Possibly the dumbest question ever

[tlh235]

New 2011 Ducati Monster 696 owner here as of 2 days ago.  My question is, which type of gas should i be using.  I did some googling and i'm finding both answers Unleaded and Premium.  thought this might be the best place to post this question...thanks.

[Spidey]

Google is giving you different answers because there's not just one right answer to that question.  I'm not sure about the new generation of monsters, but if they're like the old ones, the manual says 95.  That's a Euro measurement, which IIRC falls somewhere between 89 and 91 in US. This is a MUCH debated question (and not dumb at all).  Many will tell you to run 87 unless the engine pings.  Others will tell you to run 89 or 91.  I always ran 87.  I run 91 now b/c my engine has hi comp pistons.  

Running normal unleaded is not going to kill your engine if you run a tank or two of it.  You might want to try unleaded and premium and see if there's a difference.  Try different stations too.  People report different performance depending on brand.  I've never really felt a difference, but I've never looked that closely.

[thought]

pretty sure all the new monsters need premium due to the higher compression in the new ones vs the old ones.

my m796 manual calls for premium, and your 696 manual should say what you need too.

[jerryz]

you must use the USA Equivalent of 95 RON which is 91 PON (pump octane number)  87 is too low and will make the engines ping if use hard but at a pinch is OK for cruising or if nothing else is available .


91 is the US  equivalent of European 95 that is official from the oil companies

[Howie]

There is no real numeric equivalent.  AKI (Anti Knock Index, the octane rating system used in the US) is

                                                    RON (Research Octane Number + MON (Motor Octane Number
                                                                                                   2

Though it seems like this will give you an average number that will equate to RON it will not.  The test parameters are different. 

[tlh235]

thanks for the responses!

[jerryz]

True Howie there are subtle differences but the Nearest to 95RON as used in europe is 91MON and that is what should be used for best most consistent results