Sorry if this has been discussed before.

But I recently purchases a '07 sportster, and the dealer told me to only use 98 grade unleaded.

once home, I read the book, and believe it said that 95 was OK

 

what is the go?

It has EFI, but can it adjust the timing as well or is it static?

will a lower grade fuel be detimental, and should I only run 98 as per the dealers suggestion?

I have no desire to run E10, but would like the remifications if i am away from home, and only plain old unleaded is available?

Thanks in advance.

Stefan.

98, 95, 91 in that order, E10,,, better to push it.

The O2 sensors and ECM like a stable diet, train it on 98 if you want best results, it will tolerate 95 if you can't give it what it's used to.

Stick with 98 if you can. 95 ok generally but for the extra $ or two per tank stick with 98. Had to fill my 06 twin cam with 91 once and thought the old girl was going to die. Became noisy and ran like shit. Took a couple of tanks to get her right again.

So does it have any knock sensors, and will it advance the timing to get the most out of 98?

or if it is tuned for 95 then 98 is a waste of time.

 

and if I had to run it on 91, because nothing else was available, lwhat would the consequences be?

would it ping? And could it cause damage?

Some bikes ping and knock like crazy when burning 91, but a few I've seen don't seem to mind.

In saying that, most of the ones that run OK on 91 have all been tuned in open loop, so don't change tune by sensing from O2 sensors.

Not sure if the '07 1200 has detonation sensing but pretty sure it would be capable of altering the timing as per what O2 sensors would be feeding back to the ECM, to a certain degree.

If it's a big thing to you to run 95 octane, then do so, but try and stick to using it. it's when you chop and change you'll notice the changes doing weird things.

Pinging / knocking / detonation IS causing damage, avoid it at all cost.

When I got my sporty, I was running 95 no probs.
I few times filled with 91 and cant remember any difference. In saying that though, I did change the way I rode it.
Not reving as hard or as high.

Using 98 made no noticible difference until I upgraded exhaust, air filter and gave it a tune.
Now there is a noticable difference detween 95 and 98 and to play it safe I aviod 91.

I always fill up with BP Premium, previous posts on here talk all about the evils of other Brands, especially Shell, mix Shell with other brands and over time you get a gunky Gel mixture.

The XL models from HD have NO detonation sensing on them.

Good old woolies petrol for me and only pick the hose with the cheapest price

For got I all so have my 4c off docket

run whatever is available, beats walking,
i run a 12:1 comp, cammed up, big bore and she runs on whatever I feed it.
We have good fuel in Aust, compared to other places in the world.
I still tend to 98, but dont give a fuck if it's not available, cant travel this great land just on 98, guarantee that.

l use bp period. obviously you cant allways get it but it is the most stable , what you buy is what you get . Stick to the 98 , your bike cost you an arm and a leg , possibly a marriage or two so give it the best. Don't use united

Thanks for the replies guys.
I will stick with 95 at this point, our local servo does not have 98..:-(
If i understand this correctly, a 07 with EFI does not advance the timing to make the most of 98..

And one of these days when I can not get 95, I will run some 91, and see how she runs....

don't use E10, at least not on bikes beofre say 2012... believe that the rubber pipes are not E10 suitable. Don't use United, had issues with their fuel. I have also had issues between brands, filter glugging up. Was told back in 2008 to use 95 as it was the cleanest for the motor/exhaust... 98 left too much black shit in the exhaust system

Always use 98

always use 95

Thought many Harleys were made to run on E10 as it is more common in the States than here and in South America it is common. It works a treat on older fuel injected cars, seems to give the injectors a good clean, they run better afterwards and the octane rating is higher as well. Just be careful as some old cars and bikes can't handle it because it can damage fibreglass fuel tanks and some fuel lines, seals, pumps are not resistant to it. There is a site somewhere which says which bikes and cars are made to use it. Would have though most cars and bikes less than 10 years old might be OK with it, GOOGLE search. My 2008 Softail was listed as being able to use it, the web site address may even have been on the bowser.

Interesting, top grade for me I think.

I use BP 98 or 7/Eleven 98 which is supposed to be Mobil.
I have used 95 and it seems ok. I think the biggest variation is from Garage to Garage.

When I had a sportster (07) I used 91 99% of the time. When I switched I really didn't notice a difference. If I wanted more go (and I did) I got as bigger bike.
And E10 is fucked. It's not cheaper because you use more of the shit.