Our RF400 finally goes well !!!! Yippee !!!

[nudemetalz]

Well, I took some of that radical advice to run her on 91 and guess what, she purrs like a kitten now !!!
Must be a late birthday pressie for me !!

All 4 cylinders now go properly. I am so pleased after spending so much time trying to figure out what was wrong with it.
Having the carbs rebuilt also helped.

Now, time for some testing, fuel km/l etc.

NDMz.

[Deviant Esq]

Good to hear it mate!

Maybe B can give your Guzzi back now??

[nudemetalz]

I miss my Guzzi

[Deviant Esq]

But not B? That's interesting!

Nah just kidding mate. Glad the RF is finally running the way it should be. Just gotta convince Bridge to give up the Guzzi again or you'll have to ditch the RF and get a 2nd Guzzi! All that headache just over using 95 - I'd never have guessed - I'd have thought all bikes would prefer higher octane petrol. I've always run the NZ on 95 or 98 (only because BP was the only gas station around at the time and they don't sell 95... ) so far. Still, it's a pretty highly tuned, more sensitive motor than the RF...

[nudemetalz]

I took the RF to work this morning, and it's running absolutely sweetly.

I take back everything I said about wanting to take to it with a sledgehammer and an axe !!!

[Paul in NZ]

I take back everything I said about wanting to take to it with a sledgehammer and an axe !!!

Thats the Moto Guzzi spirit....

[Dark Crystal]

Good to hear you got your Rf400 going again.. mines still purrying like a kitten since changing the fuel last week to 91.. maybe there was a bad batch of higher octane fuel... i had been running mine on 96 for months.. seems bit too much of a coincedence that your bike would have exactly the same 'far out' problem at exactly the same time on the same bike...hmmmm.

[riffer]

Ok, so what was the problem then?

[Trudes]

Nice one nudey, so I take it that the RF is now your bike? (Go Bridgey!!)

[James Deuce]

But not B? That's interesting!

Nah just kidding mate. Glad the RF is finally running the way it should be. Just gotta convince Bridge to give up the Guzzi again or you'll have to ditch the RF and get a 2nd Guzzi! All that headache just over using 95 - I'd never have guessed - I'd have thought all bikes would prefer higher octane petrol. I've always run the NZ on 95 or 98 (only because BP was the only gas station around at the time and they don't sell 95... ) so far. Still, it's a pretty highly tuned, more sensitive motor than the RF...

Oops! Octane rating alert misconception!

Most road bikes, unless specifically mentioned on tank stickers and in owners manuals, will run perfectly well on 91.

[nudemetalz]

Ok, so what was the problem then?

Well, we got the carbs fully stripped cleaned, re o-ringed etc.
Put back together, flushed the tank out, put 91 in it and it goes !!

Hard to believe, but seems to be a fuel issue.

Nice one nudey, so I take it that the RF is now your bike? (Go Bridgey!!)

Errr,..she does like riding the Guzzi a lot !!

[Skunk]

I allways use 91 unless the bike has to run a higher octane. Never had issues with 91.

[KLOWN]

I use 91 in the zx400 but every now and again I treat it to 98. It seems to run better with 98 but have been told it will foul the plugs if commuting with it. Only for open road thrashings

[Hans]

In my experience with old highly strung cages, which incidentally are quite similar to reasonably modern carbied bikes I have found that: Higher octane fuel is preferable to 91. AS LONG AS IT ISN'T BP 98! The formulation of this particular fuel causes a lot of problems with any high performance carbied engine. Car, bike or otherwise. I personally avoid BP at any cost with any motor. Also, if you have a nosey around http://www.caa.govt.nz/safety_info/ethanol.htm you will find a bulletin of some vintage specifically prohibiting the use of automotive fuel in microlight aircraft. I have it on good authority that this directive is actually due to detected ethanol content in a lot of unmarked auto fuels. I also have it on good authority that BP is the main culprit in this. Personally I tend to go with Mobil. And yes, I am aware that this will not apply to some bikes, like the RF.

Anyways, rant over.

[Pixie]

For the 175,987,456th time.
any engine will make more power on a lower octane fuel.
A low octane fuel will burn faster and is more likely to cause detonation in a high compression engine.
A high compression engine is more efficient and will produce more power and this will offset the power loss caused by it's need to run high octane fuel