500R fuel requirement vs. mileage

[Carl722]

I was looking for the fuel requirements for the 500R I haven't found anything that calls for 93 octane. Does anyone run 87 octane or have run both 87 and 93 and noticed a difference performance or mileage? I am running the 93 octane right now but I think it is an unnecessary expense. I do know it will keep the fuel system and valves in better condition though.

[NCDave]

I really don't know for sure about the 500, but my 650R uses regular and I get up to 58 mpg on that. your 500 should be older technology engine wise, wo I'd expect it to use regular, but really don't know.

[07Ninja250]

The common misconception about gasoline is that higher grades automatically means that you're taking better care of your engine. The fact is that 87, 91, 93, etc all have the same detergency, just different amounts of octane. Octane doesn't clean, and it contains no extra 'power' as some people have been led to believe. Octane serves only as a detonation preventer, useful in turbocharged, supercharged, and high-compression engines to keep the mixture un-burnt until the spark plug "tells it" to burn. High-compression and forced-induction engines sometimes cause the mixture to detonate before it's supposed to, causing knock and ping - which is akin to striking the top of a piston with a hammer. Higher octane levels prevent this. This is why you'll see 'premium fuel only' inside the gas doors of turbocharged vehicles, like my Mazdaspeed 6. High octane is literally required to make my engine run like it should. There are safeguards in place to back off spark timing if it detects low octane gas is in use, but it's not a recommended practice for cars like that.

Unless your owner's manual states 91 or 93 octane gas is required, use 87. If you hear it knocking or pinging during acceleration, step up a grade until it stops doing it. It happens occasionally when the weather gets hot. Otherwise, using high-octane when it's not needed or required is only draining your wallet faster, it's not doing anything for the bike.

[Semperfi]

If u look in the owners book it says 87 that was the first thing i looked at when i decided to get mine. I was not about to get a super sport that requires 90+ octane gas with this price range lol. But ya i am not 100% sure what page it was on it was close to the front but it says 87.

[NCDave]

Chris, you'd be surprised. I was looking at Vulcans over the weekend. there's a sticker on the tank that says to use 90!

[Semperfi]

Originally Posted by NCDave

Chris, you'd be surprised. I was looking at Vulcans over the weekend. there's a sticker on the tank that says to use 90!

Wow thats interesting...does the owners book say to use 90 or does it say to use 87? i think i have mine with me b/c i have not finished reading the whole thing i'll look it up for the 500 and post the page on this post with an edit. Thanks for he heads up Dave. I know the new ZX-6R's use higher than 87 they ave a sticker on the tank too but i didn't see a sticker on my tank just a warning that ways to never operate the motorcycle w/o proper safety gear.

Ok quoted form the manual "Use clean, fresh unleaded gasoline with a minimum Antiknock Index of 87. The Antiknock Index is posted on the service station pumps in the U.S.A" (pg 30 Kawasaki 500D owners manual)

[NCDave]

Chris, I didn't mean to imply you might not be right, as my 650 uses 87 as well. I was just surprised when I saw the sticker on the tanks of the new Vulcans. I can't believe they'd be making cruisers that needed 90. I mean....it's not like they are performance bikes!

[Semperfi]

Oh i know i took no offense to it, i was just as shocked as you b/c i know my dads old harley used 87 and i was just making sure b/c if i was wrong i dont want to be putting the wrong gas in mine. lol

hey Carl i don't know a lot about bikes being this is my first one but with my old mustang it was rated for 87 and i used that but once i month i would fill up with 93 or what ever the premium is just to clean the injectors. My mustang was FI and not carb'd so again i dunno if it makes much of a difference with a motorcycle.

[ervins]

Manual says Premium for me...If it said Regular 87 I would have been all over this.

[eidian]

The 500R's engine is 21 y/o technology; the only thing that changed between the two generations is the number of heat sinks. That old carb'd engine would probably run if you p!ssed in the tank, those bikes are built like tanks. 87 will do you good, I ran 93 for a month when I first had my 500R and it didn't do anything that the 87 didn't...mileage or performance wise.

[bennice]

+1 on all the above.

Just use whatever the manual says and you should be fine. When I had my 250 I tried all the different available octanes (here in CO its 85, 87 and 91). I noticed no difference between 87 and 91, and only a minimal difference between 85 and 87.

[taro]

If you believe the hype at Top Tier Gasoline, which I do due to the emergence of some pinging in my vehicles (and other grime related issues) when using Sam's gasoline that cleared up after using some fuel detergent type of product, it claims that not all brands put the same levels of detergents in there regular gasolines even though their premium fuels may have relatively sufficient levels of detergents. The web site lists some companies that put higher levels of detergents in their regular gas. FWIW

[Old Gray Beard]

You really should use what is recommended
If it calls for 87 then use 87 usinga higher octane gas is not only a waste but the engine is not designed to run on it and it may actually be detrimental to the performance 93 octane requires more compression to burn fully than 87 due to its higher flashpoint so you may actually lower your mpg

[sebastian1000]

87 all the way bro. Go to Kawasaki's website and look at your .pdf file for your bike...the specifications page should tell you definitively what to run...and a bunch of other good to know things.
-S

[06Ninja500]

I own a 06 500R and it clearly states in the owners manual to run 90+ octane fuel through these bikes. I have never tried to run anything lower. But I mean come on, it only costs around 15 to fill it up on premium and I can get 200+ miles per tank.

[Carl722]

My last tank was $20 on the 93 octane.

[sebastian1000]

^^^ Actually if you go to the Kawasaki website and look under the specifications page....it says:


"Fuel: Min 91 Research/87 Avg. Oct. Unleaded OK"


No need to give it a higher octane...it's a waste of money.

[06Ninja500]

post the link to the website for that quote. I am there right now and I am overlooking it. And yes there are plenty of situations where you MUST run the higher octane, so don't get it confused.

[eidian]

87 Octane is fine. If the 500R was a an in-line 4 SuperSport with FI then I'd say, "...sure, run the bike on 91...". I don't know if the link will work but:

Welcome to Kawasaki.com

Pulled from the PDF file in the Kawi site:

Engine Type 4-stroke, Inline, 2-cylinder, DOHC, Liquid cooled,
8-Valve
Displacement 498 cc
Bore x Stroke 74.0 x 58.0 mm
Compression Ratio 10.8:1
Maximum Torque 4.7 kg-m at 8,500 rpm
Carburetor Keihin CVK34 (2) Constant velocity, Diaphragm-type
Ignition System 12 V Battery & Coil, Transistorized Breakerless
Ignition Advance Electronic
Crankshaft Rotation Clockwise from ignition (RH side)
Cylinder Number Method Left to Right: 1-2
Firing Interval/Order 188°
Cylinder Material Aluminum alloy with ferrous sleeves
Fuel Min 91 Research/87 Avg. Oct. Unleaded OK
Coolant 50% distilled water /50% ethylene glycol base antifreeze.
—Capacity 1.8 L
—Level Level with radiator filler neck.

[sebastian1000]

Here is the path:

I actually printed out the specs page and the parts diagrams pages so I could have the info at my disposal for my own 600R. It is a nice feature for us Kaw guys! Here is a link to the main page for the 500R...click on the "specifications" link and the .pdf is right there for ya.

http://kawasaki.com/kawasakinew/acce...lCode=EX500D6F

What situation would I need to run 91/93 octane or better with a stock 500R? If it is stock I don't have to worry about anything higher than 87...of course if I started to mod the bike with...say an ignition advancer then yes definitely I would need higher octane to avoid pre-detonation. the 500R's compression is only at 10.8:1. Hope that helps you out.
-Seb.