Kawasaki Ninja

[scorpio]

Are the kawasaki ninja 250 bikes capable of taking 91 gas or only 98, also what happens if you mix the two

[Laxi]

just spend the extra $2.50 and fill up on 98

[NDORFN]

They can take either and both at the same time.

[cambridgedan]

they can take both but ive found it runs alot nicer on 98

[crazyv]

they can take both but ive found it runs alot nicer on 98


Can the VTR250 take both as well?

[NDORFN]

Can the VTR250 take both as well?

I've yet to come across a bike OR car that won't run on any octane fuel. There is a possibility that an engine highly tuned for 98 could develop a "knock" if you ran it on 91, but I doubt you'll find such an engine on a factory bike.

[P38]

Either is ok.

Mixing is ok too.

However you may find you get better performance and or an increase in Kms/l if you use 98.

I'd spend the extra $2.50 or so per tank based on this.

[hayd3n]

Can the VTR250 take both as well?

yes all bikes will run on either some better on 98
cant run em on diesel or lpg yet

[p.dath]

I did some reading on Google about this, and there appears to be some contention. I'm getting the impression though that using 98 octane (on the RON scale that we use in NZ) should have little impact unless your bike is tuned for it, and that 91 offers the best economy. This article was interesting:

http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~shanetp/FAQ.html#Question_18

Q. What octane fuel should I use in the motorcycle?



A. Use clean, fresh, unleaded petrol with anti-knock index of 87. Petrol’s octane rating is a measurement of the fuels ability to resist knocking. Countries display their fuel octane at the service station pumps in different ways. Some display the Research Octane Number (RON), others display Motor Octane Number (MON). The anti-knock index is:



(RON + MON) = Pump Octane Number (PON) 87

2



To summarise, what this means if the fuel in your country is displayed at the pump using the RON index, use 91, if it is PON use 87. In the USA, service station pumps display PON, most owners use 87, in New Zealand and Australia they utilise RON, use 91 and in the UK, 95 is the normal grade.

[NDORFN]

I did some reading on Google about this, and there appears to be some contention. I'm getting the impression though that using 98 octane (on the RON scale that we use in NZ) should have little impact unless your bike is tuned for it, and that 91 offers the best economy. This article was interesting:

http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~shanetp/FAQ.html#Question_18

Q. What octane fuel should I use in the motorcycle?



A. Use clean, fresh, unleaded petrol with anti-knock index of 87. Petrol’s octane rating is a measurement of the fuels ability to resist knocking. Countries display their fuel octane at the service station pumps in different ways. Some display the Research Octane Number (RON), others display Motor Octane Number (MON). The anti-knock index is:



(RON + MON) = Pump Octane Number (PON) 87

2



To summarise, what this means if the fuel in your country is displayed at the pump using the RON index, use 91, if it is PON use 87. In the USA, service station pumps display PON, most owners use 87, in New Zealand and Australia they utilise RON, use 91 and in the UK, 95 is the normal grade.

NZ's RON of 95 is about equivalent to Japans RON of 91.

[p.dath]

NZ's RON of 95 is about equivalent to Japans RON of 91.

I can't find any references to this on Google. However I find several references as to what "standard" petrol is sold in difference countries, and I can see Japan's "standard" petrol has a RON of 95 while NZ's "standard" petrol has a RON of 91.

However the RON is the RON and it's calculation does not seem to vary. So the article giving the calculation seems correct, and using a RON of 91 seems correct for the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Using a RON of 98 does not sound like it will make a difference unless the bike has been tuned for it (which the Ninja is not from what I read).

[NDORFN]

I can't find any references to this on Google. However I find several references as to what "standard" petrol is sold in difference countries, and I can see Japan's "standard" petrol has a RON of 95 while NZ's "standard" petrol has a RON of 91.

However the RON is the RON and it's calculation does not seem to vary. So the article giving the calculation seems correct, and using a RON of 91 seems correct for the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Using a RON of 98 does not sound like it will make a difference unless the bike has been tuned for it (which the Ninja is not from what I read).

So what's it tuned for? RON91?

[Brownstoo]

Normally they'll run on either or both at the same time.
The only time you gotta worry is when it's been tuned to run on 98, in which case you could get detonation, and knocks and allsorts.

The standard ninja however will run on either, but like someone said before try one, then the other and if it does run better on 98 just spend the extra 2 bucks. It's worth it in the end.

[p.dath]

So what's it tuned for? RON91?

From what I read on Google, yes, it is built and design to run on RON91. Using a petrol with a higher RON *should* have no impact on performance.

I guess you could also consider that the more expensive petrols often contain different additives, such as cleaners. So perhaps using a higher RON might make a difference for a short time. Once your engine is clean you could go back to ROM 91.

[NDORFN]

From what I read on Google, yes, it is built and design to run on RON91. Using a petrol with a higher RON *should* have no impact on performance.

I guess you could also consider that the more expensive petrols often contain different additives, such as cleaners. So perhaps using a higher RON might make a difference for a short time. Once your engine is clean you could go back to ROM 91.

That's pretty much what I've heard but wasn't sure whether to believe it. Every bike mechanic and bike salesperson has told me to run it on 91 because that's what it's tuned for. But in my own experience, 95 or especially 98 gives it noticable power increase... whether that leads to better economy overall is beyond me. Somebody needs to start a Myth-Busters for bikes.

[Lurch]

Also my understanding is that smaller engines tend to run better on 91 and larger bikes are better off on 98.

The higher octane fuel burns later and longer which suits a lower rpm engine. A high octane fuel may still be burning late into the stroke of a smaller engine which means its energy may be wasted? Something like that, can someone correct me?:scratch: