Pure Premium Petrol

[JeffOlson]

I found a nearby source of ethanol-free, pure premium gasoline and am trying a tank's worth in my Norge. Is is just me, or is my Norge running better than before? Perhaps it is just my imagination, given that I paid a good bit more for this pure stuff, but my Norge seems to really like it!

[Cool Runnings]

That's what many people use in small engines such as chain saws/ weed wackers...

[atavar]

My Norge loves it.  I get about an extra 75 miles to the tank compared to 80+ octane ethanol blends.  The extra range is way more valuable than the more power and less ping.  I estimate my cost per mile is about the same with ethanol free premium vs cheap blends.

[PJPR01]

It most definitely loves it...it's noticeably smoother.  I found a spot up near Palestine, TX here on a run back from farther north and it was like running liquid gold thru the machine.  Just need a tanker truck of that batch...I wonder if it would be possible to simulate by running 104 octane booster thru it every so often....haven't tried it yet.

[Two Checks]

The engine doesn't need more octane. Pure gas has more energy than E10. The alcohol kills power and mileage.

[fotoguzzi]

check your states NHRA website.. they might list all the stations that sell non ox premium.. or just google non-ox and your state name

[atavar]

I have the "PureGas" ap on my phone.  That tells me the closest stations with non-ethanol gas and prices.  Quite handy. 

[PJPR01]

Excellent...that was super helpful.  I found the site for Texas, matches also with a downloadable app called Pure Gas...looks like there are a couple of options here in town reasonably close by.

[atavar]

Yeah, the app is handy when travelling. Lets me plan ahead a little bit for road trips when I want to maximize range.

[190 Octane]

I wish we could still get pure gas around here.  I would gladly pay fifty cents to a dollar more a gallon to have it.  They could take the extra money and give it to the "poor" cooperate farmers that are making money off ethanol.  Maybe one day another state will get to vote first in the primaries and we can quit catering to the corn lobby.

It is nice picking up a couple of MPG while riding trough Arkansas and Oklahoma.

[Cool Runnings]

I wish we could still get pure gas around here.  I would gladly pay fifty cents to a dollar more a gallon to have it.  They could take the extra money and give it to the "poor" cooperate farmers that are making money off ethanol.  Maybe one day another state will get to vote first in the primaries and we can quit catering to the corn lobby.

It is nice picking up a couple of MPG while riding trough Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Gas stations have to have a 'special license' in order to sell pure gas, just another expense for station owners.

[190 Octane]

There are a few places that sell pure gas in the Houston area, but it's all specialty places like marinas, airports, and suppliers of race gas.

[beetle]

Ethanol I spit at thee. From hell's heart I stab at thee. Die, ethanol, die.

[atavar]

Maybe in Minnesota , not here . Are you sure of this ?

 Dusty

Yeah, in Minnesota you need a special license to dispense gas after eating chili.  Blue states you know..

[gfritzmeier]

Yeah, in Minnesota you need a special license to dispense gas after eating chili.  Blue states you know..
[/quote

Yep, I live in Rochester, MN and only have 4 places to buy pure gas. Single pump at 3 of them and newer Holiday station has one at every pump.

[leafman60]

We need to end the federal corn subsidies and get rid of ethanol in fuel.

[Cool Runnings]

Buy Real Gas

[DaSwami]

The Pure-Gas app and website is useful, but not always accurate.  Pretty much anyone can add a new station, but in Missoula MT none of the three stations listed on the website (last summer) had ethanol-free gas.

Fortunately, we have a good supply in my town and that's all I've used for the last 8 years

[lazlokovacs]

OP,

when I was touring in germany, you could get 102 octane gas from the pumps on certain stretches. It was the only time my Calvin ran well, ie smooth running, no pinking, good acceleration in all gears, good power at stupid speeds...

So yes, I think it can make a difference, and I think modern guzzis do seem to 'like' better fuel...

