple reason is with average air temperature here in summer at 105 degrees regular 87 octane fuel has a tendency to detonate (explode before its suppose to) which can crack your piston (game over man). When your engine runs much hotter here in summer regular fuel doesn't have the stability that premium fuel has at higher temperatures, regular becomes unstable and starts to ping which is the equivalent to beating the top of your piston with a hammer. Too many pings (sometimes just a few) and it finally cracks like an egg and we have the tourist new cars on the side of the road in summer to prove it. So whatever gasoline engine you drive, if your coming out to Arizona in summer butter use premium unless you drive at night.

[Lennox]

I use premium in my Vino 125, all my motorcycles, cars, and boat in summer time here even though the manufacture recommends regular. The simple reason is with average air temperature here in summer at 105 degrees regular 87 octane fuel has a tendency to detonate (explode before its suppose to) which can crack your piston (game over man). When your engine runs much hotter here in summer regular fuel doesn't have the stability that premium fuel has at higher temperatures, regular becomes unstable and starts to ping which is the equivalent to beating the top of your piston with a hammer. Too many pings (sometimes just a few) and it finally cracks like an egg and we have the tourist new cars on the side of the road in summer to prove it. So whatever gasoline engine you drive, if your coming out to Arizona in summer butter use premium unless you drive at night.


wow, you would think that all car/boat/motorcycle owners manuals would warn people from Arizona......

i guess i have been lucky to never blow an engine here in South Florida (hot as well) due to heat. I did blow an engine due to cold though.... I had my 1200cc jetski tuned very lean at the end of a summer, then the following spring (after not riding all winter) I forgot to return richen it up and rode hard in the cool dense spring air...ooops.... nothing a rebuild didn't take care of though....

[GUNSGONZ]

My Seadoo Speedster (recommended regular) worked fine in the mild climate of California, but at the river in AZ or UT in summer, the over heat alarm sensors would go off on both engines. Switching to premium changed all that. In winter my mini Nissan pickup runs great on regular but in summer as soon as the temperature gets above 97-100 I have no choice but to either switch to premium or retard the timing which I hate to do.


wow, you would think that all car/boat/motorcycle owners manuals would warn people from Arizona......

i guess i have been lucky to never blow an engine here in South Florida (hot as well) due to heat. I did blow an engine due to cold though.... I had my 1200cc jetski tuned very lean at the end of a summer, then the following spring (after not riding all winter) I forgot to return richen it up and rode hard in the cool dense spring air...ooops.... nothing a rebuild didn't take care of though....

[ScooterLibby]

If the bike (or whatever vehicle) is overheating (air cooled engine may not be able to help this much, depending on environment) you should cure the overheating condition that is the cause of the detonation, not just get higher octane gas to cure the symptom (detonation). Here in Atlanta it gets upward of 95 pretty frequently during the summer and you don't have guys having to manually retard their timing to compensate. Of course, all late-model vehicles have computer-controlled engine management systems that would automatically correct for most any knock problem.

[GUNSGONZ]

Well the problem wasn't/is not overheating from a cooling problem but a detonation problem. The boats heat sensors on the Rotax 720cc engines is the heads so I could have driven on for probubly an hour but eventually I would have damaged the engine by melting or cracking a piston. Its the same on a car or truck. people drive with detonation all the time without boil over (normal temp) thinking that the tea-kettle or knocking sound in the engine is only a funny sound until its too late, sometimes disintegrating the piston, sometimes just making a hole in the piston. If you hear that sound, back off the accelerator and get some higher octane gas.

[Scootnut]

Sooznd brings up a good point. :ll Many years ago when I had a part time job pumping gas (For the younger crowd, back in the Stone Age when you pulled into a service station {so named because they actually provided service} someone would come running out and not only pump the gas for you but wash your windshield and offer to check your oil, water, battery and tires.) the station owner told me how to get my gas for free without stealing.

When there were no customers around just pull your car up to each pump and, without turning on the pump, lock the nozzle open and lift the hose up thus draining the left over gas from the hose. By the end of your shift you'd have at least 10-12 gallons of gas. :dance:

Now I know that someone out there will say, "But OldGuy, if gas was only 34-36 cents a gallon why not just buy it?" Well, you worked for 50 cents an hour with fringe benefits. The benefits were; (1)You had someplace to work on your vehicle. (2)The mechanic would offer advice and let you use his tools. and (3)You got your parts wholesale.

Different people, different culture, different times.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I'm an "OLD GUY" too OldGuy. I remember 32 cents per gallon. I also worked at a BP station as a teenager. People used to come in for $1.00 of gas in those days as I'm sure you remember. Well, what we used to do was, when we were done pumping the gas, we wouldn't pull that small lever back. Instead, we just kind of laid the nozzle on it's side and waited for the next car to pull in. When they said "Fill 'er up", there was already a dollar on the the meter, so that's how we used to "make" an extra buck. Not to mention, the old empty oil can trick. but that's another story. :D

[waterinthefuel]

I don't think the hose trick works anymore because the hose comes from above.

[ScooterLibby]

The only reason you'll get pre-ignition is:
-too much compression
-too much heat
-too much timing
(Outside of some sort of really wacked-out problem, anyway)
So if you're getting pre-ignition only when it's hot, you're running too hot (most likely). A vehicle doesn't have to "boil over" for it to overheat.

[audiomagnate]

I don't think the hose trick works anymore because the hose comes from above.

I got a few ounces of dribble today before I started pumping but I didn't try the full blown hose lifting trick. I was down to E but she only took .7 gallons. Are they she's or he's?