[praruaaa4]

Originally Posted by bigron

avoid ocatne boosters if suggested, they will eventually clog your injectors.

I'm against using Octane boosters but many fellow riders recommend it. Thanks for the valuable feedback. I always make it a point to fill fuel only in COCO (Company owned and Company operated) pumps or Bunks operated by lorry owners associations.

[Haroon]

I am among the earliest people to get myself in this dilemma as I had privately imported my first generation hexhead 1200GS

A few things I learnt and what I do:
The 2004 1200GS was the first to come with the technology to adjust to any grade of petrol. This was primarily done as lots of GS bikes were going round the world and deep inside Africa or Mongolia etc it was impossible to find premium grade fuel. HOWEVER, my bike which ran smooth on 95 grade petrol in oil rich Saudi Arabia did knock slightly under certain load and acceleration circumstances in India back in 2010 so its not an automatic adjustment in the bikes fuel injection system. Therefore, spoke to a few BMW gurus and apparently, the bikes from 2007 onwards have an option to recalibrate the fuel grade either from factory based on the importing dealer's request (or it can also be locally done on the BMW dealer's MoDiTec unit- I saw it myself at the Navneet Workshop in Bangalore), so generally I am given to understand the dealers (including Triumph and others) calibrate it down to 89 Octane to accept a wide range of fuel grades as well as compensate for some small fuel adulterations etc. SO you should be FINE with regular unleaded petrol also. Besides, if you are going to do some serious touring in India, its not practical to always find premium or Shell bunks etc as your route should be determined where you want to ride rather than where Shell or Premium petrol is available! Of course whenever available fill the highest you can get. I have ridden a BMW bike even on 100 grade fuel in Italy and sure you can feel the marked difference between your legs as you go higher on fuel grade but the regular fuel is fine as I have ridden BMW bikes in many countries with all kinds of fuel and its been fine. I have never used Octane boosters but from the general discussions with knowledgeable techs and reading on international forums etc, its better to avoid it.

Personally, I would be more concerned about post sales service quality of BMW dealers which I gather across India is a hit or miss esp after the warranty period. There are some horror stories on our forum itself. So having a good private mechanic handy is worthwhile as parts as well as BMW diagnostic tool etc can always be sourced thru the internet.

Good wishes on your purchase!

[VijayAnand1]

I am not sure what compression ratio your large motorcycle runs, but I am sure it's definitely not as high as the temperamental Duke 390's at 12.6:1 compression ratio. Where I live, the XP95 and Speed both are available, XP95 is what I use on the D390. Cold starts have significantly improved almost to one crank and that's at temps hovering in and around 6 to 7 Deg C here in Ooty during winter mornings, when compared to ordinary 91 pump gas.

Attaching the pic for reference



Heating, I feel though is comparatively higher in XP95 although I haven't witnessed dramatic performance difference in both, or because riding in hills have muted the finer experiences, highway runs have become significantly smoother and idling too has become comparatively smoother, all these are what I'd definitely count as positives.

The manual recommends RON/ROZ 95 PON 91. I use them both depending on availability, mostly diligently sticking to XP95. With BP-Speed, I feel though the Duke runs harsh, with XP95 it's surprisingly smoother. Bad fuel or bad pump is anyone's guess, but since then it's either Shell on the long drives or XP95 locally and haven't had any trouble.

Bigger bikes tend to run smoother with higher octane fuel and power delivery is comparatively smoother, and helps extract the right juice at the right RPM. Stick to what your manual suggests, if it's sold here, it definitely would accept RON 91 at the least and that's not a bad thing. Tank her up whenever you can with RON95 and it should be a blend of both worlds.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

[MrA]

As Alka mentioned above, the DME/ECU will pull timing if it reads any knocks. Knocking under full acceleration/load can be detrimental to the engine and cause serious damage. My tuned N55 BMW required 93 octane/98 ron, when I data logged a few runs I saw a bunch of knocks, it only improved on adding about 10% of E85 which increased the octane rating, or I had to go to a better brand fuel pump which wasn’t close to me. Apparently the advertised 98 ron wasn’t really 98. In the end I was running 95 ron map on 98 ron fuel, that worked very well, no knocks or ignition timing pulls.
If your bike is de-tuned then it should be good with slightly lower octane fuel. Even the stock ECU map has some room to accommodate a bit lesser octane fuel. My stock M2C requires 98 ron and it’s fine with the same fuel that caused knocking on my tuned car requiring the same octane fuel, but I’d definitely not drive it hard/redline it on 95ron. You can also get an ethanol tester, small glass test tube that lets you measure ethanol content easily, in case you want to make sure the fuel pump is adding the advertised amount of ethanol. Wouldn’t want to run lower octane fuel with lesser than advertised ethanol.

