Recommended brand of gasoline

Im using 91 octane in my 2013 R1200RT. Wanted to know if there are any preferred brands I should be using. Thanks..

I don't know of any recommended brands but I try to use only non oxygenated gas. There is an app called Real Gas I think will give you the stations in your area that sells it.

Up here the Sunoco stations' 93 octane is ethanol free, so that's what I use in my Camheads. The site I use to find ethanol free gas on the road is http://pure-gas.org/ but I generally don't sweat it on long rides as it doesn't stay in the tank for long.

Pete

I buy gas that is from station with a lot of turn over. I also buy the highest Octane, usually 92/93. The difference in price for the fill up is pennies. Most people buy 87 and I have no idea how much 87 is in the hose before I get my 93.

There is an app called Real Gas I think will give you the stations in your area that sells it.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately in Connecticut we have no ethanol free stations. This may be due to legislation. This is from the Real Gas app

196092 said:

There is an app called Real Gas I think will give you the stations in your area that sells it.

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Unfortunately in Connecticut we have no ethanol free stations. This may be due to legislation. This is from the Real Gas app [/QUOTE]

Too Bad. I haven't been to Connecticut yet with my bike. Next year I will make the NE run. I will try to get gas from a bordering state that has it.

I use Chevron or Sinclair. Mostly Chevron, as the Sinclair is only available more to the north east of here.
The Chevron has Techron. A good, I guess, additive.
Some people add the Techron. I like to get it included right from the start.
I think it may be Mobil that also has Techron.
I always use the top grade, which varies from state to state.
dc

Chevron and Shell are my favorites, but generally I just stick to the Big-Brand names anyway.
Union 76 seems to run hotter (but not better); Arco is piss, neither my bike nor my car run well on any grade.
We have several Valero stations, and I've never had any issues with their product, but I still personally prefer Chevron or Shell.
When I'm back east I look for Sunoco.

Pauls1150 said:

Chevron and Shell are my favorites, but generally I just stick to the Big-Brand names anyway.
Union 76 seems to run hotter (but not better); Arco is piss, neither my bike nor my car run well on any grade.
We have several Valero stations, and I've never had any issues with their product, but I still personally prefer Chevron or Shell.
When I'm back east I look for Sunoco.

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I was told by a dealer in OH and one here in AZ to never, EVER use Shell unless as a last resort.

As usual I am odd man out. I believe in using fuel that matches the octane specified by BMW. Any higher is useless unless you gain some other advantage such as for sure lack of ethanol.

But, when at home the nearest fuel is 25 miles south - one station, one brand. If there I buy that brand. Otherwise there are stations 53 miles north. At least three are the same Alon brand, and then there is a Shell at 20 cents or more per gallon higher. So I buy Alon.

Then there is the rest of my/our riding touring around the vast western US and Canada mostly. In regions where small towns are 50 miles apart when you get to town and need gas you buy the brand that's there. Pretty simple, really.

My favorite brand is Chevron and I fill there when I can. But that might be one out of twenty tanks of fuel. Sometimes a guy just takes what is available.

Was there a reason to avoid Shell? I've bought it all over the country, and in others, and never had any issue of any kind (except when trying to convert the local price per unit to dollars per gallon... but that's why we charge things).
Long ago (pre-EPA regs), some Shell stations had single-walled underground tanks that leaked into the surrounding foundation, and that ticked off many people enough to boycott 'em.

I do not place much stock in information derived from some unknown dealers about a brand sold nationwide. Should we not trust BMW branded petrolum products that are made by Shell?

I have a friend that has a local fuel delivery business. He advised me not to use some local stations owned by one man. I follow his advice not because of the brand of fuel these stations carry but because he has actual information on this owner's shady fuel management practices, but I would not extend his advice beyond the local area and will not besmirch the brand on a forum. Interestingly, my friend delivers fuel to stations of multiple brands from the same truck.

