Where to fuel up...

You fill up whenever and wherever you can in the far North Western Highlands of Scotland. Thankfully there are more of these 24hr self-service pumps than there used to be . Here's my little ER5 waiting it's turn for a drink in Durness .

How many bike engine management systems can actually make use of Shell V Power? I use it in the car and the difference in drive and mpg is noticeable. But neither of the bike's seem to be any different between V Power or standard petrol.

A mate works for the refinery and he tells me that all the petrol is the same, just different additives.

Hmmm. That's a bit like saying all beer is the same, just different ingredients.

I only buy from stations run by oil companies. I buy fuel from companies who are expert at refining and chemistry and avoid supermarket fuel where the only purchasing criterion is price. A few years agoTesco had a problem with their fuel that resulted in customers having to have engines re-built or written-off, This only reinforced my policy of avoiding them.

A mate works for the refinery and he tells me that all the petrol is the same, just different additives.

 

Hmmm. That's a bit like saying all beer is the same, just different ingredients.

I only buy from stations run by oil companies. I buy fuel from companies who are expert at refining and chemistry and avoid supermarket fuel where the only purchasing criterion is price. A few years agoTesco had a problem with their fuel that resulted in customers having to have engines re-built or written-off, This only reinforced my policy of avoiding them.

No matter where you buy your fuel from it does all come from the same place and is a standard base fuel , with additives added which may differ, Sainsburys , Tescos etc haven't got their own oil refineries .

The problem with Tesco (and Morrisons) petrol was a single faulty batch, which was contaminated with silicon, this came from a supplier in Thurrock Essex (harvest energy) and was restricted to the south east. and happened 10 years ago.

In that particular case the supplier was (unusually) an independent petrol station supplier.

It cost Tesco a fortune to put right.. so, not something I will waste any sleep over, all these years later.

How many bike engine management systems can actually make use of Shell V Power? I use it in the car and the difference in drive and mpg is noticeable. But neither of the bike's seem to be any different between V Power or standard petrol.

I don’t think it does make any difference on a bike unless it’s specifically mapped for it, cars have knock sensors etc that can advance/retard the ignition for different octane fuels, it’s often high performance turbocharged stuff that has to use super.

I don’t think even the latest bikes have the same ability although I might be wrong, I still use V power in the bike mostly because it’s cleaner/better for the engine, although this too is probably negligible, but then so is the price difference when filling a bike.

How many bike engine management systems can actually make use of Shell V Power? I use it in the car and the difference in drive and mpg is noticeable. But neither of the bike's seem to be any different between V Power or standard petrol.

 

I don’t think it does make any difference on a bike unless it’s specifically mapped for it, cars have knock sensors etc that can advance/retard the ignition for different octane fuels, it’s often high performance turbocharged stuff that has to use super.

I don’t think even the latest bikes have the same ability although I might be wrong, I still use V power in the bike mostly because it’s cleaner/better for the engine, although this too is probably negligible, but then so is the price difference when filling a bike.

Thanks - that was pretty much what I thought. I pretty much stick to Shell standard for the bikes and V Power for the car - as both our nearest petrol station are Shell

My tank is relatively small so its usually around a tenner to fill from empty... even at Shell, which annoyingly are my two closest garages (i prefer to take the longer trip to tesco though!)

How many bike engine management systems can actually make use of Shell V Power? I use it in the car and the difference in drive and mpg is noticeable. But neither of the bike's seem to be any different between V Power or standard petrol.

 

I don’t think it does make any difference on a bike unless it’s specifically mapped for it, cars have knock sensors etc that can advance/retard the ignition for different octane fuels, it’s often high performance turbocharged stuff that has to use super.

I don’t think even the latest bikes have the same ability although I might be wrong, I still use V power in the bike mostly because it’s cleaner/better for the engine, although this too is probably negligible, but then so is the price difference when filling a bike.

 

Thanks - that was pretty much what I thought. I pretty much stick to Shell standard for the bikes and V Power for the car - as both our nearest petrol station are Shell

My old car had to have super and averaged about 12 MPG!, never been so happy to be back in a diesel .

On any bike I've had I've really noticed no difference in performance or economy between running on regular 95 unleaded or super.

I don’t think it does make any difference on a bike unless it’s specifically mapped for it, cars have knock sensors etc that can advance/retard the ignition for different octane fuels, it’s often high performance turbocharged stuff that has to use super.

I don’t think even the latest bikes have the same ability although I might be wrong, I still use V power in the bike mostly because it’s cleaner/better for the engine, although this too is probably negligible, but then so is the price difference when filling a bike.

 

Thanks - that was pretty much what I thought. I pretty much stick to Shell standard for the bikes and V Power for the car - as both our nearest petrol station are Shell

 

My old car had to have super and averaged about 12 MPG!, never been so happy to be back in a diesel .

On any bike I've had I've really noticed no difference in performance or economy between running on regular 95 unleaded or super.

12 mpg what was it .

Thanks - that was pretty much what I thought. I pretty much stick to Shell standard for the bikes and V Power for the car - as both our nearest petrol station are Shell

 

My old car had to have super and averaged about 12 MPG!, never been so happy to be back in a diesel .

On any bike I've had I've really noticed no difference in performance or economy between running on regular 95 unleaded or super.

 

12 mpg what was it .

An early Cayenne Turbo, I wasn't doing many miles at the time but even so you still noticed how bad it was, now I'm doing more miles in the car it had to go!.

My old car had to have super and averaged about 12 MPG!, never been so happy to be back in a diesel .

On any bike I've had I've really noticed no difference in performance or economy between running on regular 95 unleaded or super.

 

12 mpg what was it .

 

An early Cayenne Turbo, I wasn't doing many miles at the time but even so you still noticed how bad it was, now I'm doing more miles in the car it had to go!.

Should of kept it for a Sunday car .... But then when you ride the bike , it's hard having to many toys .

12 mpg what was it .

 

An early Cayenne Turbo, I wasn't doing many miles at the time but even so you still noticed how bad it was, now I'm doing more miles in the car it had to go!.

 

Should of kept it for a Sunday car .... But then when you ride the bike , it's hard having to many toys .

It wasn't fun enough for a Sunday car really, although it was funny how something that big acclerated that quickly.

Shell VPower nothing more nothing less

If it gets properly cold and will stay that way for a while (like last winter) I use super-unleaded. The rest of the time I use whatever is nearest when the tank needs filling.

I often fuel the car and bike at our local Shell garage.....it's slightly more expensive than the Morrisons, but it's less than a mile from the house, whereas Morrisons is about 10 miles away. I've not checked with the bike, but I get a few more miles out of a tank of fuel in the car from Shell than I do from Tesco/Morrisons/etc.

plus it will cost you more going to morrisons with the mileage

plus it will cost you more going to morrisons with the mileage

Exactly, mate......

95 is the same on all places it comes from same refineries. All unleaded 95 Octane petrol sold in the UK contains up to 5% ethanol as required under the Government's Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO).

There may be some different additive, but retailers add additives to the expensive fuel like 97.

I avoid 97 exactly because of that. Most additives are designed for car engines not bikes.

Means I get any 95 from anywhere then on every 4 tanks I add 1 tank with some Wynn's petrol injection cleaner and it works great for me.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/fuel-oil-additives/wynns-injector-cleaner-for-petrol-engines-325ml