[kiredd1005]

My cousin rides a Ducati Multistrada in Bangalore and he says that filling at Shell (specifically VPower) causes the bike to stutter over a period of time. His bike had done around 7000km and he noticed that bike would stall if revved hard but if he gradually opens the throttle, the issue doesn't appear. He had sent it to the Ducati dealer (VST Ducati in Bangalore) and they couldn't figure out the problem and kept the bike for almost 3 weeks. Finally he was told that the engine might have some problem. He was shocked to hear that and decided to not do anything and pulled the bike out. He happened to meet one fellow Ducati rider who also runs a superbike workshop called Bikesmiths in Koramangala, and he faced the exact same issue. He just told my cousin to fill regular fuel (not from Shell, but from any other company) and ride! And guess what! The jerking disappeared! The garage owner said the additives in the VPower fuel tend to clog the fuel pump/filter and causes this jerking. He has been a regular customer now at Bikesmiths Saved him a lot of headache he said.

[adwaith]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

. Could even spot bunks with XP95 in hill stations like Coonoor and Ooty.

I am a resident of Coonoor and have to ride upto Needles every time I need to get Speed for my bike. It would be great if you could share the location of these bunks because it would help me fill up in Coonoor and also make my rides to Ooty more convenient.

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by adwaith

I am a resident of Coonoor and have to ride upto Needles every time I need to get Speed for my bike. It would be great if you could share the location of these bunks because it would help me fill up in Coonoor and also make my rides to Ooty more convenient.

Hello adwaith. I reside in Ooty, and yes premium is available at three prominent pumps here. Speed and Normal both are available at Hill Bunk, Viswanathan and Co, Westbury Road, though I am not a big fan of this pump anymore. Second you have another Indian Oil pump near Municipal Market Clock Tower, here you don't get premium, but they have a good reputation for selling clean fuel, most taxis and trucks frequent here. Third, you have Indian Oil pump Coonoor Road, Ooty Sri Sakthi Fuel Agencies where XP95 is available, right after Adam's Fountain. This is the pump I regularly frequent and I have been pretty happy with.

Stick with normal fuel, that's more than enough for the 650 (I guess that's your ride looking at your DP ) The low 9.5:1 compression ratio of the 650 will help the engine tolerate lower-octane. If you ride up Ooty, tank her up fully with XP95 or Speed at any of the above mentioned pumps, and you should be set.

Glad to know someone is from Coonoor here. Hope to catch up perhaps, sometime.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

[adwaith]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Stick with normal fuel, that's more than enough for the 650 (I guess that's your ride looking at your DP ) The low 9.5:1 compression ratio of the 650 will help the engine tolerate lower-octane. If you ride up Ooty, tank her up fully with XP95 or Speed at any of the above mentioned pumps, and you should be set.

Thank you for your suggestions Sir. I started visiting the bunk at Needles because of the issues faced by a relative on their Triumph Bonneville. The engine had ceased and upon inspection, mud was found in the fuel tank. At the same time several people were complaining about Sommersait Bunk, alleging that there was pilfering and other issues. There are three other bunks in Coonoor, one being Malayalee stores and the other is Janatha. The former is usually filling up buses etc., and is in the tight spot and the one of the staff is of the latter is very rude and I have unfortunately had to deal with him on multiple occasions. The final one is one the Ooty road and I thought I might as well ride up to Yellanhalli to fill up, especially since Speed is available, which is said to keep my engine is clean.

I might ride up to Ooty one of these days and get some XP95 for Lakshmi.

Glad to know someone is from Coonoor here. Hope to catch up perhaps, sometime.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

Sir, you've probably forgotten but we've connected over WhatsApp. I think the last time we spoke was when RE has organised the OneRide, a few days after you had sold your Himlayan.

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by adwaith

Thank you for your suggestions Sir. I started visiting the bunk at Needles because of the issues faced by a relative on their Triumph Bonneville. The engine had ceased and upon inspection, mud was found in the fuel tank...

I might ride up to Ooty one of these days and get some XP95 for Lakshmi.
Sir, you've probably forgotten but we've connected over WhatsApp. I think the last time we spoke was when RE has organised the OneRide, a few days after you had sold your Himlayan.

Lakshmi start ayduu! That's what reminds me of your petrol conundrum Adwaith. Ah! yes! The bulb comes on now. I conferred that message to MR Motors of Ooty who organizes rides every now and then and it's one of their folks who were sending messages because I used to get inundated with calls and WA messages from these folks. I am sorry, I couldn't remember your message.

Nonetheless, hope Lakshmi makes a darshan to Ooty soon, and time willing, we catch up. It's always good to catch up with a Bhpian.

Please don't call me sir, Adwaith. Vijay it is.

Take care!

