oldNslow wrote on 04/20/14 at 06:33:19:Astonishes me that people ignore the octane recommendations of of the bike manufacturer, often for all sorts of goofy reasons. Why would Honda,HD yamaha etc. etc mislead folks about something like that? Just use whatever the book says to use and quit worrying about it.
The manufacturers recommend fuel grade based on 2 things, #1 is the pressure they get from "Big Oil", #2 is the actual requirements of the engine.
Easiest way to figure minimum octane requirement... if you know your compression ratio, say 8.5:1 for cheap small bikes, multiply it by 10 to get your minimum octane rating. In this case, 85, but most stations have a minimum pump octane rating of 87. In parts of the upper mid-west you can buy 85.5 to 86.5 octane, so, run it on those.
Putting higher than 87 in a Savage, unless you have a shaved barrel/head or domed piston, is a waste of money. 87 octane pure gas in my 98 was good for 70+ mpg, 91 octane modern blended gas was good for high 40s mpg... and that was back when it ran stock handlebars. With the 15" apes, it got 45 on real gas and 36 on modern gas.
The effort to get alcohol free gas is worth the extra cost. Running mid grade or premium in a glorified Briggs and Stratton engine is not.
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