Most autos, while having knock sensors, also don't have compression ratios like motorcycles, and aren't anywhere near the same "state" of tune. If my pickup made the same ratio of HP to displacement that my road bike does, it would make 760 HP. I sincerely wished it did. It makes 300, maybe. So comparisons between cars/trucks and motorcycles isn't very useful. The S10 isn't a very high output engine for the displacement, but it still is in a vastly higher state of tune than most passenger cars/trucks. So if I used my above ratio with the S10 engine as the baseline, my truck would have 432 HP This is still more than it has now, and it not only uses regular gas, but has lower compression and smaller diameter pistons than the S10. Plus the knock sensor. And, in the winter time when the air is dense and dry, you can hear it pinging on regular, so I use either 89 for a fill up, or 93 for a half tank, so I don't have to replace my engine. Detonation doesn't do any engine, any good, ever. I don't plan to replace the truck anytime soon, so I try and treat it well. It isn't a daily driver, so I don't care about the fuel costs. If I cared about fuel costs, I wouldn't have it, I'd buy something little. I don't expect low fuel costs in something that weighs 5800 pounds, empty. My point here is if you feel the need to run the lowest cost fuel and oil in, you should probably buy something like a scooter, not a 14K motorcycle. I have an associate that thinks I'm crazy for running synthetic oil in my motorcycles. He has a FJR and runs the cheapest thing he can find. I don't get it. The bike's initial cost alone suggests quality care, no Yugo-level care. Gas and oil are cheap compared to engine internals. Of course, this is why my stuff lasts me for years, and others often don't. I'm not suggesting that my way is the only/best way, but it is hard to argue with success.
Sure is good that we have all this time to discuss the non-tangibles, isn't it? Personally, I'd rather be out riding. T storms coming here, complete with hail, so I think I'll pass for today.