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Better mileage for FZ1??

TxFZ1 said:
Just curious, what octane of fuel are most using? Does the higher octane make a difference in performance/economy???
kh:confused0024:
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Unless your bike is designed to take advantage of the higher octane (higher compression) you're just wasting your money running anything other than 87 octane. Also the higher octane gas probably hurts your mileage a little bit...
 
In the Netherlands we have as minimum 95 octane at the fuelstations and usually the option to use 98 octane. If you go to Germany for Shell V-Power, the octane is even 102.

I always use octane 95 since more is useless with a stock engine.
But 95 octane is also what Yamaha Europe advices here.

So I'm surprised that you guys use 87 octane.

Just a question what do you pay for a gallon overthere?
In the Netherlands, and in most Europe mainland countries we pay aprox. 1,50 euro per liter, which is equal to aprox 4,60 dollar per gallon.
 
Are not octane numbers calculated differently between the US and Europe?

Around town I just poke along, shift at about 4,000 to 4,500 or so. I get about 38 to 40 mpg. What frustrates me it the smallish fuel tank. When I ride with my friend who has an FZ6 I'm the guy who needs to stop the ride to top off. When we ride together we're usually riding pretty fast and the big fiz really sucks the fuel compared to it's little brother.
 
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Not sure if this helps or confuses? I guess it is what it is.

Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Generally, octane ratings are higher in Europe than they are in North America and most other parts of the world. This is especially true when comparing the lowest available octane level in each country. In many parts of Europe, 95 RON (90-91 AKI) is the minimum available standard, with 97/98 RON being higher specification (being called Super Unleaded). The higher rating seen in Europe is an artifact of a different underlying measuring procedure. In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the "headline" octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in Canada, the United States and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in Canada and the US, would be 91-92 in Europe. However most European pumps deliver 95 (RON) as "regular", equivalent to 90–91 US AKI=(R+M)/2, and deliver 98, 99 or 100 (RON) (93-94 AKI) labeled as Super Unleaded - thus regular petrol sold in much of Europe corresponds to premium sold in the United States.
 
vincefazer said:
In the Netherlands we have as minimum 95 octane at the fuelstations and usually the option to use 98 octane. If you go to Germany for Shell V-Power, the octane is even 102.

I always use octane 95 since more is useless with a stock engine.
But 95 octane is also what Yamaha Europe advices here.

So I'm surprised that you guys use 87 octane.

Just a question what do you pay for a gallon overthere?
In the Netherlands, and in most Europe mainland countries we pay aprox. 1,50 euro per liter, which is equal to aprox 4,60 dollar per gallon.
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Well now you see what the discrepancy is as far as the octane numbers based on what Hellgate posted above.

Gas is relatively cheap here in comparison to Europe because the taxes added to it are lower. In my state gas is around $2.50/gal for 87 octane right now.
 
In the Touring an Travel forum I have an older post about a trip I took in May. I rode from Ohio to Tennessee to North Carolina and back. Below is an small portion from that post regarding my fuel use.

Total riding: 1847 miles. (482 miles during 3 days of camping, the rest traveling). Highest Altitude 5970 feet above sea level (day 04). 2008 Gen II FZ1 with stock seat, stock windscreen, SW Motech bar-back risers, Satan highway pegs, Mivv GP pipe, AIS blocked, header cat intact. Rider 172 lbs, excluding boots, hard armored riding jacket and helmet. Total Other Load 61lbs (17lbs hard case & 44 lbs camping gear, clothes, full rain gear, etc).

Longest distance between fill ups 163 miles, average MPG 44.57, average fuel price 2.73 per gallon, average fill up cost $7.61, total fuel used 41.73 gallons, total fuel cost $114.16. I ran a GPS tracking app on my Droid phone during the entire trip, it tracked my speed, altitude and heading in 5 to 6 second intervals almost the entire trip except for a few times I couldn’t get a satellite signal (such as the West Virginia mountains coming home).

Most of the highway riding was at about 70MPH turning around 4000RPM on stock sprockets. I was pretty happy with the overall MPG. Had I been riding with sport bikes rather than cruisers I suspect my MPG in the mountains of North Carolina would have been in the low to mid 30s.
 
My bike is still a stock 2006 FZ1. My low mileage comes from commuting to work with a few little wheelies and some fast driving for fun and I get about 36-38 mpg. I ride with a cruiser group on weekends sometimes and on those "mild" rides I get just over 50 mpg. I don't know why most of the guys seem to get such crappy mpg.
 
