fuel choices

[james]

has anybody experimented with various gas choices, i use 93 octane and have a racing gas connection, but is it worth it, i use sea foam to keep this ethenol gas under control, i would love to hear opinions and results of any secret experiments. what makes a gt 500 run best

[tz375]

Race gas and Av-Gas are no better than street gas in a street motor. Extra octane helps to resist detonation and allows a motor to run higher compression for longer on a race track.

On the street you need the lowest octane that the bike will take. Two strokes can typically live with low octane gas, but that was then and modern gas with Ethanol and a whole chemical soup, tend to deteriorate fast and are not so good as back in the day. 93 should be fine,, but it will probably run just as well on 89, but I need to hear that from a GT500 owner with lots of miles to confirm it.

[geck0]

I am not a fan of Ethanol. I filled my tank with Gasohol back in the early 80s when it first came out. I burned a hole in one of the pistons. I complained to the gas co. and they sent my a check for a new one. They told me they thought this would happen. Here it is 2011 and I try to only run Pure-gas in my T500. Its hard to find here. I run 91 oct and mix NoS Octane boost. I get the best performance with this mixture form the one kick start trough the full range of the throttle. We all know air temp and humidity as well as elevation plays a role in carb set up. All I can say is that my bike doesn't like Ethanol so I dont use it.

[tz375]

You can save some cash by not using that Octane Booster. We tried them all a few years ago and could detect no difference in performance. As long as the Octane level is adequate, adding more doesn't do anything at all.

Use good gas and remember that 10% alcohol leads to jetting which is around 4% lean. That's barely one jet size but at mid throttle it might be enough to push it over the top.

[geck0]

I did run out of booster and I asked my guy to get a 5 gal can of Pure-Gas on his way to work. (station is 30+ miles from my home) I will run just the gas with no additive and I will report back. My take awhile do to the fact I have about 150 miles left in the tank now.

[MazerRackham]

You guys are scaring me. What precautions do I take? The only kind of gas around me is E10...

Obviously this requires a carburetor adjustment, correct? After said adjustment it should run fine?

[james]

i always add sea foam to my gas in the suzuki and my r5 yamaha. when these bikes were built there was lead in the gas, i wonder if this helped or hindered, surely suzuki and all motorcycle builders would have manufactured accordingly, i mean my bikes run fine i guess, but i realy would like to keep them that way. the right addative or gas has to be cheaper than a rebuild

[geck0]

Sea Foam has been around a long time and is a good product.
Lead or more corectly tetraethyllead (TEL) has been around longer. As more engins increased there compression so did the chance of detonation. TEL also was used as a valve wear preventive. Because of the "Clean air Act" Its use was limited to Air plane and racing fuel only. Lead in gas for 2 strokes is unnessary but a additive to reduce the unwanted effects of Ethanol is a good idea.
Dont get me wrong, I like Ethanol
In my Beer and Scotch But not in my gas.

[geck0]

You guys are scaring me. What precautions do I take? The only kind of gas around me is E10...

Obviously this requires a carburetor adjustment, correct? After said adjustment it should run fine?

There are only two things you should be scared of

1) Detonation (pinging or pinking noise)
2) Crank seal failure
Alcohol attracts water and water in heaver than gas
Dont let your carbs sit with gas in them for months
Drain the crank and add 10cc of oil down the spark plug hole and kick in over a few times. It may smoke a bit in the spring but the seals will love you for it.