Cheers!
VJ

[greyanaroth]

TL/DR: Quality fuel from a reputable pump > octane rating/octane boosters etc

From what I've seen, and from what triumph recommends, the bikes sold in India come with the 91ron map installed, and newer bikes with knock sensors additionally can pull back ignition timing when required. The only problem I've faced with dodgy fuel is contaminants which jammed up my fuel filter and of course, water gathering at the bottom of your fuel tank if your bike is sitting around a lot. Triumph guys also said NOT to use injector cleaners/additives etc as they actually tend to mess up the injectors. But ducati can be a different story, although clearly many people have toured the country with a multi 1260 and usually the Italians are quite finicky about fuel.

I suppose the takeaway is quality fuel from a quality pump makes a bigger difference than any premium fuel etc. I have filled a few tanks, back to back, of power 99 till it was still vaguely affordable, and there definitely was a difference especially in smoothness and idling. At higher rpms, it zinged a bit better as well. But I'm personally fine with the slightly "muted" performance from regular fuel. Its too risky going WOT on public roads even on my little 765rs, and on my friends s1000rr it literally feels like I'll be dimension hopping any moment. So performance conversations/arguments are really nothing more than willy waving beyond a point. Not to mention, illegal

A lot of the problems start when you take the stock exhaust/air filter and replace it with after market stuff. The mixture leans out at lower rpms and makes everything harsh. Not to mention all the rev bombing by "enthusiasts" on a cold engine. The amount of tuning required to make these intake/exhaust mods actually work for you can tend to become quite expensive with wideband sensors, fuel tuning modules etc and requires patience and know how. It's a lot of fun if fiddling around is your thing, but does tend to compromise the ride quality IMHO. You can't match the visceral and engaging feel of an all singing all dancing high performance engine with a good pipe belting it like an 80s glam singer, but at lower rpms? Without a tune? And lousy fuel? Carbon deposits/shot piston heads+valves. Enjoy.

That said, gotta love how you get straight up plug and play ecu flashing kits from upmap/open flash/brentune etc for supported bikes that takes the guessing game out of the equation. If you're going for one of these vendors, especially open flash/brentune, you can request for a map for shitty fuel so they don't advance the ignition timing to "extract performance" and actually give you a map that'll work across a wide variety of fuels since even US seems to have places with lousy fuel.

Sorry, went off on a rant there...

[th2]

Going a bit off-topic here. Looking at the work manufacturers have to put in to deal with variations in fuel quality, and the care owners have to take to find clean fuel, I realized EVs don't have this issue at all.

The electric motor does not care about the quality of "electrons". The battery does not care either.

Which do we think will happen in India first? Ubiquitous charging infrastructure or ubiquitous XP95 availability. My bet is on the former.

[adwaith]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Nonetheless, hope Lakshmi makes a darshan to Ooty soon, and time willing, we catch up. It's always good to catch up with a Bhpian.

Please don't call me sir, Adwaith. Vijay it is.

Take care!

Cheers!
VJ

I'm coming this weekend. But I'm not sure if I'll be driving or riding around. I didn't name her with that intent but now when people ask I attribute it to Thalaivar's movie.

[roamer012]

10% ethanol blended petrol has Octane rating of over 95. This is because of ethanol and no other additives. If RON is the primary criterion, you need not go for premium fuels as long as it is ethanol blended petrol (which is the case for over 90% outlets) barring very few geographies.

[OffRoadFun]

Originally Posted by th2

Hello,

I had a question for large capacity BMW bike owners here. The technical specifications for these bikes, on the BMW website, mentions RON 95 fuel as a minimum recommendation.

How do you guys manage long trips? RON 95 or even the premium grade fuels are not available outside of major cities. Or does the fuel sold in Indian bunks equate to RON 95? Does regular fuel have a negative impact on the bike?

Would help to know before plonking big bucks for one of the BMW motarrad machines.

Thanks.

RON 95 availability is a concern but I hope you realize normal petrol is also OK, you may not get full rated HP at full throttle with normal petrol but how often would you do that? The ECU will always adjust ignition timing according to petrol rating. The theoretical power loss is less than 5% usually, again at highesy RPMs and high power.

[Jaggu]

Been using GSA1200 bought from Turbanotor last year for almost an year. I have tried Shell, IOC 95, 91 and BP regular petrol till now, and the bike runs just fine on all of these. IOC 95 (which is usual and preferred diet) there is a fine improvement, but nothing that is mind blowing from power delivery etc.

Biggest thing that made a difference was a complete set of adaptation that I ran myself last weekend. Had given to Tusker BMW for service in Jan with a specific request to do software checks, upgrade and stuff. As usual the incompetent jokers seems to have not done much! I hooked up the OBD and used Motoscan to do a complete scan, then cleared off a bunch of error codes that were lying there and then did a complete adaptation of throttle, mixture, gears and quick shifter. That to me made the biggest difference (till date) to the bikes performance. Much more than any 95 Octane.

So in short ensure the dealer is good OR you have other good alternatives to service support.

These bikes can handle crappy fuel, but not crappy maintenance by dealers!