Don't put high octane in Ninja 650 2017+! | GTAMotorcycle.com

Don't put high octane in Ninja 650 2017+!

itsme

Well-known member
Just to share my personal experience.
When I was watching youtube reviews of ninja 650, some guys were saying it has so much vibration. Now I know why! owning one (my wife rides that now), I never noticed any annoying vibration. Until putting 94 in it! I rode the bike for a short ride and was feeling the bike was falling apart! Took me some time to remember the high octane gas in tank!
 
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I've never heard of that before.

Normally, it's the opposite problem. Low octane gasoline in a high-performance, high-compression-ratio engine results in pre-detonation or knock, which causes a rattling or vibration sound in the engine.

Putting high octane gas in a vehicle that doesn't need it should affect nothing but your wallet.
 
I've never heard of that before.

Normally, it's the opposite problem. Low octane gasoline in a high-performance, high-compression-ratio engine results in pre-detonation or knock, which causes a rattling or vibration sound in the engine.

Putting high octane gas in a vehicle that doesn't need it should affect nothing but your wallet.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Different octane affects timing. It seems that 650's twin with its firing angles, is sensitive to timing. I don't know. Like I said, just personal experience.
 
When I had my Ninja 650r I've never experienced a difference in the amount of vibration due to a different octane rating in the fuel. Most of the time I ran regular 87 but in the last fill up before winter , I would put the Shell 91. I didn't notice any difference on the first few rides next Spring. In addition I also had the fuel stabilizer in the tank.

Are you sure you didn't get bad gas or somehow have some additional moisture ..water in the tank? I know the the fuel overflow hole sometimes gets plugged and water buildup in the fuel cap area can get into the tank.
 
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Are you sure you didn't get bad gas or somehow have some additional moisture ..water in the tank? I know the the fuel overflow hole sometimes gets plugged and water buildup in the fuel cap area can get into the tank.

Yes. My experience is with 2017 model (last gen). It has different engine than 2010 (in your sig).
 
Fuel injected motorcycles don't care what octane fuel you put in as long as it meets minimum requirements as per your owner's manual.
Higher octane than recommended is just wasting your money.
As others have suggested, you may have a problem with leftover stale fuel from winter storage, but if the problem persists get someone to have a look at the bike.
 

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