Wouldn't the same amount of gas be left in the hose AFTER I pump? So I get some free 87 octane from the previous customer, and leave the same amount of (more expensive) 93 octane behind. I lose.

 

yep, it works just like a soft serve ice cream machine. when you slect mid grade it blends a 50/50 mix just like when you want vanilla and chocolate.


heres a theory i put to the test. if you buy 1 gallon exact and the counter is after the pump that would mean i would not get my full gallon if the hose holds .14- .22 of a gallon. so today with a little help from (Dallas Shanks Chevron) i measured with a marked 1 gallon beaker (shows ounces). i had the lady put 2.39 on the pump (price of a gallon) and i filled it. well i paid for a gallon and i got a gallon exact. according to my friend who owns a pump and tank retrofit service , all modern pumps after 1995 have a 2 stage pump which is high pressure and would leave very little chance of fuel being left in the hose.i was told it was bad to have gas left in the hose due to vapor expansion which can be ignited by static.i also sent a email to HUSKY the nations biggest pump builder. They should know.

 

And this financial loss is really going to matter?

 

No, turn the pump off, then hold the 'trigger' in on the nozzle, and you get whats left in the hose after you're done pumping too.

 

The Sportster must be a town bike, out on the highway you must run scared after 75 miles. I go 300 miles before looking for gas and 6-800 mile days but then it's a 76 R90s BMW. The silent rider, seen but not heard.
Not to start a flame war, I go to Hollister every year dad in 47 and 97 on bike for the 50 year reunion.

Have you tried to fill up after someones used premium?

Tuesday this week I filled the trucks 2 saddle tanks (38 gallons) with 76 medium grade, 5 miles later detonated at half throttle so switched to main tank with Valero's medium grade, detonation went away. This 76 station is Chinese run (warning). I always use Valero but they were having their tanks replaced. This wouldn't be the first time were stations sell regular as medium and expand their profit.
.....=o&o>.....

 

I don't know about you guys, but around here, the pumps all have to be inspected yearly by the county dept. of weights and measures. I'm no pump repair dude, but I would guess that the little bit of gas you get after you flip the switch (or hold in the flap) is depressurization of the line--you'd get more, but it's also going back into the underground tank. I've always done the shut-off-the-pump-then-get-the-last-few-drops routine, but I've noticed the amount of gas that comes out has gone down significantly over the years.

Just remember how much $$$$ the gas companies are making--you're not pulling any fast ones on them. They're like casinos--in the end, they always come out ahead.

Jason

 

Ok, Biker...I dont know where you are buying your gas at, but most of the gas stations i have been to lately, especially ones with newer electronic typr button pumps, when u press the button to select your fuel type, a small ammount of gas drips out when the button is pressed, i think it pushes the remaining fuel the person before had out of the lines, and then gives you your 93, even the pumps with just diesel do this as well cuz i pressed the button for diesel to fill up my truck and forgot about the dripping out and it got all over my hands and m boots. I dont know if this is really what its doing, but im not even squeazing the handle im just pushing the button take a look the next time you get gas...oh and ive never heard a harley called a horse, other bikes yes but down here harleys are always called HOGS even if they are sportsters!

 

A Ducati friend of mine is standing behind me as I type, he wants to know if HOG means the bike or the rider?
.....=o&o>.....

 

Harley Owners Group!!!!!!! Life Member since 86.
A true rider dosnt care what you ride as long as you ride,most of us just dont like wanabes.(talk the talk but dont ride the ride).
I used to ride 10-15 thou a year dose that make me a BIKER!.I think not..Ive riden harley's sence 1978.Do I call myself a biker NO.MotorcycleEthuseist(Spl)YES.
I DO NOT LIKE PEOPLE THAT THINK THEY ARE BETTER THEN YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY RIDE.
And belive you me i've seen alot in my 25 plus years of riding,
Back to HOG,it might be the girl on the back of your bike if you want it to be.
But i'll tell you what!never ask a rider what the name of his hog is on the back of his bike,you might not live long enough to say sorry.
With this said.Yes HOG pertains to bike not rider or passanger not unless you have good Ins.

 

As someone who worked in the gasoline business for almost 10 years as a driver, mid grade is NOT a 50/50 blend. Migrade is generally a 35%/65% 93 octane/87 octane blend (you'd have to ask a teminal operator why that is the blend required to make 89). It also is generally either mixed at your local dealer or at the loading rack by the driver. All loading racks will NOT allow a bad blend of midgrade to leave the property...the driver will not get his paperwork...and the oil companies know their products are subject to testing at any time either at the terminal or at the dealer. Massive fines for mis-labeled product.

I can't tell you the number of times I had to pump out a cross-dropped tank (87 into a midgrade or premium tank)! Or the amount of money lost when either 93 or 89 octane is dropped into a 87 tank...the delivery company eats the difference as the dealer can sell it as 87, but NOT 89 or 93.

Why is gasoline more expensive at a "branded" dealer? The amount of additive and the amount of testing done by the "branded" companies. I used to load a name brand and a generic brand out of the same terminal....the "branded" product had almost 8X as much proprietary additive as the generic brand had of government mandated minimum quality additives. Additives to make the difference.

