FUEL PREFERENCE

[coz]

What type [brand] of fuel do you prefer to use in your spyder? i have used shell since i got the bike, runs great. i bought speedway gas over the week end it's local or regional ashland oil co. went thru it like water. my truck is the same way. seem to get much better mileage out of national brand fuel. reg. vs. reg. what say you?:yikes::thumbup:

 

[boborgera]

What type [brand] of fuel do you prefer to use in your spyder? i have used shell since i got the bike, runs great. i bought speedway gas over the week end it's local or regional ashland oil co. went thru it like water. my truck is the same way. seem to get much better mileage out of national brand fuel. reg. vs. reg. what say you?:yikes::thumbup:

I never look for a particular brand of gas. I just get gas at the nearest station when i need gas [premium] and haven't notice any difference between brands.:dontknow:

 

[TuckMiddle]

Gas Preference

Well, HOGS often prefer BP, so I sorta got in that habit. My second "gas" habit is not to buy CITGO, due to my seeing what Chavez has done to a great country. Travelled VZ and the rest of SA for 30 years and every American should be aware of what could happen anywhere.
Third habit - I must admit to normally buying the least expensive regular for all my vehicles. Spyder folks seem to recommend an additive, so I bought it the other day. It's green insteady of the Stabil red. The mind is a terrible thing to lose, so I forget the name, but I do remember it's one ounce per 6 gallons and it supposedly it eats ethanol or it's residue. I've only got 3400 miles on a 2011 RT-SM5. Just put on some Inspector Gadget floorboards, forward foot things and a heel & toe shifter. The guy should be at least a Coronel, not an inspector - his stuff is super and he's great to deal with. BTW, Georgians should know that Allan Owens, MSF instructor, known and respected by many, died last week from a massive heart attack. I'd guess well over 100 bikes escorted Allan to the Church from the funeral home. I had the only Spyder. He was a real leader in the training arena - may God bless you Allan.
Also. rumor has it that the MSF is shortly going to certify at least one MSF "School" in GA to do a Trike Experienced Rider Course. Another rumor says it'll be intended for Spyders too.
Ride safely. Tuck :ani29:

 

[ARtraveler]

In many areas gasoline branding is a joke. One refinery, all the trucks load from there. Up here its the same independent company that delivers to all the stations.

 

[murphybrown]

Well, HOGS often prefer BP, so I sorta got in that habit. My second "gas" habit is not to buy CITGO, due to my seeing what Chavez has done to a great country. Travelled VZ and the rest of SA for 30 years and every American should be aware of what could happen anywhere.
Third habit - I must admit to normally buying the least expensive regular for all my vehicles. Spyder folks seem to recommend an additive, so I bought it the other day. It's green insteady of the Stabil red. The mind is a terrible thing to lose, so I forget the name, but I do remember it's one ounce per 6 gallons and it supposedly it eats ethanol or it's residue. I've only got 3400 miles on a 2011 RT-SM5. Just put on some Inspector Gadget floorboards, forward foot things and a heel & toe shifter. The guy should be at least a Coronel, not an inspector - his stuff is super and he's great to deal with. BTW, Georgians should know that Allan Owens, MSF instructor, known and respected by many, died last week from a massive heart attack. I'd guess well over 100 bikes escorted Allan to the Church from the funeral home. I had the only Spyder. He was a real leader in the training arena - may God bless you Allan.
Also. rumor has it that the MSF is shortly going to certify at least one MSF "School" in GA to do a Trike Experienced Rider Course. Another rumor says it'll be intended for Spyders too.
Ride safely. Tuck :ani29:

DITTO ON CITGO....

 

[Colin]

Shell V-power 95 octane seems to be the best for me, sometimes us BP 98 octane which is around 10cents per litre dearer, but no real benefit.

 

[CWilber]

We also avoid Citgo for same reason as well as Exxon for their treatment of locals stemming from Valdez incident.

 

[yankeeDoolte]

I've used Shell in all my bikes, cars and trucks. There no ethanol in Shell (at least for now)I seam to get good preformace on regular and use mid grade every other time on my Spyder. My new Taurus SHO Turbo I use Shell only. All run great and I believe I get a mile or two better mileage over the cut rates.

 

[DougB]

BP I prefer. I use Starton additive to fight Ethanol in all my small engines.
DOWN WITH ETHANOL!

 

[pro10is]

Gasoline distribution in the US is a lot like electricity distribution. Most of it originates at major refineries and is transported to local distribution centers by a vast network of pipelines and tanks. To make nationwide gasoline transportation more efficient and economical, major gasoline brands are intermixed at this stage with quality strictly controlled. A gasoline company is entitled to pump out from various distribution centers as much as they put in (or purchase) even if the gas they remove was manufactured by a different company. The major gas brands then add their various additive formulations at a ratio of about 1 gallon/3000 gallons at the distribution centers into the delivery trucks (Shell adds theirs right at the pump). The additives are primarily what differentiates one gas brand from another. The smaller and no name gas dealers may purchase gas from the major brands or from other distribution centers with possibly lesser quality base and additives. However federal regulations help ensure the formulation and quality of all gasoline brands and the amount of ethanol added.

So there are indeed differences between brands but there is no definitive way to determine whether these difference are significant or not. Consumers Union, the company that publishes Consumer Reports once tried to perform a scientific comparison but failed to come to any conclusions and never published their results. Even the gasoline companies won't reveal exactly what their additive formulas are and formulations may vary from one geographical location to another as well as from summer to winter.

In general the quality of all gasoline sold in the US is considered very good. However the amount of water in gasoline, primarily due to condensation, is something to beware of. It's believed best to purchase gas from a station that sells a lot of it because condensation is supposedly reduced when tanks are regularly filled and emptied often. The amount of water in gas can make a major difference in performance and engine damage, but that's another topic for discussion.

 

[ulflyer]

Only barely related, but the other day I stopped at a small statiion that sells only ethanol free gas to see what the price comparison was and it was about 20 cents higher than nearby ethanol stations.

Sitting there getting gased up was a 1920 Buick 2-door Coupe, two tone green, immaculately restored. And I forgot i had a camera in the RT trunk!

 

[ThreeWheels]

I'm not terribly picky, but I try to get either Shell, BP or Sunoco. I buy the 89 Octane grade of most any brand except, as others stated, I eschew Citgo. Sometimes when riding in NE CT it can be come difficult as Citgo seems to be most prevalent in the smaller towns in that area.

I would love to find an ethanol free station and run a few tankfuls so I could calculate my $/mile, not miles per gallon.

The ethanol gas may be less expensive, but ethanol has a lower fuel density so the mileage is less as well.

I was going to make a comment about the whole ethanol/alternative fuel issue, but chose to keep my fingers quiet to avoid a flame war.