Yamaha r3 premium or regular? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Yamaha r3 premium or regular?

It matters in that premium will cost you more. The engine doesn't need it and won't benefit.
 
Regular. If you really want to put premium in then ONLY BOTHER with Shell's or any other station that you know has NO ethanol in their premium grade fuel.
 
try it...fill up on regular
check how many km's you get
also listen to the sound of the motor and pay attention to how the bike pulls when you gas it

do the same with premium

did you notice a difference?
 
I would only go with Premium if it is ethanol free and my bike has a plastic tank. Many plastic tanks are known to warp due to the ethanol in the gas.
 
Had this discussion the other day about fuel with my fellow people's.

Follow the manual. The designers of the engine knows what's best for it. If you use premium you're just paying extra, unless your owners manual specifically says to use 90 octane or higher.
 
Had this discussion the other day about fuel with my fellow people's.

Follow the manual. The designers of the engine knows what's best for it. If you use premium you're just paying extra, unless your owners manual specifically says to use 90 octane or higher.

This. Not to mention grades higher than 87 here in Canada typically include MORE ethanol to bump up the rating, and potentially don't burn as cleanly since it is designed for a higher compression engine that cant' run on regular.

The ONLY exception I have to this is start filling up with Shell V-Power 91 when you think you'll be putting the bike into storage for the winter. Shell is one of the only (if not the only) station that doesn't put any ethanol in their 91 gas. The main reason you want to do this is ethanol can attract moisture over time...so best to have a tank of pure gasoline (and potentially some stabilzer thrown in) when the bike will be sitting 4-6 months in the garage.
 
Your manual (likely) states the that "gasohol" -- i.e. E10 like we have around here -- is fine and that the fuel have a research octane number (RON) of 95 or higher.

In Canada our fuel pumps show AKI (anti-knock index) values which is (RON+MON)/2. AKI numbers are usually between 4 and 6 points lower than the RON-only number. That would put your bike's fuel needs somewhere in the 89-91 range.

I think Shell's ethanol-free "V-power" 91 would be your best bet, meeting the octane requirements while also being ethanol-free (which, despite your bike being designed to accept it, will give better range per tank and reduced water-related issues in the future.)
 
This. Not to mention grades higher than 87 here in Canada typically include MORE ethanol to bump up the rating, and potentially don't burn as cleanly since it is designed for a higher compression engine that cant' run on regular.

The ONLY exception I have to this is start filling up with Shell V-Power 91 when you think you'll be putting the bike into storage for the winter. Shell is one of the only (if not the only) station that doesn't put any ethanol in their 91 gas. The main reason you want to do this is ethanol can attract moisture over time...so best to have a tank of pure gasoline (and potentially some stabilzer thrown in) when the bike will be sitting 4-6 months in the garage.

Canadian tire and ultramar premium gas doesn't contain ethanol either, shell is most likely their supplier.
 
Canadian tire and ultramar premium gas doesn't contain ethanol either, shell is most likely their supplier.

I knew of Ultramar actually...but Crappy Tire gas comes from Shell as well?
 
Your manual (likely) states the that "gasohol" -- i.e. E10 like we have around here -- is fine and that the fuel have a research octane number (RON) of 95 or higher.

In Canada our fuel pumps show AKI (anti-knock index) values which is (RON+MON)/2. AKI numbers are usually between 4 and 6 points lower than the RON-only number. That would put your bike's fuel needs somewhere in the 89-91 range.

I think Shell's ethanol-free "V-power" 91 would be your best bet, meeting the octane requirements while also being ethanol-free (which, despite your bike being designed to accept it, will give better range per tank and reduced water-related issues in the future.)

Check manual, but given this is a R3 and not a high end SS bike, the math/numbers likely work out to our 87-91 range. Even my CBR650F only calls for 87 here, as it isn't as powerful or tuned as the supersport engines are, and designed to pretty much take whatever gas is available (vs requiring premium fuel). If we were talking about an R6/R1, then completely different story.

EDIT: Hmm ok..since it was only a quick Google search away, I found the manual for the R3. Bit of a mixed message...it says regular unleaded, but then says RON of 95. I also double checked, and it looks like to convert RON to AKI (our measure), it is 4-6 points less...meaning the bike 'should' take 89-91. I just double-checked my CBR650F manual, and it says a RON of 91 or higher...so while it is ok with 87, the R3 actually needs 89 apparently.

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I knew of Ultramar actually...but Crappy Tire gas comes from Shell as well?

If you go to one of their pumps you will notice the "contains up to 10% ethanol" sticker only covers the regular and plus, not the premium.
 
Check manual, but given this is a R3 and not a high end SS bike, the math/numbers likely work out to our 87-91 range. Even my CBR650F only calls for 87 here, as it isn't as powerful or tuned as the supersport engines are, and designed to pretty much take whatever gas is available (vs requiring premium fuel). If we were talking about an R6/R1, then completely different story.

EDIT: Hmm ok..since it was only a quick Google search away, I found the manual for the R3. ...

Although the R3's compression ratio is only about 11.2:1 (which might suggest "regular" fuel spec) they are getting 42HP out of 320ccs; scaled up to a 1000cc bike it would be close to a pretty respectable 131HP. They're building some decent cylinder pressure in there so perhaps the mid-grade fuel spec makes sense.
 
during riding season i use Shell Silver (89) as it only has "up to 5%" ethanol. Over winter i use the Shell 91 to store the bike.
Do not know about the R3 manual but most manuals do not say ONLY use xx octane but say use xx octane as a minimum. So for the R3
it would be minimum 87 octane.
 
I always use premium, I don't think i've ever used regular tbh.

Maybe the extra couple bucks is for the mind ;)
 
during riding season i use Shell Silver (89) as it only has "up to 5%" ethanol. Over winter i use the Shell 91 to store the bike.
Do not know about the R3 manual but most manuals do not say ONLY use xx octane but say use xx octane as a minimum. So for the R3
it would be minimum 87 octane.

Check my earlier post with the pic from the R3 manual...calls for a minimum of 95 RON, which actually works out to 89 here and not 87.
 

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