[middleagecrisis]

Has anyone done a comparison of the fuel efficiency using the different levels of octane? Results?

 

[chris]

http://www.yamahastarstryker.com/index.php/topic,424.0.html

 

[kcl-labrat]

Just type in octane and happy reading

 

[SillyFingaz]

87 is the best.... period....the end..... not gonna kill the wallet and fast burning for a V-Twin engine... anything over is just a waste of $$... higher octane has nothing to do with better gas mileage or a cleaner engine : I just laugh when I hear that crap. Use the higher octane for 4 cylinder sport bikes... not simple V-Twins!

 

[richard3]

Started out with 91 cause dealer said its best, then went to 89 because i read a post saying it ran fine, and it does there is know difference, gonna try 87 now.

 

[74novaguy]

been running 87 since its been broke in. getting 44-45 mpg and I drive a canon road every day. Hill and turn and anywhere from 30mph to 100mph. I drive it like I stole it and it still gets good gas mileage. Lowest Ive gotten was 39 mpg

 

[richard3]

Thats a nice daily ride !!!!!!

 

[SillyFingaz]

been running 87 since its been broke in. getting 44-45 mpg and I drive a canon road every day. Hill and turn and anywhere from 30mph to 100mph. I drive it like I stole it and it still gets good gas mileage. Lowest Ive gotten was 39 mpg

Ditto.. ;D

 

[dejablu110]

I would do what the manual says. I believe there has been in depth discussion on this subject
in another thread. The Stryker is a bike that seems to be made to run best on lower octane.....but
to say all v twins...... not true.

 

[SillyFingaz]

Way different than the intense electronics and characteristics of a 4 cyl.sportbike engine which heats up at a much higher temp. (hence the need for higher octane) Takes longer to heat up when starting up.( Just like a 4 cyl car) I have to stand by the fact that V-twins, no matter what size, take less to heat up which in turn requires a quicker burning fuel no matter if it's a 400 or a 1900cc. They're a very basic concept. Otherwise you're just wasting your $$. Knowledge comes with experience and I've been running both for almost 40 years. No need to argue with the facts! :

 

[dejablu110]

Well Id have to say that the engineers at yamaha put that "91" or higher
octane sticker on it for a reason.......and I will keep putting it in.

 

[SillyFingaz]

Yeah and the Kawi/Yamaha. Honda engineers put 94 octane or higher on my liter bikes but all mine ran flawlessly for many years with great MPG's at 89octane.

They're gearing in the manuals are crazy ass nutty as they say to switch from 1st to 2nd at 5mph, etc.. and make you hit 5th gear at about 40mph which is LUDICROUS.. so don't believe everything you read in the manual... it's all generic for decades and they haven't updated it... Could you imagine adhering to their gearing specs?? you'd stall in every gear or at least lug which is very harmful to your engine. 85- 87 FOR V TWINS AND89- 93 FOR 4 CYLINDERS for 30 years without so much as a bump in the road on all my assortment of bikes...unless you're at the track racing!

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ IN THE OUT DATED MANUALS... GO BY YOUR GUT INSTINCT!
Same with break-ins.... HARD QND HEAVY BREAK IN'S ARE MUCH HEALTHER FOR YOUR RIDE AND GIVE YOU A HELLUVA LOT MORE HORSEPOWER AS WELL AS TROUBLE FREE MAINTENANCE! My stryker is kicking ass in the torque, power, speed and mpg dept. because of my hard and heavy break-ins I;ve been using in every gear in my brand new bikes for the past 2 decades! Try it guys, you'll be very happy with your rids later on. I recall one guy here complaining about power and mpg issues on his Stryker...betcha any amount of $$ he broke it in gently! :

 

[dejablu110]

Good point, but they specifically put a sticker on the bike. I like the info there and do understand that manuals are pretty generic but I have found this subject very interesting regarding this. Why would Yamaha say to put lower octane in the Stryker and specifically state the octane preference for each bike? And..... could you go from putting the higher octane to suddenly putting the lower??

 

[chris]

yeah you can switch to lower octane right away. I just checked and the raider has the same Compression Ratio 9.48:1 as the stryker. So the raiders are considered a low compression engine just like the stryker so you should benefit more from running 87 octane. A high compression engine like the yamaha R1 has a compression ratio of 12.7:1 so it need the higher octane.

 

[trigger]

Octane requirements for any engine, regardless of number of cylinders, is subject to compression ratio and ignition timing. High compression engines with an aggressive advance curve require combustion inhibitors to prevent detonation and pre-ignition. There is technology where the ECM can detect pre-ignition and retard the timing. I don't believe the Stryker has this capability. Using fuel with a higher octane rating than recommended will result in a slower burning fuel charge and reduced performance.

 

[silverridge08]

Octane requirements for any engine, regardless of number of cylinders, is subject to compression ratio and ignition timing. High compression engines with an aggressive advance curve require combustion inhibitors to prevent detonation and pre-ignition. There is technology where the ECM can detect pre-ignition and retard the timing. I don't believe the Stryker has this capability. Using fuel with a higher octane rating than recommended will result in a slower burning fuel charge and reduced performance.

Bingo!

 

[dejablu110]

My point is....why would they purposely put a sticker on the bike stating it requires
91 or higher on the raider and a lower on the Stryker?

 

[11Stryker]

Hey Deja, is it because Strykers are water cooled and run lower temp and the Raider could possibly run higher temps such as when setting in traffic?

 

[dejablu110]

ooooooooooooooooooooh yes....good point.
That sucker does get hot!! It burns me up
sometimes....especially in this hot @ss Florida
weather

 

[trigger]

Another Bingo!
It should also be noted that combustion chamber shape and design also contributes to the occurrence of pre-ignition and fuel grade requirements.