KTM-640 Fuel Question

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Teach

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Hi guys, my best pal here that I ride with has a 640 ktm and is (like all of us) tired of the rising high costs of fuel and especially the high cost of premium fuel.

He would like to know (he has no computer so can't ask himself) if anyone out there is using alternative fuels such as the kerosene it is supposed to be able to burn or moreimportantly is anyone burning regular gasoline instead of premium? Thanks

Teach....


His is a 2006 LC4_640 adventure.
 
Bearhugger

Bearhugger

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I use 89 octane in my LC8 motor with no problems. I have run 87 with no problems as well. On the LC8 the is a connection you have to remove in order to run any lower octane fuels. Not sure of the LC4 motor though but they were designed for adventure riding in places where fuel isn't always the greatest quality.
 
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sam

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My 625SMC (same engine as the 640) requires 91 RON USA or 95 ROZ (Europe?). Not sure what Canada uses RON or ROZ. It has the wire that you can unplug to burn lower octane fuel (80-94 ROZ).
 
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Bayner

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Honestly I'm not sure he would really benefit from the lower octane fuel. It's likely that it's a requirement because of compression and variables in ignition mapping based on throttle position etc. If you end up needing to modifytiming to compensate for lower octane via a disconnect or whatever method, you will hamper the performance of the powerplant. Usually results in a higher throttle input which is obviously not going to improve the fuel economy, and may actually end up coming out worse in the long run. It's also important to keep in mind that not all pinging or detonation will be audible, so running the lower octane may not result in performance problems, but engine component longevity may be affected. (Assuming there is no over-ride to allow for the use of poor quality fuels....)
 
Island Hopper

Island Hopper

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I am running my 640 in the low octane ignition setting and indeed notice poorer fuel economy and a slight power loss {still has plenty} but the engine seems to run smoother. I am now getting around 20 KM/PL which still gives me over 500 KM per tank.
 
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BMWNut

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sam wrote:
My 625SMC (same engine as the 640) requires 91 RON USA or 95 ROZ (Europe?). Not sure what Canada uses RON or ROZ. It has the wire that you can unplug to burn lower octane fuel (80-94 ROZ).
Click to expand...

Ther are two world wide standards for octane. Research octane rating, ROZ, and motor octane rating, MOZ. Just to keep everyone confused the US made a third standard pump octane which is the average of the other two. This can be seen on the pumps as "(R+M)/2 method". I thinkpump octaneis sometimes shown as AKI as well.

The pump octane numbers for Canada are: Regular (87), Mid-grade (89), Premium (91), and super-premium (94). Some brands have upped ther Premium to (92).

Usually 95 ROZ works out to 90 pump octane. Which is in between mid-grade, 89, and premium, 91.
 
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Teach

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Thanks Fellas, I have passed on the info and he seems to feel confident to go ahead and find the disconnect wires to switch over to the lower octane. With out a doubt performance and economy will be affected on lower octane fuel but will it be so much to equal the 20% difference in fuel costs between premium and regular? He doubts it. It is his daily commuter so economy is his number one motivating factor for now.

Again, thanks for the input fellas.



Teach....
 
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Teach

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Hi Guys,

here is a quick up to date on my question with regard to the KTM-640 adventure and its fuel switching capabilities. My buddy tried the above remedie as suggested here and pulled the plug to switch to the lower octane setting and is just delighted with the difference in way it runs.......smoother, no flat spot between idle and getaway, loads more low end torque, and says he just cannot believe the difference. It is excellent he says. Also asked me to post this here wishing all that helped out avery appreciative thank you.

So there you have it guys, you saved the day once again.......grin. Still think he should have bought a KLR! LOL

Teach....
 
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