Unleaded Fuel and Additives.

[bigboresuzuki]

Hi Guys,
couldn't help myself and bought another GS1000, this time a G as I had one thirty years ago.
Were the valve trains originally built to handle unleaded fuel? Thirty years ago we used Super which was leaded. The guy I bought the bike off ran 98 Octane with a cap full of Flash Lube. Some one else reckons just run the straight 98. Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere on here but I don't have time to search. Thanks for guidance.

[Burque73]

The manual on Cliff's site says this on pg 6:

FUEL
Gasoline used should be graded 85 -- 95 octaneor higher. An unleaded or low-lead gasolinetype is recommended.

Don't think I'd be able to help myself either. That's a beauty, congrats.

[Big T]

The octane issue has about 1,467 posts by now

Run the lowest octane that your bike doesn't ping on

[bigboresuzuki]

1000G.jpgHey Roger, accidentally posted the picture of the GS EC I owned last. This is what I just bought. Has a mongrel exhaust. I have to loosen it to get oil filter out...doh. Will slowly tidy her up. Thanks for help guys.

[bwringer]

I think you guys in Australia number octane differently than in the US, but basically just run the ordinary cheapest unleaded you'd dump into your Mom's Toyota and forget about it. Make sure you ride enough to keep the gas reasonably fresh. No additives are needed.

And yes, GS engines were designed from the start to use unleaded, and designed to use the lowest octane. The 8-valve engines especially do not have very high compression and do not require premium. If you get pinging you've got some other issue.

In the US, the cheap stuff is 87 octane. In Australia, that's 91 or 92, at least according to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating