Time to switch to super
Fuel is expensive yet super unleaded (the most expensive one) can actually save you money…
Recent changes to pump fuel means it will probably be cheaper to run your bike on super unleaded than the new E10. Though super unleaded is generally five percent more expensive than E10, research has shown that can be outweighed by it giving a higher mpg figure so your cost per mile will be lower on the more expensive petrol. Bike’s sister title MCN ran tests on two identical Suzuki GSX-S1000S and found the one filled with E10 managed 198 miles per 18-litre tank, while the one using E5 super unleaded did 211.6 – a 6.9 percent difference. At current prices (E10 £1.57, super unleaded £1.63 using a price checker website), that means the cost per mile of
E10 would be 14.2p while for super unleaded it’s 13.8p. OK, so there’s not much in it, and there are plenty of variables – petrol quality varies across the UK depending on which of seven refineries it came from and what blend is used, different bikes react to the fuels differently, and the price differential between E10 and super unleaded is by no means standard. But add a possible mpg win to the other benefits of using super unleaded such as power increases and it’s almost a no-brainer.
Because super unleaded contains less ethanol than E10, it is more energy dense, which is why you get more mpg. This means you get fractionally more power and torque across the rev range and, crucially, you may find your bike runs more smoothly. Again, this is annoyingly unpredictable – it depends on the bike – but will certainly help older machines with carbs.