Which octane fuel for a 86 VT500? Plus bonus fuel question

[ThaKidd]

I wish this forum had a search option becuase I know this has been asked, but I'm new to biking and just picked up a 1986 VT500C (with no owners manuel). The previous owner said he always ran it with premium but I feel like that might be wasting money. Does anyone know what honda (or yourself) reccomends for this bike?

And also - how necessary is it to turn the fuel valve off when stopping for a couple hours (aka when parked for work). I always turn it off but I can see the day coming where I "INE-C" and take off with the fuel off. I park in a congested area for work for 8 hours at a time and kind of just feel like keeping it on so I dont run into any problems.

[randy.caddell]

Regular should be fine.

I always shut my fuel off with a carbed bike. If your habit is to turn it on before riding, it would ring true in an emergency as well if you needed to move the bike. Takes all of 3 seconds.

we have search

[ThaKidd]

ahhh, i didnt even see that. I got caught up using that google search bar

[randy.caddell]

Yeah, it hides. Google draws the attention. Sometimes I forget where it is.

[CrashOverride]

I use the premium gas, its not a big diff for the tank size.

I always turn off the petcock on my vt500. I doubt my 20+ year old floats are 100% and its just easier than flushing all the oil and replacing in case it over flows.

Crash

[ThaKidd]

what is the advantage of running premium? from what i've read it seems as though unless the engine was built for premium, it may be a waste of money and can actually hinder performance. does anyone know what the manual says?

[mr hammond]

i run 93 octane in my 84 vt700...maybe im wastin money too but it only takes a few gallons so even at a .10 cent difference its less than .50 cents per fill-up. if i knew for sure it wuld run better on 89 or 91 then i would switch to that.

[randy.caddell]

High octane burns slower. It's the same gas, just refined more. If your engine calls for it, run it. Unless it is pinging on regular, you really see no benefit with premium.

I am not sure what your bike calls for, but I can't imagine it is calling for premium.

[cl65ame]

The Shadows have a low compression ration which negates the need for premium gas.

this discussion has taken place several (thousand) times. Higher octane fuel in your Honda Shadow is actually causing a LOSS of performance. Octane itself is a Detonation INHIBITOR. It is designed to slow the burning of the fuel to preven pre-ignition in high compression, high Performance or Turbo charged engines. With a compression ration of 9.5:1 this does not fall into that class at all.

The Owners manual for the Hondas specified a minimum Pump octane rating 0f 86. so regular gas will run it fine. If by chance the bike does Ping on regular fuel then stepping up 1 grade will help. The manual specifies also to run the LOWEST grade that does no induce pinging.

Why spend the money for nothing. Regular gas is fresher because everyone uses it. Premium especially 94 sits and goes stale in the tank. And if you use the "blender" hose at the pump that dispenses all grades through 1 hose you are filling your bike with whatever the last guy got since the tank is so small. the guy behind you will get the premium.

[ThaKidd]

Originally Posted by cl65ame

Why spend the money for nothing. Regular gas is fresher because everyone uses it. Premium especially 94 sits and goes stale in the tank. And if you use the "blender" hose at the pump that dispenses all grades through 1 hose you are filling your bike with whatever the last guy got since the tank is so small. the guy behind you will get the premium.

Never thought of it that way. Great advice