The "premium vs regular" has been brought up several times. Science says you get maximum power running the lowest possible octane without pre-ignition. Despite the Max's relatively high compression, it runs fine on regular 87.
If it makes you sleep better at night, run the premium stuff. It won't hurt anything, but some dyno testing has shown a 1-2hp loss on 93 vs 87 in a stock engine. It was also discussed that the engine may seem to run "smoother" on high octane(less vibration) because it is actually making less power. So many people automatically assume that "premium" means "better", moreso because it costs more, and the expensive stuff is always better....right? The
I've tried regular, "mid grade" 89, as well as the "premium" 93/94. I didn't notice any appreciable difference, other than fill-ups cost an extra dollar or two. Over a day of riding, that can add up pretty fast. Look at it this way....with the money you save using regular, you essentially get a couple free beers at the end of the day. :cheers:
However, I did notice an overall improvement when running ethanol-free fuel. Overall it just seemed to run....better. Kind of hard to describe, maybe it was the "placebo effect", I dunno. At least in NY, ethanol-free gas is pretty hard to find, and stations that sell it often charge "premium" grade prices for regular fuel. The marina where I work sells only ethanol-free 89 gas, which I try to fill up with when possible.
You'd think the previous owner would have taken a hint that pouring mystery oil and lead substitute in the tank made it run like crap.....some people are just set of notions
