87 never hurt mine. That and the fact that I'm supremely cheap

 

hey guys i run 110 and 93 half and half mix bike runs super good and smells good to lol

 

I have a manual for a 95 F3 and it says 87 min. That would be one heck of an engine change to make the jump in specs to 91 min.

 

on my 95 the sticker on the left side of the frame, under the seat panel says 91 min. Mine isnt Cali emissions, so who knows.

 

ok... here is the Final Answer!!!!! The compression ratio of the stock bike is 12:1... if you use higher octanes it wont "hurt" your bike... but it also will not help your bike... in fact!!! If we dragged two F3's and we rode them exactly the same.. i would beat you if i was running 87 octane and you were running 110 octane... power would decrease with the higher octane.. go onto the web and research it... it is all about the compression ratios...

 

I too live in the UK and use 98 all the time. I have a Honda type r car which has a compression ratio of 12.5:1. The reason that compression ratios mean everything with petrol is because the higher the compression ratio in an engine the more prone to detonation petrol is. For example, if you have 95 octane fuel it can pre ignite (before the spark happens) and create what is called detonation or knock, if you use a higher octane 97 it is more able to cope with the higher pressure of a high compression and high revving engine. This comment then suggests the higher the octane the better, not true, the higher the octane the more chance the engines internals have for burning out, especially piston tops, valves and seats etc. You can use any fuel not to far away from the manufacturers recommendations but be careful if your planning on running anything too far away as trouble wont instantly appear. Modern car engines have knock sensors on them which help prevent detonation but i'm not sure that our F3's have them. I've had cars running on 101 octane which is like rocket fuel but i never used it without the proper mods. If you are gonna use higher octane fuel, use platinum or iridium plugsas these help "cool" the internal temps. Spark plugs have temperature ratings, aska plug specialist which is best to use for your particular set up etc.

 

all the F3 needs is 87 in the us (R+M/2 method) and 91 in most foreign countries, where the same equivalent of gas is rated as 91 RON.

87 R+M/2= 91 RON

end of story!

 

"Your engine is designed to use any gasoline that has a pump octane number of 86 or higher." <---- straight from a CBR 600 F3 owner's manual.

Your bike can also run on gasoline w/ethanol 10% by volume, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether 15% by volume, and Methanol 5% by volume. <--- also straight from the owner's manual.

Those of you using high octane in your bikes, unless the compression ratio has been significantly altered, are getting LESS power, LESS mpg and are wasting MORE money. Higher octane is not "the good stuff" for the F3 engine.

 

True, bikes cant compensate for higher octane ratings as they are set by the manufacturer for certain types, the reason higher octane works in some cars is cos of their ECU's.

 

Glad I read this thread, coming from an auto mentality I was always using high test. I'll throw in 87 on my next fill up, which will be nice since I'll be in Cali, the land of high fuel prices by then.