I buy from several different stations locally, and as mentioned before I take what I can get when traveling. One of my bikes requires 91 octane and one only requires 87 octane (FJR). Since I normally refuel with Annie and all her bikes require 91 octane I will put the 91 octane in the FJR as well. I believe getting good or bad fuel is more a function of how a specific station is managed rather than what logo is on their pumps.

Ethanol: Fuel For Thought

This is very interesting . . .

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/07/0...o-know-about-ethanol-fuel-and-your-motorcycle

The app is actually Pure Gas written by AutoLean Inc.

As for the warning regarding Shell, this is the first I've heard of it and suspect that it has nothing to do the Shell gas overall, more likely localized to a dealer, or regional distributor or possibly political, but World-wide it seems their gas has as good a reputation as any. Also, as was mentioned, the gas for most regions all comes from a single refinery and, I believe, it is at the pump where there is an actual difference as the pumps themselves mix the additives. For example, virtually every gas station around here has only 2 underground tanks for gasoline (plus a separate additional one for diesel). The average station sells 87, 89 and 91 octane and each has a different additive package. So, how do they do that from just two tanks? What they do is have one tank for 87 octane and one for 91 octane. The 87 octane is simply an equal draw from both tanks.

We're very fortunate here in Nova Scotia to not only have some of the very best motorcycle riding roads/scenery in North America but also to be ethanol free for all of our gasoline. Don't know how long that will last, hopefully until the politically correct insanity ends. Our's wasn't a matter of politics or anything simply that we have a lot of rural gas stations that didn't want to go to the expense of switching their pumps over for ethanol (new seals etc., on top of other issues). Our 87 and 89 pumps will often say "may contain x% ethanol" but they don't have any, We actually had a small gas shortage here last winter when a tanker came in with gas with ethanol and it was sent away because we don't use it.

I can tell you that here in Canada two of the top SuperBike racing shops use nothing but Shell V-Power after trying all the major brands and consistently getting 1-3 HP improvements when Dyno-Tuning on their in-shop dynos with V-Power.

I am with Paul, higher octane than recommended does nothing. Also running better or worse on different brands is generally poppycock, unless someone is severely altering their fuels, or you are getting water from a poorly managed tank.

In any one area, chances are that most of the gas comes from the same refineries, terminals and base stock. The difference in the brands is the additive packages and possibly ethanol %age, which is regulated and monitored pretty good. The additives in any base stock will not make a tank to tank difference, they are there for detergent properties to prevent/clean varnish, and to prevent carbon buildup especially on the valves.

Shell claims that it's high octane V Power (octane 91) is ethanol free, throughout Canada. That is what I try to fill up with when riding in Canada.

Thank you all.. gives me something to think about, but not worry about.

Florida Panhandle: 91 REAL gas

If you're around Pensacola area....Exit 17 on I-10: REAL 91 gas @ Marathon station.

akbeemer said:

Interestingly, my friend delivers fuel to stations of multiple brands from the same truck.

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AlanColes said:

Also, as was mentioned, the gas for most regions all comes from a single refinery....

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A long time ago I was involved in tax litigation for a big fuels and chemicals broker in the Bay Area. I can tell you for a fact that here in the SF Bay Area the source of the gasoline you buy at just about any station depends entirely on the stocks on hand on that particular day from any given local refinery. That 91 octane you buy at the Valero station could have been produced by the Valero refinery or it could have come from the Phillips 66 plant. We have five refineries around here, so gasoline can be shuffled quite a bit.

While the top-tier producers will add a bit more detergents to their gasolines, all gasoline must contain a minimum amount of detergents, as per EPA regulations. In my opinion, the factors you want to base your purchasing decision on are octane and risk of contamination. Basically, buy the right octane fuel from a station that pumps a lot of fuel. Depending on state law, you may or may not have a choice with ethanol and California's notorious oxygenated summer blend. If you want to pay more and buy from a Chevron or Shell station, great. Just know that Jim Jim's Gas-O-Rama off the interstate could be selling Chevron that day as well.

How about the additives that boost octane like Amsoil has one?