Regular or non-ethanol?

[liami]

Maybe it's just me, but I can never seem to find precious posts when I search my question, sorry if this has already been asked before...but when I bought my bike last year, the salesman said very seriously to only use non-ethanol unless I'm in a bind, then to use the highest octane I can. I've only run ethanol free until very recently when I'm out far and don't know where to get any. I was recently told that the FZ's low compression ratio means it can take regular gas and be perfectly fine with no negative affects later on. Is there any truth to this statement; does it matter at all or should I always try for non-ethanol whenever I can?

[hobbs]

If you don't let the bike sit for a while I don't think it will be a likely problem. I've only ran regular, ethanol blended fuel and haven't noticed anything amiss. I did try fuel without ethanol for about 3 full weeks but since I couldn't tell the difference I saved money and went back to standard fuel.
 
Bike specs call for regular. Premium not neccesary, likely not even beneficial. Salesmen, while probably good people, don't usually know shet.

[crsnhppr]

My bike always feels better and seems slightly more powerful or at least runs smoother ish with non-ethanol 87 octane than with 93 premium. My 2cents is use non-ethanol as much as you can just for the sake that I don't think engines were designed to run optimally off
Ethanol fuels, they may be able to run it just fine and no worries but I'd imagine pure gas has its advantages without any disadvantages other than price, where as premium ethanol fuel is expensive also but you keep hearing stories about gummy stuff and cruddy injectors ... and you just don't hear that too often with pure gas

[KamelReds]

I, like a lot of people, don't have access to non-ethanol gas. I've been running ethanol 87 since I bought the bike, except for a few weeks of 93, and I have had no fueling issues. (at 6600 miles)

[Guest 2wheeler]

I have only run a tank of non-ethanol once, and noticed no difference. That was before I got a flash with my stock exhaust. This summer I will try it again. I know the bike much better now, so if there are differences, I may be able to better notice them. Ever since the flash I have been running 93 octane (usually Shell) and the bike seems to be running fine.
 
 

[jake]

I don't think you will notice any difference but the ethanol is said to eat certain plastics and rubbers.( seals hoses and gaskets) I run 93 most of the time and never had an issue. I have run lower rating and also never had an issue.

[zadori]

In the manual it says that we can use up to 10% ethanol in the gas. Honestly I think I will stick with non ethanol 93 gas

[jhonore]

Ethanol is bad for your engines unless your vehicle specifically ask for it. Alcohol is corrosive and can degrade plastic, rubber or even metal parts in the fuel system that weren't engineered to use alcohol-bearing fuel. When I was in tech school we actually did a test to see what gas stations had the better fuel. Legally gas stations can have up to 10% alcohol, of course places like arco, had the maximum amount, at 10%. Our motors are also meant to have 91/93 octane depending on where you live. If you put any other fuel in it you will not notice a difference, right away. It takes time for the ECU to calibrate the correct air/fuel ratios.

[reboot]

All my other bikes I have ran what it called for in the manual, never had an issue but I do not let the bike sit with old fuel. I do run fuel stabilizer if I can't get my hands on clear fuel. I do run 93 clear in my FZ07 due to my tuner suggesting it with the items and tune I have on the bike and I have a close by station that sells clear. In a pinch I will throw non-clear in it,I just don't let it sit with it for very long. Before tuning I ran 87 with zero issues.
 
Long story short unless you are required to run a higher grade due to mods,no point in running higher grade then what the manual calls for. If you can't get clear fuel,just don't let the bike sit too long with out adding a stabilizer or running the fuel out.

[talic]

The only gas station with that gas, in my area, is across town which isn't a good place to go with all the poor roads here.

[Beemer]

It sounds like you're at the govt.'s mercy and are forced to use ethanol no matter what anyone says about it. Just don't let your bike sit for long periods of time and time will tell if that ethanol eats away at certain parts or slowly clogs your injectors. GL!
 

[hamfisted]

Maybe it's just me, but I can never seem to find precious posts when I search my question, sorry if this has already been asked before...but when I bought my bike last year, the salesman said very seriously to only use non-ethanol unless I'm in a bind, then to use the highest octane I can. I've only run ethanol free until very recently when I'm out far and don't know where to get any. I was recently told that the FZ's low compression ratio means it can take regular gas and be perfectly fine with no negative affects later on. Is there any truth to this statement; does it matter at all or should I always try for non-ethanol whenever I can?

To put it kindly - salesman didn't know what he was talking about. Use the octane specified in the manual unless needed by an aftermarket tune (generally due to advanced ignition timing). Ethanol-free fuel will give you slightly better mileage (ethanol has ~30% lower energy density than gasoline) but that's it. All modern vehicles are designed to run on up to 10% ethanol so you definitely won't hurt anything. 
Only other caveat with using ethanol fuel is that you will need to add fuel stabilizer if storing the bike for months at a time (winter).
 

[hamfisted]

Also forgot to mention that ethanol has a higher effective octane than pump gas, so the suggestion that you need a higher octane fuel if it has ethanol is complete garbage. Very common for turbo cars to run on E85 (with corresponding tune) because the higher effective octane allows them to run more boost & timing and make more power.
 

[robborboy]

The bike specifically states ethanol is safe in it. I even ran E85 one time. Ran rough as hell since it wasn't tuned for it.
 
