wspollack
Well-known member
Well, this is from the owner's manual ("BMW C 400 GT Rider's manual, 2021-03, Second Edition," which is the same text as my actual printed manual, with slightly different pagination):
So it looks as if the typical USA Regular is okay.
For a discussion of those grading terms -- AKI, etc. -- I feel a reliable source is Wikipedia. Check it out:
Octane rating - Wikipedia
Me, because I do almost all of my riding in NY and CT and MA, and live in NY, and in my area a 300-store quik-e-mart change is ubiquitous, and because almost all of their stores offer ethanol-free Premium (not Regular or Mid), and because I don't ride for about five months straight and try to keep ethanol away from my bikes (and lawnmower and snowblower), I almost always fill up with their E0 Premium, which is (R+M)/2 91.
But you didn't ask about my habits, but rather about BMW's spec for this scooter. To me, it looks like the USA's Regular -- which is typically 87 (R+M)2, which is AKI 87, right? -- is "recommended" (the manual's term, not mine). (So I essentially ignore that, and go upscale + E0).
To me, what's much more interesting on that first screen grab I just posted is the statement above REFUELING, this sentence:
Do not sit on the vehicle while it is resting on the center stand.
Anyone else find that very strange? I mean, I sit on it all the time that way, as I'm about to start a ride. I suppose I can get it off the centerstand by standing up alongside the bike -- instead of first sitting on it -- but that seems much more dangerous to me, much more likely to result in a dropped bike.