Should You Use Premium Gas In A BMW Motorcycle?

BMW is a major player in the global motorcycling space, and over the years, has evolved into one of the world's best motorcycle brands. The company has a significant presence in the U.S. market as well, and sells a wide variety of motorcycles across various segments in the U.S., targeting a very diverse set of customers. With such a broad lineup, it's natural for owners to wonder what grade of fuel their particular BMW needs. Given the premium positioning of BMW products, many assume that BMW motorcycles demand nothing less than high-octane, premium fuel.

As it turns out, that really isn't the case. We decided to check out several motorcycles currently listed on BMW's U.S. website to determine the recommended fuel type for most of these vehicles. At the end of the exercise, we came up with interesting results. For those looking for the short answer to whether BMW motorcycles requires premium gas, the answer is: "only some of them do."

We scoured through the user manuals of most BMW motorcycles sold in the U.S., and our investigation revealed that only a handful, entry level motorcycles in BMW's lineup are designed to use regular gasoline (87 AKI or 87 octane). The majority of BMW motorcycles sold in the U.S. use mid-grade (89/90 AKI) gasoline, while only a handful of high end superbikes from the company are the ones that need fuel with the highest octane rating (between 91 and 94 AKI). Below, we list various BMW motorcycles on the basis of their recommended fuel type. Note that we use the term AKI and octane interchangeably in this article. In the U.S. context, both mean the same thing.

It may seem odd to see BMW motorcycles that require the lowest octane rating grouped together with those that require the highest octane fuel. Well, the reason for that is fairly straightforward. As explained earlier, we only have a few motorcycles from the company that fall into either of these categories. Upon investigating, we found that there are three motorcycles in the company's current U.S. lineup actually recommend using regular 87 octane fuel. These include the BMW G310GS, the BMW F900R, and the BMW G310R.

As for the motorcycles that need the absolute best, highest grade fuel for optimum performance, these include the BMW S1000 RR, the S1000 XR, the M1000 RR, and the S1000 R. According to each bike's user manual, the recommended fuel is Premium Unleaded 93 octane gasoline.

Note that the manual also talks about using lower octane fuel in case the highest grade fuel isn't available, but even the lower octane recommendation is higher than regular 87 octane fuel. So, each of these premium superbikes can downgrade to 90 octane fuel, but going below that is not recommended.

The vast majority of BMW's motorcycles use what is colloquially known as mid-grade fuel. These have a higher octane rating than regular gasoline, but are positioned lower than premium fuel. These fuels usually have an octane rating of 89 or 90 AKI.

The BMW motorcycles that require mid-grade 89 or 90 octane fuel spans a wide variety of segments. Most of the company's adventure and touring models demand 89 or 90 AKI fuel. These include machines like the R1300 GS, the R1300 GS Adventure, the R1300 RS, and all models in the F900 GS lineup (except for the F900 R, which uses standard 87 octane fuel). The BMW F800 GS, as well as the recently introduced F 450 GS, also need 89 AKI fuel (also referred to as 95 RON in some documentation). As for touring machines, BMW's popular touring motorcycles, including the K1600 lineup (K1600 GTL, K1600 GT, K1600B, K1600 Grand America), all need either 89 or 90 octane fuel. Another machine that prefers 90 AKI fuel is the BMW R1300 RT. BMW's premium scooter, the C400 GT, also requires 90 octane fuel.

BMW's extensive range of heritage models also falls into this category, with motorcycles from the R18 series (R 18, R 18 Classic, and the R 18 Transcontinental) mandating the use of 89 or 90 AKI fuel. The company's R 12 series (which includes the R 12 G/S, R 12 S, and the standard BMW R 12) also requires 90 AKI fuel. Given that you now have a clearer idea of the recommended fuel grade for most BMW motorcycles, has your perception of these machines changed?