There does seem to be different price gradients from one brand to another. Some brands have 20 cent steps, while others have 40 cent steps. And what pisses me off is that is that it's not consistent. I can remember when there was only a nickel between grades. And not way back when. I believe the grade price differences are due to more cars requiring premium fuel. The ol' supply and demand thing.
2016-2021 STen cost to own
- Thread starter DanT
- Start date
I recall the times when it was a 5-10 cent uptick per upgrade to…it’s all over the place today.
scott123007
Well-Known Member
While we're bitching, isn't it about time we get rid of the 9/10ths stupidity. For fucks sake, I get when the gas was 19 cents a gallon that 9/10ths was a thing, but at $3.00 plus a gallon, does anyone really give a shit if it gets rounded to the nearest penny?
I’ll second the 99100’s of a penny is a joke.
ncpkwyrider747
Active Member
Yep, I'm going to stick with premium here in Florida too. Costs more but gives me peace of mind.
Amen!
RCinNC
Well-Known Member
This post made me wonder why gas is priced like that, so I took a short trip down the google rabbit hole, and....
Yup same here, premium (called RON98, USA91??) is something like €2,50 per liter.To give you a peace of mind when you are at the gaspump, we pay about 2 dollars for a 1/4 of a gallon here in Sweden. Ignore the pennys and go with premium!
Regular probably 15cents (RON95 with ethanol crap) cheaper but I never get that.
Yup, same here, unfiltered vodka can work but filtrerad makes the ride smother! It stings a bit to fill up any gastank. But once on the bike with a little bit of sunshine the pain goes away. Happy bike, happy driver!
cyclemike4
Well-Known Member
the Super T is the first bike i have ever owned that required premium fuel. I try to use it if I remember to. Most of the time I don't remember to use it. I can tell you it does rattle a bit on really super hot days or when it is going really slow. In summer when it is 85 or 90 I will make a real effort to use premium. Other wise I don't care. Back to the cost of ownership. I have taken the time before on some of my bikes and trucks to add up the real cost of ownership. Insurance premiums, tires, brakes, fuel mileage and average miles driven each year. Oil changes filters water pumps you name it what ever I spent on the machine in a years time was recorded and noted. I have found that all my bikes have been way cheaper to run than my four wheeled vehicles per mile. I set it up per miles driven because that was the only fair way of determining the outcome. My Super T has had the timing chain tensioner changed. Needed. fork seals. Needed. the clutch basket was upgraded to a 2014. Wanted. I have also replace two rotors. Bought a seal for the diff but after cleaning the old one it has stopped leaking so I didn't change that. All this is well over 100,000 miles. I am getting for the most part 45 to 47 miles to the gallon and sometimes over 50. All I can say is you would be very hard pressed to find a cheaper bike to own. If you are a person who keeps a bike for years and rides every day the Super T is about the only one you need to look at.
RCinNC
Well-Known Member
I think it’s a safe bet to say that Yamaha designed the S10 engine to operate at optimum performance while using 91 octane or above. That’s certainly not the same thing as saying “if you don’t use premium gas, your engine will suffer expensive damage”.
If you look at page 4-27 of the owner’s manual, you’ll see the fuel recommendations:
The manual recommends the use of premium unleaded gasoline, with a (US) octane rating of 91 or higher. That’s 95 octane in the rest of the world. Nowhere in the manual does it state that the mere usage use of a lower octane rating will result in engine damage. It does say that, if knocking or pinging occurs, to use a different brand of gasoline.
Notice that the manual is very clear as to what type of gasoline not to use because they can or will damage the engine; leaded gasoline, and gasoline containing methanol. The manual is very specific that the use of leaded gasoline will cause severe damage to internal parts, and that gasoline with methanol can cause damage. If the manual delineates the specific use of one type of gasoline as dangerous to use, or even possibly dangerous to use, why would it also not be just as specific about a prohibition on any other type besides 91 octane or higher, if in fact anything but 91 or higher would or could damage the engine? The manual recommends that 91 octane or higher be used, but it does not say that damage will or can result if you don’t.
I definitely believe that there may be some performance compromises at using 87 octane gas, such as the ones mentioned by Checkswrecks and Tenereguy, and you might have to manage your expectations for performance with 87 octane depending on where you are. That’s not the same thing as “damage is imminent if you don’t use premium”. The Super Tenere, in my experience, isn’t sensitive to the use of a lower grade of gasoline the way my Harley was. Anything less than premium in my Harley resulted in overall poor performance and terrible knocking and pinging.