The best I have managed when the bike was completely stock was 45 mpg and an average around 37. These were both without any speedo correction so the numbers are inflated slighltly. I was pleased since I'm 6'3'' 275 pounds.

Now that I have modded the bike I have got a best of 34 mpg, with a corrected sppedo. I am sure I can get better but I am having to much fun right now to try :D.

I need to find out what fuel map is good for highway cruising. I have a map switch so I can load up a fun map and a mpg map.

I am about to take a ~800 mile trip so we will see what I can manage.
 
For this riding season, weighing in around 170 lbs, I've got an average of 43.517 mpg.
The highest I recall having was about 51 mpg a few years ago.

Just about anytime I go over 80 mph (~5100 rpm), I see a dramatic decrease in fuel economy.


I've always used 91 octane, and I was sure I had read to do so in my motorcycle manual, but it does indeed say to use 87. I had an unpleasant experience with a 1982 Honda going from 91 to 85 octane though, so I'd need some convincing arguments to switch to 87. :)
 
I don't understand the US fuel prices. Were I live, one liter costs around 1,50€ or 7,28$ per gallon.
Considering the total tax is 64%, the price per gallon without any taxes is 4,44$ but in the US the retail price is around 2,80$!!!!!!!!
Am I missing something?
 
Mad_Martigan said:
I had an unpleasant experience with a 1982 Honda going from 91 to 85 octane though, so I'd need some convincing arguments to switch to 87. :)
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Well the people that Engineered the bike said 87 is what it needs. I know some folks seem to think they know better than the folks that made the bike but I doubt it. Is that convincing enough? If not, then enjoy your 91 and safe riding :stunta]:
 
mazze said:
I don't understand the US fuel prices. Were I live, one liter costs around 1,50€ or 7,28$ per gallon.
Considering the total tax is 64%, the price per gallon without any taxes is 4,44$ but in the US the retail price is around 2,80$!!!!!!!!
Am I missing something?
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Don't forget that the US refines it's own gas and some oil is not even imported so the transportation costs are lower.
 
gtbigup01 said:
Well the people that Engineered the bike said 87 is what it needs. I know some folks seem to think they know better than the folks that made the bike but I doubt it. Is that convincing enough? If not, then enjoy your 91 and safe riding :stunta]:
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LOL - excellent point, it's not that I know better, it's just what I've been doing for the last 4 years... Should I expect any quirky performance issues when I make the switch?
 
Mad_Martigan said:
LOL - excellent point, it's not that I know better, it's just what I've been doing for the last 4 years... Should I expect any quirky performance issues when I make the switch?
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You may initially, depending on how long you've been running 91. Nothing that will harm the bike IMO, just the bike learning how to use "crappy" 87 since it's been spoiled with 91
 
Mad_Martigan said:
LOL - excellent point, it's not that I know better, it's just what I've been doing for the last 4 years... Should I expect any quirky performance issues when I make the switch?
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You should get a small bump up in resulting power when you drop the octane in our bikes. There is this dillusion that higher octane means more power for vehicles that are tuned for lower octane gas.

Using octane higher then what the book says is a waste of money, and means LOWER engine power...octane slows the combustion of the explosion in the cylinders for those engines that need it.

It is usually Speed Racer Squids that run the high test ;-) Don't drink the higher octane kool-aid :-)

Run 87 and get the best performance from your bike, and be happy too with the savings in $$.
 
This thread piqued my curiosity so I began checking my mileage. I am getting a consistent 40mpg average on 87 octane noname pump gas. I don't really ride it very hard (relative to capability) but this figure reflects a mix of city/back roads/highway riding in the SWVA area.
 
Jimedreg

I just became the owner of a 2007 FZ1. This bike had only 1300 miles on the odometer. I bought the bike as a replacement for my Honda CBR 954 which had burned some exhaust valves after 45Kmiles of trouble free riding.

I really like the upright ergos on the FZ1, the power, handling and brakes are good. I am a mature rider, but enjoy spirited riding. My CBR 954 averaged 45-50 mpg, and I could get 200 miles on a tank. Needless to say, I am disappointed with the FZ1's fuel consumption. The same style of riding yields 35-40 mpg. Yamaha could do better.
 
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