S10 picky about its fuel

[yukondood]

On my quick trip to AK I struggled to find 91 octane fuel. Ended up putting in some octane boost. When I had to run 87, the bike idled rough, sounded pingy and not happy.

Might be a good idea to pack octane boost if heading this way or destination that 91 is hard to find.

Next question, anyone know of or suggest a good cotane boost??

 

[Rynn Storm]

On my quick trip to AK I struggled to find 91 octane fuel. Ended up putting in some octane boost. When I had to run 87, the bike idled rough, sounded pingy and not happy.

Might be a good idea to pack octane boost if heading this way or destination that 91 is hard to find.

Next question, anyone know of or suggest a good cotane boost??

http://www.bing.com/search?q=octane+booster+review

 

[Floracycle]

I don't mind paying for premium fuel. But it is bewildering to me why Yamaha built such a great bike designed to travel the world expecting premium fuel to be everywhere. :question: :exclaim: :question: :question:

I am anxious to hear from the fellow doing the South American trip.

 

[bloke]

if you have to buy the cheap stuff just ride accordingly and dont hammer it till you get a bunch of the good stuff back in it, most octane boost is a waste of money and will probly do it more harm than good,

for the record my leased company car was sposed to have high octane but since i had to pay for fuel it got whatever was cheapest, it did 100k and never missed a beat!

 

[RogerJ]

Would be good to keep track of how the bike reacts to low octane and to contamined fuel such as by water. I have only used premium in Mexico. However I did get a tank of bad gas (turned out to have water). Within 10 kms. it started to present systems. Rough running, would not go above certain kph and rev ranges without balking and pinging. Added octane booster but didn't really help. Only draining all gas and cleaning and wiping out the tank and filling with uncontaminated gas restored normal running. If you suspect bad gas by all means don't force the motor. Get it checked out.

 

[tc9988]

I don't mind paying for premium fuel. But it is bewildering to me why Yamaha built such a great bike designed to travel the world expecting premium fuel to be everywhere. :question: :exclaim: :question: :question:

I am anxious to hear from the fellow doing the South American trip.

I wonder the same thing. The FJR with a compression ration of 10.8 -1 runs happily on regular fuel whilst the S10 with a compression ratio of 11.0 -1 apparently does not :question: Carry octane booster on an Adventure Touring bike )

 

[doctorj]

Me thinks the Super Tenere doesn't have knock sensor like some others that want premium fuel though.

doctorj

 

[2tall]

I don't mind paying for premium fuel. But it is bewildering to me why Yamaha built such a great bike designed to travel the world expecting premium fuel to be everywhere. :question: :exclaim: :question: :question:

I am anxious to hear from the fellow doing the South American trip.

Hmm, so the Super Tenere is designed for premium? Myself, I do have a problem paying for premium. What is the recommended octane, is it 91?

 

[martinh]

I've been putting in the bike 87 octane I can't see paying the price of the higher octane. I feel the bike runs fine I don't notice any pinging or anything.

 

[colorider]

Our "regular" here in CO is 85 and our "premium" typically 89. I have filled twice now with premium and all has gone well, but plan to try our regular at my next fill up.

 

[rem]

I've heard that the blue bikes are quite fussy .... picky ... you might want to carry some octane booster with you if you ride blue. R

 

[markjenn]

Our "regular" here in CO is 85 and our "premium" typically 89. I have filled twice now with premium and all has gone well, but plan to try our regular at my next fill up.

Fuel sold at elevation is typically derated a few points on octane as the higher elevation reduces an engine's octane requirement by several octane points. Running a normally-aspirated engine at 6K feet is essentially the same as running the same engine at sea level with a throttle stop at 80% of full throttle. A sea level S10 run at 80% throttle or less probably doesn't need premium. That's why a completely valid strategy when running lower-than-spec'ed fuel is simply to stay out of the throttle and/or use RPM's rather than throttle to make higher power. I'd suggest this rather than messing around with octane booster.

- Mark

 

[colorider]

Fuel sold at elevation is typically derated a few points on octane as the higher elevation reduces an engine's octane requirement by several octane points. Running a normally-aspirated engine at 6K feet is essentially the same as running the same engine at sea level with a throttle stop at 80% of full throttle. A sea level S10 run at 80% throttle or less probably doesn't need premium.

- Mark

Yep!

 

[markjenn]

I wonder the same thing. The FJR with a compression ration of 10.8 -1 runs happily on regular fuel whilst the S10 with a compression ratio of 11.0 -1 apparently does not :question: Carry octane booster on an Adventure Touring bike )

It's a twin vs. four thing. Everything else being equal, low-RPM twins require more octane to avoid pinging than higher-RPM fours.

I don't ding Yamaha for producing a bike that requires premium. Most big-bore high-performance twins do, including the S10's main competition, the R1200GS. If Yamaha were to derate this engine for regular, we'd probably lose another 5-hp and this bike is a bit horsepower challenged for its category as it is. But I do ding Yamaha for not putting a knock sensor on the engine which is a good safety net and something that the R1200GS has had since 2005. Yamaha is just being cheap.

- Mark

 

[SisuTen]

I've heard that the blue bikes are quite fussy .... picky ... you might want to carry some octane booster with you if you ride blue. R

Fortunately, I don't have the BLUES ;D

If you do have the BLUES, forget the octane booster, grab a rattlecan and paint it black. Everything will be just fine.

S-Ten

 

[~TABASCO~]

I have a bike with a hot rod motor in it... It requires 93.. It likes 103-108-112 or even av-gas.. But when I have to run 89 Ive used Lucas octane booster, for this motor it DOES work.. had it ten years.. there have been a "few" test with the fuel...

Just cuz I have it around I might throw a splash in the ST to see what she does, or doesn't do.....

 

[20valves]

or even av-gas..

Av gas is for airplanes and is a very poor fuel choice for bikes. Running av gas in a bike for a power advantage is a myth.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Yes. And your probably correct on 99% of stock normal bike engines. This is not a normal engine that I have in a different bike. Normal engines don't need any of this special fuel.

 

[nankoweap]

after picking up the tenere i didn't know which octane to use so i went with 89 (typical mid-grade for us in the south) and the bike ran well - no pinging even with the periodic twist of the wrist. i will use premium when i'm able, but won't hesitate to use something less if that's all i can find.

like others, though, i was surprised that the tenere demands premium unleaded.

 

[tc9988]

It's a twin vs. four thing. Everything else being equal, low-RPM twins require more octane to avoid pinging than higher-RPM fours.

I don't ding Yamaha for producing a bike that requires premium. Most big-bore high-performance twins do, including the S10's main competition, the R1200GS. If Yamaha were to derate this engine for regular, we'd probably lose another 5-hp and this bike is a bit horsepower challenged for its category as it is. But I do ding Yamaha for not putting a knock sensor on the engine which is a good safety net and something that the R1200GS has had since 2005. Yamaha is just being cheap.

- Mark

That's interesting. In any of the material I have read on the causes of pinging I have never seen a reference to the number of cylinders being a factor. Do you have a source for that info, it would be interesting to read.