Eemsremo has over three times my mileage, but I’ve still put 103,000 miles on my S10, and many of those miles were with 87 octane in the tank, in all kinds of conditions, I’ve literally never heard the engine knock, and I’m familiar with what that sounds and feels like. My engine oil analysis at 88,000 miles showed less than average wear on the internals for a bike of that mileage. Nick Sanders’ experience on his Super Tenere during his world travels was even more severe, as many of the places he was riding didn’t have premium gas at all, and some of the gas was of pretty questionable quality. He had to do a lot of throttle moderation to keep the engine from knocking on some of the available grades, but even with thousands of miles on shit gas, his ultimate engine teardown showed a pristine motor.
I’m not advocating the use of 87 octane. You’re always on the safe side if your adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations. And if you’re using 87 octane and your engine knocks, then don’t use it any more. If you’re crazy enough to keep riding it when it’s doing that with 87 octane, then yes, it’s very likely that your engine could get damaged, because that knocking is the sign that your octane content is too low. But if it isn’t knocking or pinging on 87 octane, then there isn’t some other secret damage happening to your engine that’ll result in it grenading unexpectedly at some future point in time. The whole point of the octane additive is to prevent autoignition, so if you aren’t experiencing autoignition, then whatever grade of fuel you’re using has sufficient octane for the demand you’re placing on the engine.
If you look at page 4-27 of the owner’s manual, you’ll see the fuel recommendations:
The manual recommends the use of premium unleaded gasoline, with a (US) octane rating of 91 or higher. That’s 95 octane in the rest of the world. Nowhere in the manual does it state that the mere usage use of a lower octane rating will result in engine damage. It does say that, if knocking or pinging occurs, to use a different brand of gasoline.
Notice that the manual is very clear as to what type of gasoline not to use because they can or will damage the engine; leaded gasoline, and gasoline containing methanol. The manual is very specific that the use of leaded gasoline will cause severe damage to internal parts, and that gasoline with methanol can cause damage. If the manual delineates the specific use of one type of gasoline as dangerous to use, or even possibly dangerous to use, why would it also not be just as specific about a prohibition on any other type besides 91 octane or higher, if in fact anything but 91 or higher would or could damage the engine? The manual recommends that 91 octane or higher be used, but it does not say that damage will or can result if you don’t.
I definitely believe that there may be some performance compromises at using 87 octane gas, such as the ones mentioned by Checkswrecks and Tenereguy, and you might have to manage your expectations for performance with 87 octane depending on where you are. That’s not the same thing as “damage is imminent if you don’t use premium”. The Super Tenere, in my experience, isn’t sensitive to the use of a lower grade of gasoline the way my Harley was. Anything less than premium in my Harley resulted in overall poor performance and terrible knocking and pinging.
Eemsremo has over three times my mileage, but I’ve still put 103,000 miles on my S10, and many of those miles were with 87 octane in the tank, in all kinds of conditions, I’ve literally never heard the engine knock, and I’m familiar with what that sounds and feels like. My engine oil analysis at 88,000 miles showed less than average wear on the internals for a bike of that mileage. Nick Sanders’ experience on his Super Tenere during his world travels was even more severe, as many of the places he was riding didn’t have premium gas at all, and some of the gas was of pretty questionable quality. He had to do a lot of throttle moderation to keep the engine from knocking on some of the available grades, but even with thousands of miles on shit gas, his ultimate engine teardown showed a pristine motor.
I’m not advocating the use of 87 octane. You’re always on the safe side if your adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations. And if you’re using 87 octane and your engine knocks, then don’t use it any more. If you’re crazy enough to keep riding it when it’s doing that with 87 octane, then yes, it’s very likely that your engine could get damaged, because that knocking is the sign that your octane content is too low. But if it isn’t knocking or pinging on 87 octane, then there isn’t some other secret damage happening to your engine that’ll result in it grenading unexpectedly at some future point in time. The whole point of the octane additive is to prevent autoignition, so if you aren’t experiencing autoignition, then whatever grade of fuel you’re using has sufficient octane for the demand you’re placing on the engine.
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So today, at a Shell station, the difference between the grades was 50 cents. So, from 87 to 91 was a $1 difference. Steve's 87 cents seems to be right on par.
WHAT??? You DO NOT MESS with TRADITION!!!!
ncpkwyrider747
Active Member
I think it’s a safe bet to say that Yamaha designed the S10 engine to operate at optimum performance while using 91 octane or above. That’s certainly not the same thing as saying “if you don’t use premium gas, your engine will suffer expensive damage”.
