Run premium fuel?

[Mighty Mouse]

So after running premium on my 05 and 14 Rockets I ran it on my 2020 Rocket with zero problems. I dropped to 87 on advice from a member posting (Turbo200R4 or Dougl I don't recall). I have been on 87 for for 4 months and have noticed no difference in any style of riding. It seems to have all the power it had on premium, always starts on the first pull. I also had problems with stalling every once in a while while slowing/stopping. I have not had that issue since I dropped to 87. So for me I'll stay with the 87 and save a few thousand dollars, (Hey, it's California). If you have difficulty like I did dropping down start with mid grade for a few months and then go to 87. I call it the three step program for high octane addicts like me. Cheers.

 

[mexican]

So after running premium on my 05 and 14 Rockets I ran it on my 2020 Rocket with zero problems. I dropped to 87 on advice from a member posting (Turbo200R4 or Dougl I don't recall). I have been on 87 for for 4 months and have noticed no difference in any style of riding. It seems to have all the power it had on premium, always starts on the first pull. I also had problems with stalling every once in a while while slowing/stopping. I have not had that issue since I dropped to 87. So for me I'll stay with the 87 and save a few thousand dollars, (Hey, it's California). If you have difficulty like I did dropping down start with mid grade for a few months and then go to 87. I call it the three step program for high octane addicts like me. Cheers.

87 on all my bikes, never had any issues. Most riders know that sometimes we stop at gas stations that may have 82, and no choice. If my bikes ran on 91, more than once i would be stranded on a back road hearing banjos ha ha

 

[turbotom1052]

87 on all my bikes, never had any issues. Most riders know that sometimes we stop at gas stations that may have 82, and no choice. If my bikes ran on 91, more than once i would be stranded on a back road hearing banjos ha ha

You might not have a choice, and I feel for anyone lacking the availability of at least 91 Octane, but im willing to bet that if your forced to run a mid grade or lower octane fuel your leaving some performance on the table, on any high performance vehicle with knock sensors, or any other means of pulling timing when conditions require it. Fortunately for me and all my northeast neighbors we have available to us 93 octane and in a few places around me non ethanol 91 octane. In my case, with my own previous bikes I ran a pretty aggressive tune that required 93 octane to avoid pinging. The 91 just didn't cut it. Its also worthy of mention that as much as we are taught to despise ethanol, there is the benefit of ethanols resistance to detonation, and cooling properties!!!

 

[cootertwo]

I only run non-ethanol in my Rockets, and it's octane is slightly higher than high test................. No problems

 

[TURBO200R4]

You might not have a choice, and I feel for anyone lacking the availability of at least 91 Octane, but im willing to bet that if your forced to run a mid grade or lower octane fuel your leaving some performance on the table, on any high performance vehicle with knock sensors, or any other means of pulling timing when conditions require it. Fortunately for me and all my northeast neighbors we have available to us 93 octane and in a few places around me non ethanol 91 octane. In my case, with my own previous bikes I ran a pretty aggressive tune that required 93 octane to avoid pinging. The 91 just didn't cut it. Its also worthy of mention that as much as we are taught to despise ethanol, there is the benefit of ethanols resistance to detonation, and cooling properties!!!

This information is great if you have a mc/car or truck that you can set timming/fuel however i doubt that there is that many tunes that deals with the timming/fuel on our rocket's so that we could make premium work to our advantage and it there was then when we put in a low grade we would have to be careful not to lug the motor.
Don't get me wrong i would love to have a tune like that

 

[Stillserving]

I've only ever run low test in my Rocket since new and have never had any issues. EXCEPT when I unknowingly was using 85 instead of 87 at higher altitudes last year on my long ride and noticed some pinging at higher revs while in the mountains at upper elevations. That and I think my rad cap is bad causing it to run much hotter than normal (which was probably most of the issues).

 

[Old street racer]

I run 87 in 2013 touring with Motor Trike kit all up weight 1550 no problems

 

[RazMan]

Here in the UK we have been 'forced' to downgrade to E10 fuel which does not agree with many fuel lines, filters etc. My engine ran faultlessly until the change to E10 and then my tank's internal plumbing swelled and leaked and eventually failed completely, resulting in a large repair bill. My dealer then said that Premium fuel is the only way to prevent this kind of problem. It's Premium for me all day long

 

[Protonhound]

The two paragraphs in the manual are contradictory. 95 RON grade is 91 AKI or (R+M)/2. I use top tier 91-93 and have no problems. Am I wasting money? You tell me I spent $29K for a toy.

How dare you call this most essential transportation machine a toy!! I just don't know anymore...I need a safe space...and a pillow...

 

[MikeR3TFC]

I've always used premium (91 R+M/2 in Arizona) and been happy with the performance over the past 7k miles. Just idly flipping through the manual though and I noticed it only calls for 87 knock index fuel. When I purchased, my service manager was adamant to use premium fuel. Does anybody run regular grade fuel? Any issues with it?

I have 2020 Rocket 3 TFC with 21000+ miles, and have run 87 vs premium since year 2, actual mpg increased, no engine issues.