so for a couple rides I was noticing that my bike seemed like it had a hesitation/miss problem. I filled the tank completely with 93 grade fuel from sunoco and put 5 fluid oz. of seafoam in the tank. WOW I am amazed at the difference. I am going to go ahead and say I know the f4i doesnt need 93 to run like a top but if you mix seafoam (correctly) and add 93 fuel. I think you have a winning combination.

I digress. DO NOT USE SEAFOAM unless you know how to add it and have a way to measure the correct dose your beauty between your legs wants/needs. IF YOU MIX WRONG** you will burn out the heads on those expensive iridium plugs. If you do it right, on the other hand, you will notice a much more responsive bike.


HAPPY TRAILS

 

If you've been using above 87 octane then you caused alot of carbon buildup hence the hesitation. Stop using exspensive gas and you won't have to waste money on seafoam to have a properly running bike.

 

I never did use expensive gas. I just used that with seafoam to clean out my bike???

 

here's a question...when I bought my bike, I was told to run a minimum of 93 (which I thought was kinda bogus considering the owner's manual says at least 87), but regardless I played ball for about the first year or so, except for one time when the highest grade available was 92 but since I was on reserve with no station in the next 40 miles I went with 92. Until I got that tank ran through and refilled with 93, the bike ran kinda trashy (it would hesitate, and sputter, and lag all through the RPM range). After doing some research on it over winter I decided I should give 87 a shot. That being said I've been running 87 so far this season. The only issue I've had running 87, is it lags a little pulling form a stop...but it starts super easy. That all being said, the last time I got fuel, I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing and already had the tank filled over 3/4 from empty before I realized I was putting 93 in the tank. Soon as I started the bike and got moving, it was like I was riding a completely new bike. I'm not sure why there is such a difference in bike response to fuel grades and that is ultimately my question...sorry for the book.

On a side note, I believe I am the third owner and am not sure if the Previous owners did any internal work to the motor or anything (I doubt they would have because it would be much more cost effective to just buy a different bike). the only performance altering mods on the bike I know of are -1 on the front sprocket, K&N filter (which I plan on replacing), and a Two Brothers Slip-on (which shouldn't really make a difference).

What I have observed mileage at on 93 (40-50 mpg depending on my driving habits mostly average around 42-43 mpg) and on 87 (25-40 mpg mostly averaging 31-32 mpg). Seems to me that the bike is cheaper to fuel in the long run on 93 with the added benefit of being a little more snappy.

Should I still run 87 and get lower mpg based on the owner's manual and general consensus?? Or is there maybe a problem with my bike that I should look into??

 

There are many "f4i octane" threads on the interwebs. The concensus of 99% of them is to use 86 as per the owners manual. Most say there is no noticible difference (performance OR fuel economy) when using a higher octane rating other than a thinner wallet. If 93+ somehow produced more power and better mpg, then the manual would tell you to use 93+, and well as everyone and their mother on the forums. but it's just not the case. f4i's are factory tuned for 86/87 and nothing more.

Xander you're saying the difference is 42mpg vs 25mpg. Or in other words, 160 miles per tank (not counting reserve) on 93 octane vs 100 miles per tank on 87 octane. Thats a HUGE difference. Sure you're riding styles we're the same between those tanks?

 

yes...hence my confusion.

when just considering fuel costs 93 @ $3.89/gal works out to about 9.5 cents per mile while 87 @ $3.55/gal is about 11.5 cents per mile

if fuel economy and performance seemed the same, I would obviously just go with 87. Reading all the posts and information on octane rating over winter is why I started using 87 in the first place. I was all set to continue using 87 but i didn't realize which button I had pushed on the pump until the tank was already 3/4 or better full...the only reason I noticed was I looked at the cost on the pump and it was higher than I was expecting for still putting gas in the tank. I use 93 quite often when riding the PC800 or getting gas in a 5g fuel container...and for the first full season I had my cbr was all I used. At the pump i chocked it up to habit (since I had to remind myself to use 87 when filling the bike).

 

How'd you mix the seafoam? Was it gas first then seafoam or the other way around? I used seafoam on my accord before and damn that **** does make a difference. Especially when you dump some in your crankshaft and intake. It cleans your engine out nice and improves MPG!

 

How old is your bike and how many miles on it?

I ran Seafoam thru Ororo with a tank of 93 at the start of the season. Difference: not one bit. No performance change. No different MPG. Nada.

But Ororo is an 06 and I got her with 2.5k miles on her. And she now has about 5k miles on her. There haven't been enough tanks run through her yet to get any real build up. I did it just in case there was any old gas in the fuel system over the winter.

YMMV with Seafoam (pun both not intended and intended).

P.S. I did add some to the oil as well and ran her for about 50 - 75 miles that day. I had changed the oil when I got her and it was mildly discolored. When I changed the oil after the run + Seafoam, it did come out black.

 

If you bike doesn't run properly on 87 octane theres something wrong. Carbon buildup causing hot spots and detonation, bad fuel pump or regulator causing lean mixture that 91 octane was covering up or something else.

 

So I should consider looking into my fuel system then?