If you look at page 4-27 of the owner’s manual, you’ll see the fuel recommendations:
The manual recommends the use of premium unleaded gasoline, with a (US) octane rating of 91 or higher. That’s 95 octane in the rest of the world. Nowhere in the manual does it state that the mere usage use of a lower octane rating will result in engine damage. It does say that, if knocking or pinging occurs, to use a different brand of gasoline.
Notice that the manual is very clear as to what type of gasoline not to use because they can or will damage the engine; leaded gasoline, and gasoline containing methanol. The manual is very specific that the use of leaded gasoline will cause severe damage to internal parts, and that gasoline with methanol can cause damage. If the manual delineates the specific use of one type of gasoline as dangerous to use, or even possibly dangerous to use, why would it also not be just as specific about a prohibition on any other type besides 91 octane or higher, if in fact anything but 91 or higher would or could damage the engine? The manual recommends that 91 octane or higher be used, but it does not say that damage will or can result if you don’t.
I definitely believe that there may be some performance compromises at using 87 octane gas, such as the ones mentioned by Checkswrecks and Tenereguy, and you might have to manage your expectations for performance with 87 octane depending on where you are. That’s not the same thing as “damage is imminent if you don’t use premium”. The Super Tenere, in my experience, isn’t sensitive to the use of a lower grade of gasoline the way my Harley was. Anything less than premium in my Harley resulted in overall poor performance and terrible knocking and pinging.
Eemsremo has over three times my mileage, but I’ve still put 103,000 miles on my S10, and many of those miles were with 87 octane in the tank, in all kinds of conditions, I’ve literally never heard the engine knock, and I’m familiar with what that sounds and feels like. My engine oil analysis at 88,000 miles showed less than average wear on the internals for a bike of that mileage. Nick Sanders’ experience on his Super Tenere during his world travels was even more severe, as many of the places he was riding didn’t have premium gas at all, and some of the gas was of pretty questionable quality. He had to do a lot of throttle moderation to keep the engine from knocking on some of the available grades, but even with thousands of miles on shit gas, his ultimate engine teardown showed a pristine motor.
I’m not advocating the use of 87 octane. You’re always on the safe side if your adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations. And if you’re using 87 octane and your engine knocks, then don’t use it any more. If you’re crazy enough to keep riding it when it’s doing that with 87 octane, then yes, it’s very likely that your engine could get damaged, because that knocking is the sign that your octane content is too low. But if it isn’t knocking or pinging on 87 octane, then there isn’t some other secret damage happening to your engine that’ll result in it grenading unexpectedly at some future point in time. The whole point of the octane additive is to prevent autoignition, so if you aren’t experiencing autoignition, then whatever grade of fuel you’re using has sufficient octane for the demand you’re placing on the engine.
Appreciate your response. Every time I gas up the bike I see the above photographed decal on my gas tank reminding me of the correct fuel to use. There are many great responses on this thread and while I can appreciate that others are using different fuels without issues, I'll pay a slight premium at the pump and stick to 91 octane or higher. I did the same with my previous bike (Concours 14) so it isn't much of an adjustment for me.
I am currently running special alkylat gasoline in the bike. This is especially for road vehicles. Not the same as the type for your lawnmower (Aspen for example). The bike runs cooler and performs better, downside is the price. About €4,50 per liter, but that’s alright since I only rode 1700km’s last year
ncpkwyrider747
Active Member
Interesting. Hope you get to ride more this year.I am currently running special alkylat gasoline in the bike. This is especially for road vehicles. Not the same as the type for your lawnmower (Aspen for example). The bike runs cooler and performs better, downside is the price. About €4,50 per liter, but that’s alright since I inleiding rode 1700km’s last year
RCinNC
Well-Known Member
You can't go wrong with that outlook, ncpkwyrider.
I didn't post that giant block of word salad in order to convince anyone that they should go against what the manufacturer says. It was mainly to counter the contention that your engine could suffer some sort of major failure merely because you put 87 octane in it, absent of any signs that the lower octane was causing issues like knocking.
As of today, Premium is $.60 more per gallon than regular at the cheapest station in my county.
I didn't post that giant block of word salad in order to convince anyone that they should go against what the manufacturer says. It was mainly to counter the contention that your engine could suffer some sort of major failure merely because you put 87 octane in it, absent of any signs that the lower octane was causing issues like knocking.
As of today, Premium is $.60 more per gallon than regular at the cheapest station in my county.
ncpkwyrider747
Active Member
Are you in the western part of NC? I moved to FL a few years ago from the Asheville area. After a stressful day at the office I would get on the bike and ride the Blue Ridge Parkway which was only a 10 min ride from my house. So many awesome rides in western NC. I go back every chance I get.