[Two Checks]

Octane ratings are figured differently in Europe than here. 102 in Europe isn't 102 here.
If your engine doesn't ping on a certain grade of gas higher octane won't make it run better. In fact, it may run worse due to the added octane slowing the burn rate. Removing ethanol from the fuel will make it run better. Ethanol has less energy than gasoline.

High octane fuel isn't "hot stuff". Actually the opposite. Gasoline has a specific BTU content regardless of the octane rating. Higher octane allows higher compression without detonation, allowing the engine to get more power from the fuel.

[Rough Edge racing]

Octane ratings are figured differently in Europe than here. 102 in Europe isn't 102 here.
If your engine doesn't ping on a certain grade of gas higher octane won't make it run better. In fact, it may run worse due to the added octane slowing the burn rate. Removing ethanol from the fuel will make it run better. Ethanol has less energy than gasoline.

High octane fuel isn't "hot stuff". Actually the opposite. Gasoline has a specific BTU content regardless of the octane rating. Higher octane allows higher compression without detonation, allowing the engine to get more power from the fuel.

 Higher octane fuel doesn't necessarily burn slower. Premium pump gas may or may not burn slower and if it does the difference is slight. High octane race gas is designed to burn fast for high RPM use. 
 Sunoco has this to say , it's quite interesting to see what those who manufacture fuel have to say about it's properties...

     http://www.racegas.com/article/index

[swordds]

Ahhh, the weekly pure gas vs ethanol vs octane thread.

[lucian]

It was suggested that I use ethanol free in my tuono as it has a plastic tank and it will prevent tank swelling. I imagine that would apply to most plastic tanks that have not been caswell coated or similar. A station near to me sells it in 5 gallon cans,but I don't notice any difference in performance, and it aint cheap...

[drlapo]

I remember a story in Cycle magazine back in the late 60s or early 70s
Yamaha was testing at Daytona and the bike's were down on speed using the race gas available at the track.  They purchased a few gallons of Mobil regular from a local station and picked up the lost power.   The high octane fuel was burning too slowly
Cycle went on to test pump gas from a number of stations and declared Mobil regular the "best".
I can't remember the test parameters

[M0T0Geezer]

Give a look at the "Pure Gas" website:

 http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp

When I travel, be it by car or motorcycle, looking for (and finding) ethanol-free fuel is way too much effort.

Sometimes I get lucky and the gas station where I've stopped sells what I want.  At such all-too-rare times I always fill up with the ethanol-free fuel.

Most important is to try to keep the E-Free fuel in your motorbike during winter months when there are few opportunities for riding.  Ethanol adulterated fuel does not keep well.

'Geezer

[Rough Edge racing]

I remember a story in Cycle magazine back in the late 60s or early 70s
Yamaha was testing at Daytona and the bike's were down on speed using the race gas available at the track.  They purchased a few gallons of Mobil regular from a local station and picked up the lost power.   The high octane fuel was burning too slowly
Cycle went on to test pump gas from a number of stations and declared Mobil regular the "best".
I can't remember the test parameters

 Can you find the actual article? Sounds like something interesting....

[Kentktk]

I found a nearby source of ethanol-free, pure premium gasoline

The Grange in Issaquah I imagine?   A gas station in Black Diamond has it too.

[oldbike54]

Ahhh, the weekly pure gas vs ethanol vs octane thread.

 Yeah , and now some company is marketing oil made from natural gas , you guys sink your teeth into that 

 Oh , gasoline can be made to burn at different rates , and high performance engines require fast burn . High octane only makes gasoline harder to ignite , not burn at a slower rate . Where is Chuckie ?

 Dusty

[JeffOlson]

Actually, there are two nearby sources that I know of, Dave's Palisades, and Bill's Old-Fashion Service. Both are located in Lake Oswego, OR, where we lived for decades and still have our office. I have not yet found any near Olympia, WA, where we are remodeling our cabin hope to live someday...

Since the lack of ethanol seems to make such a difference, and since sources are close to my office, I plan to continue using it, at least in the Norge.

[Wayne Orwig]

I run mine on the worse swamp piss I can find.
If it can't handle it, I have the wrong bike.