What octane is this bike tuned for?

I know that the manual says use at least RON 90 which in the US is equivalent to around 87 octane; but I think thats just minimum safe numbers. I wonder if anyone knows what this bike was actually tuned for?

I dont want to run premium through it just to waste money and in fact premium has less energy density, so if you dont need the detonation protection that it provides, 89 could be better. So many people throw premium at their toys just thinking that premium=best, when its all marketing.

Another reason is my local gas station has ethanol free 90 octane, I'll use that if the bike likes that.

Anyone know?

Edit: Page 323 it says "Ducati recommends the use of premium-grade unleaded petrol SHELL -V-Power with a minimum octane rating of 90 (RON + MON)/2" which sounds like premium until they say the min octane, then it goes out the window. lol

Alright, I'm going to try the 90 octane pure gas and if it doesnt ping, I think i should be good. Anyone know if this bike has knock sensors? Sure wish I could tell if it would pull timing on its own..

I have been running 93 in mine 1k miles and a track day all good.

Desmolvr said:

I have been running 93 in mine 1k miles and a track day all good.

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have you tried 89/90?

Sorry no I always run 93 in my bikes for extra $1.50 per tank why not.

Because you want to run the closest to the octane it was tuned for. The lowest you can that doesn't cause detonation will have more energy content.

If an engine is tuned for 90 octane, you make less power and waste money using 93.

Desmolvr said:

Sorry no I always run 93 in my bikes for extra $150 per tank why not.

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I realize it's not a lot of money or power, but still, at least in my case if I can run ethanol free 90,and the bike was tuned for 90,ive got the best of all worlds.

Interested in hearing results.

Let us know what you find.

I run 91 e10 or 94 e0 on the street. Bike seems to like the 91 e10 better from my butt dyno. Could be due to the heat it generates. On the track I run 94 e0 plus 10% e99. Works out to be somewhere around 98 e10. Bike LOVES that.

91 Non Ethanol is all I ever use..

It is more of a question of 93 with Ethanol or 90 without.

Someone should suggest to Ducati a solution analyst join this group to help us figure out these questions.

Hmmmm, I only use premium 98 octane, I would not even consider putting ethanol fuel in it, but that’s just me.

Most people here in the states don't have a choice

DucSyd said:

Hmmmm, I only use premium 98 octane, I would not even consider putting ethanol fuel in it, but that's just me.

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DucSyd said:

Hmmmm, I only use premium 98 octane, I would not even consider putting ethanol fuel in it, but that's just me.

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I am pretty sure that your Aussie 98 is the equivalent of our 93 based on the octane calculation.

Sherpa23 said:

I am pretty sure that your Aussie 98 is the equivalent of our 93 based on the octane calculation.

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That's correct, we use RON and you guys use AKI.

You can run the VP Racing MR12 fuel in it.

In europe, you mostly find RON 95 (10% ethanol, now called E10) and RON 98 (5%ethanol, now called E5)
In Germany, you even have RON 100

High RON-numbers is only usefull in engines with high compression. Fuel with a low RON-number may self-ignite (too early) in high compression engines.

My dealer advices to use RON 98
Running on RON 95 may feel as if there is a delay in response from the bike when opening throttle

Sometimes it's not the octane/grade, but how the fuel is delivered.

Here in western Canada, we have the options of 87, 89, 91, and 94 non-ethanol fuel. All (R+M)/2. Chevron with Techron.
I know that the manual says 91 (R+M)/2 as a minimum. I am very well acquainted with RON, MON, AKI, and the true effect of higher and lower octane.

Four motorcycles ago, I was told to use 94 and I trusted that wisdom. Pretty much the same as RON98 or AKI94
Not because 94 is "better" than 91.
But, because the 94 has its own hose at the Chevron pump!

The 87, 89, and 91 all come from the same (other) hose... so I would be pretty much guaranteed to receive a hoseful of the lower octane gas any time I tried to buy 91. For a 60L SUV, it wouldn't matter if the first liter was 87 and I was buying 91. For a 16L bike (where I'm typically buying 11-12L when the light goes on) it matters a LOT.

Earlier... I did try a tank of 91 and probably got a lower grade for most of the fill. Bike ran like crap.
Next fill was back to 94 (using the single-purpose hose). After half an hour or so it was like a light switch in terms of performance improvement. Race mode was beyond beastly. Grin inducing. The pronounced stuttering simply disappeared. Throttle response was again immediate and oh so smooth... and the dulcet tones of fine Italian engineering reappeared.

Yes, if I could actually get 91 with complete certainty that I was getting only 91... it would be interesting to experiment.
But 94 is just so much better and risk-free.
$0.20 per litre difference in cost (roughly $1 per US gallon).
I can afford $2.50 per fill in extra cost. Cheap smiles.

Be well.

One thing to consider is IF down the road you decide to put aftermarket exhaust on your bike and have it dynotuned (best way to get most out of the mod), your tuner will get that done with the fuel of your preference. If I am correct, V-power is only premium!