Generally most base (same octane) gasoline is the same, but some companies have seperate tanks for generic and branded base gasoline. I pulled 89 octane (not blended!) out of one terminal...it consistenty test out at 93+ octane before the additive!! Something for nothing. But there is a brand that use sub-grade (below 85 octane/not legal for sale) and then adds minimum additve and ethanol to get it up to 87 octane. The crazy thing is this company has the BEST facilties and the newest, most modern fleet for delivering their product!

You get what you pay for. Buyer beware.

Mark

 

I don't care what kind of bike anybody else rides - I salute 'em all. I even hang the biker salute out to the scooters, sometimes even the bicycles out of reflex! I do have my own preference for manufacturer, but that's another matter. It certainly doesn't make me better than anybody else.

I googled "Harley horse" and got over 4 million hits. Iron horse once meant railroad to native americans, but it's commonly applied to motorcycles these days. Stick around, you may find I have many other names for my bike too.

I'm comfortable calling myself a biker and don't really care if some would disagree. It's in my blood - I gotta have it.

It's true, we're talkin pennies here, the cost is trivial. What's really bugging me is that I can't get a tank full of 93 octane. It's contaminated with a small amount of 87 octane. How much? I feel like I know a little more now about that now, and I appreciate that.

Those who suggest draining the last few drops out of the hose are missing my point. What do I do when I get to the pump, use the cutoff switch to pour out the leftover 87 octane on the ground before I fill up? Nevermind whether that really eliminates all of the 87 or just some of it.

I'm learning a lot here, sometimes it's a tangent but that doesn't always make it less interesting to me. My amature ideas about the resulting octane from blending various octanes was innacurate (so what) but the principle is sound. I pump 93 octane, I pay for 93 octane, I get something less than 93 octane. The lucky guy with the corvette gets the same thing when he pumps 93 octane but the hose full of 87 octane he started with is a tiny fraction of the tankfull of gas he buys, not enough to matter. A coworker I often ride with is on a Yamaha YZF R6. His tank is 3x the size of mine. My particular bike has one of the smallest fuel tanks around - so it's proportionally more relevent than for most other vehicles. I just wonder(ed) how much.

To those who suggest I fillup AFTER somebody who uses premium I say - it's great when it works out that way, but 87 is much more commonly purchased, so the odds are against me. I can't see checking all the pumps everytime, or waiting around until somebody comes and buys premium - not practical.

 

With the salute return from other bikers that's a bunch of bull. I go every year to Hollisters 4th, let it be on the 75 BMW, 61 Matchless or 74 Norton I'll get maybe a 20% return salute. Rode a 95 FSDX one year and the salutes were in the 90% plus range. On the open highway in general it's 75% but then they are group who enjoy riding not a brand ego thing. Over the years this brand name cult thing has become an obsession to many, I have seen the change over the short time I've been on the road, since 1966.
.....=o&o>.....

 

beemer nut....just curious, what island are you on in the SF bay??? angel island? sorry got family there so im jus wondering

 

I speak only for myself - you'll get 100% return from me. I don't know if your experience is typical but here in Vermont things are different. Here the brotherhood of bikers seems to ignore brand mostly if not completely. Biker salutes seem to be 98% offered and 98% returned. Credit to the non-Harley riders here too, they often beat me to the salute when I'm workin the clutch lever or some other control. I get so used to it I find myself saluting bikers from my truck!

BTW, you might want to check a calendar or something. 1966 was 40 years ago!!! I think that qualifies as a long time, but I know, it's all relative. To me sir, you are a veteran biker. (salute)

 

I lost dad in 11-02, he was 80 and was riding bike up to the last two months.
He was in Hollister in 47 on a Speed Twin Triumph (Hollister was a "Gypsy Tour" not a Harley convention back then) as well he was at the 50th in 1997. It put tears in my eyes to see him interviewed by channel 11 news and then he thumped off on his 500 Matchless (home made bike). He sold the 37 Crocker in 64, damn better running and looking than a Harley. With 9 bikes and a Handy lift i'm hooked on scooters. I was in the dirt 5 years with a Bultaco 250 until almost legal on the street with a 58 500 Matchless, mag retard bang boom around the high school that was a me thing.
Back on subject, on the road in the truck I salute bikers all the time, even lane splitters I move over to give them room and they salute thanks.
I about crashed 3 years ago as I was with the family in the cager and that "wheelie Group" from the S.F. bay area of 8 riders that ride for miles one wheeled passed me at 65 mph, what a thrill I was laughing so hard, "War Department" (wife) was pissed.
It's those rice rockets that have a life expectancy of a fly that give real bikers a bad name but then their not around the following season, splat!
Last fall at 6:00 am on the highway I was passed by a Harley group of 23 bikers, I was on my 76 R90s show bike and every one gave me the wave and salute hell it's Daytona Orange you can't miss it. Back in the the 60's dad and I used to go to Bonnie as well SoCal dry lakes where he did speed runs. Strange to see a 30 incher beat a 74 incher in mph as well at the drags back then. You ain't a biker unless you've been up Lombard Street in S.F., my son will be the 4th generation, oops did I break the law?
Ride safe this season, Carl.
.....=o&o>.....