As far as fuel grade the manual states
 
"YOUR YAMAHA ENGINE HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO USE REGULAR UNLEADED GASOLINE WITH A PUMP OCTANE NUMBER [(R+M)/2] OF 86 OR HIGHER, OR A RESEARCH OCTANE NUMBER OF 91 OR HIGHER."
 
The US uses the first method for calculation. So if you're running stock pistons there's no need for anything over 86.ive only ever see 87 though so that's what I use.
 

[avanti]

The fuel system will be appropriate to ethanol usage today... no problems.

[maymay]

I use e20 (20% ethanol, 95 octane) in my bike. It runs great and the previous owner used it as well. Its also the cheapest fuel.

[mjh937]

I use e20 (20% ethanol, 95 octane) in my bike. It runs great and the previous owner used it as well. Its also the cheapest fuel.

I would not go above E10 as that is what the manual says.  How many miles have you run the E20 for?

[robborboy]

I use e20 (20% ethanol, 95 octane) in my bike. It runs great and the previous owner used it as well. Its also the cheapest fuel.

I would not go above E10 as that is what the manual says.  How many miles have you run the E20 for?

Ran about 150 miles of E85. Aside from not having the proper tune for it no issues. I wouldn't recommend it of course just for tuning's sake. But you have to remember that these are the same bikes sold in Brazil. They don't use different seals between US and Brazilian models, and E85 is pretty much what the country runs on. 

[hamfisted]

Using high amounts of ethanol will make the bike run lean. Fuel flow rate needs to be increased to compensate for the lower energy density.

[mugen]

So with this excerpt from the manual:
 
"Your Yamaha engine has been designed to use regular unleaded gasoline with a pump octane number [(R+M)/2] of 86 or higher, or a research octane number of 91 or higher."
 
 
And after reading through this wiki page explaining octane ratings:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating#Measurement_methods

 
It seems to say that in the US and Canada to run 86 octane or higher, and in EU to run 91 octane or higher.
 
Since I'm in the US (California to be specific), is there any benefit to running 91 over 87? I run 91 in my car because the engine just sounds and feels better. Sure 87 is 'fine', but I want my car to run good well over 100k. So would the FZ-07 benefit in the long run with 91?

[hamfisted]

 
Since I'm in the US (California to be specific), is there any benefit to running 91 over 87? I run 91 in my car because the engine just sounds and feels better. Sure 87 is 'fine', but I want my car to run good well over 100k. So would the FZ-07 benefit in the long run with 91?

No. Higher octane burns slower to reduce the chance of pinging/knocking, and you'll probably make the engine run worse if anything since the fuel won't burn as well (probably a negligible difference though). It's a common misconception that an engine designed to run on 87 will run "better" on 91 and many claim placebo effects from doing so. Your car needs to be designed or tuned to run 91+ in order to get any benefit. Some cars, like newer Mustang GTs, are designed to run on premium but will run with reduced performance on lower grade fuel (ECU will read the knock sensor and pull timing). Your manual should tell you if that's the case. 
Some brands do put more detergents in their premium fuels, so there is benefit there. But you're better off just saving the money and putting it towards the occasional bottle of Techron or other fuel system cleaner. Buying gas from a "Top Tier" brand is good also since they have higher amounts of detergents.
 

[mugen]

Since I'm in the US (California to be specific), is there any benefit to running 91 over 87? I run 91 in my car because the engine just sounds and feels better. Sure 87 is 'fine', but I want my car to run good well over 100k. So would the FZ-07 benefit in the long run with 91?

No. Higher octane burns slower to reduce the chance of pinging/knocking, and you'll probably make the engine run worse if anything since the fuel won't burn as well (probably a negligible difference though). It's a common misconception that an engine designed to run on 87 will run "better" on 91 and many claim placebo effects from doing so. Your car needs to be designed or tuned to run 91+ in order to get any benefit. Some cars, like newer Mustang GTs, are designed to run on premium but will run with reduced performance on lower grade fuel (ECU will read the knock sensor and pull timing). Your manual should tell you if that's the case. 
Some brands do put more detergents in their premium fuels, so there is benefit there. But you're better off just saving the money and putting it towards the occasional bottle of Techron or other fuel system cleaner. Buying gas from a "Top Tier" brand is good also since they have higher amounts of detergents.

Dont meant to hijack this thread talking about cars...
 
But my car is one that's tuned to run higher octane, and pulls back timing as it detects knock. So that's why I had the question. I didn't know if the FZ-07 was the same. Since the manual says "pump octane number of 86 or higher". So can it run any octane with no performance differences?

[hamfisted]

Yes, FZ runs fine on regular. No knock sensor AFAIK; haven't ever seen a bike that has one. The manual would mention using premium if there was some benefit to doing so (guessing your car manual probably does).

[maymay]

I think the bike can handle e20. The fuel injection system can adjust to it. The prev owner said he always used e20. My bike has 15000 kilos now. I drove my cbr250 on e20 for over 45000 km.

[bugeyes]

Over here non ethanol is not available so I run on regular. To run it on premium is actually a waste and a setback as premium fuel contains less energy per volume. Premium gives a shorter explosion and that it good for very high revving motors allowing higher revs without knock, otherwise it's actually inferior to regular. The MT/FZ 07 don't need premium so don't buy it.