Honda Dirt Bikes Forum

ok, what octane of gas do you guys run? I used to run 89, I just put 91 in and I can feel the difference. (we can only get 89, 90, and 91 octane in canada)

I was also wondering if you could buy that octane boost stuff and add that to the gas, to get it to maybe 93 octane?


can you put too much octane and harm the engine?


is this the proper procedure for changing oil:

1. let them both drain out, I completely drain mine.
2. fill them both and let the bike run for 2 or 3 mins
3. after letting it run, its usually a little lower than it was before it ran, so should you add a little bit more oil in each side?
4. I dont have a sure way to measure the oil I put in, so its basically all guessing (750cc = 750ml = 3/4 of a bottle) etc..

is it better to drive in a low RPM 5th gear or a high RPM 4th gear. or a low rpm 2nd gear in the mud or a high RPM first gear, whats better on the bike?  my guess is the low rpms is "healthier"

how do you soften the suspension, is it a huge, all day job, or do you just turn a few screws. im only 170lbs and I find the 450 suspension is a tad stiff for me.

do you guys wash/re use your airfilters or just throw them out and buy a new one, can you buy reusable ones?

thats all. thanks.  
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4 stroke FTW!

05 crf450
DNA rims/hubs
T4 pipe

11 hours on the hour meter, more to come!

Too high of an octane rating will dull the throttle response.  Too low will cause pre-ignition, and ultimately engine failure.

I run 93 is my stock bikes.

Oil change procedure sounds right. Get a measuring cup for oil - they are only a few dollars - that way you don't have to guess!

Low RPM's are better as long as you don't 'lug' the motor - which is worse for it than high rpm's.

Suspension - start bu adjusting your spring preload collar on the rear shock.  Takes about 15 minutes to do.

Wash and re-oil your filer - often!  The filter that came with your bike is re-usable.  As is the TwinAir, UNI, and K&N.  
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Here we go again!

so would it be a good idea to buy a bottle of octane boost and add that to my gas, making it a 93 octane since I can only buy 91 octane?

how often do YOU change your airfilter? every time you do an oil change?

i will get a measuring cup and change my suspension, thanks.  
--------------------
4 stroke FTW!

05 crf450
DNA rims/hubs
T4 pipe

11 hours on the hour meter, more to come!

The best course of action, and the one that will yield the best throttle response and highest horsepower, is to run the lowest octane you can that does not result in pre-ignition (pinging).  Do you hear your engine ping or knock under load?  If not, don't use gas with a higher octane. If so, then you need to make a choice:

Higher octane fuel is preferable to fuel with an octane additive in it - but you may not have access to higher octane gas. In that case, use one of the legitimate octane boosters.
Octane is highly misunderstood. It is not a substance, it's a rating.  Octane index is the resistance of fuel to ignite under pressure.  For example, water would have an extremely high octane rating.  Higher octane does not equal higher power.  

How often do I change my filter?  Every ride - either I change it out to a clean filter have have stored away, or I clean and re-oil the one that's on the bike.  I've taken apart far too many engines and witnessed first hand the damage caused by dirt getting past the filter.  Prematurely worn out cylinders, scored pistons, worn bearings - all from grit that gets by a dirty filter.  I will not run a motor with a dirty filter - ever. I believe that servicing the filter only when you change the oil is too infrequent.  If it's dusty out, i'll change filters midway through the day.  If it isn't, then I can get a weekend out of a filter, but no longer.  
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Here we go again!

I was wondering how long it would be till someone actuaaly brought that up. I see so many people, oh my bike runs so good with 93 instead of 87, no actually 93 is harder to light, not more powerful. I cant believe the misunderstanding. Course everyone talks about jet fuel too and all the military planes and helicopters run on jp5 and jp8 which is kerson more or less. Oh well live and learn  
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The Idle of a 500 2 stroke is Akin to the Devils Heartbeat


I'm not afraid of the dark, I own the NITEMARE that lurks within.

skip another thing, octane shows how much compression the fuel has. that is why you run high comp engines with high octane levels. if you were to run regular fuel with a high comp engine it would preignite.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

alright, awesome, thanks a lot for all that info, it sure cleared things up a lot.

I was running 89 octane, then I switched to 91 and felt a small difference, I better stick with 91 because it seems to work just fine.

I also obviously dont clean my airfilter enough. I assume you guys race, and no offense, but are usually riding in a few other guys dust? so im sure your airfilters take more of a beating than mine do. I normally take my bike for a half tank drive down some gravel road, but after what I just read, I will clean the airfilter every tank of gas, change it every 10 or so tanks.

I also just brought my bike to the shop, getting my new rims put on, anything I should do/know when I get it back? are the spokes going to need to be tightened after every hour of riding? Im getting new rims and new tires, and cant wait to go WOT and feel that tire bite into the dirt for the first time  
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4 stroke FTW!

05 crf450
DNA rims/hubs
T4 pipe

11 hours on the hour meter, more to come!

elko got it. my friends think that the higher the octane the more explsoive it is. not necessarily true. the higher hte octane the more pressure it has to be under to explode. which is why lower octanes ping, and preignite, cause they dont need to have that full compression stroke for them to ignite. i believe k1 and diesel are all pretty much just very high octane gas is it not? ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

mulisha, im wiht you on the airfilter thing. but when its dust season i clean it pretty frequently. as for your spokes. they will be a little loose every once and awhile so save yourself the pain of a warped rim and just check them after and or before every ride. ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

oh, another quick question.

I changed my oils the other day and I also took the oil filter out and cleaned it. I then proceded to fill the oils like I usually do.

well right my by shifter theres a little window to see the oil level. it was fine when I first filled it. then my bike sat for 2 or 3 days (I didnt drive it) and the oil seemed to get lower and lower every day. I DO NOT have a leak (or at least dont see oil on the ground) I am thinking that the oil just settled or went into the air filter and settled. so I put about another 100ccs before I brought it in and I guess we will see when she gets back from the shop.

thanks  
--------------------
4 stroke FTW!

05 crf450
DNA rims/hubs
T4 pipe

11 hours on the hour meter, more to come!

nope diesel is extremely low octane. diesel engines are make to preignite. dont know about kerosene  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

Yes Pat, you got a point I guess wether youre running in the dust all day or not makes a difference.

I honestly dont see my airfilter sucking up as much dust as you guys', especially because I like to stay in the mud/wet areas  regardless though, I will still change it a lot more often.

thanks.  
--------------------
4 stroke FTW!

05 crf450
DNA rims/hubs
T4 pipe

11 hours on the hour meter, more to come!

is that what it is? i knew there was some corrilation. its mroe expensive then gas because of the taxes right? on account of diesel being dirty burning, kerosene and diesel and heating oil are all the same thing pretty much. you can run k1 in your diesels. and in fact it helps the tractor start up in colder weather, it doesn't get as sludgy as teh diesel does. ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

and diesel is pretty much the crap they take out of gasoline.

metal, skip and a lot of others here do not race, they ride trails. gravel roads are exremely dusty and you probably are sucking up you own dust.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

o, and your oil thing is normal, as for the airfilter. i dont want to make a guess as to how many hours i go before cleaning my airfilter. but lets see, i ussually ride about 6 hours a week probably? no more then that, lets say 10 hours a week. i dont ride dust and i ussualy clean it once a week if that. probably not teh best and im gonna catch flak for it but lets be honest. the type of riding i do is quite different then the majority of people on here. i dont plan a ride a week in advance and go out and run my bike really hard, i ride almost everyday for awhile in the trails locally and dont push ti that hard, unless im feeling it. so i get ehat your saying metal. ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick