When you fill up, put regular gas in and not premium. Our bikes are designed to run best on 87.
My 99 ran best on mid grade... less backfiring and popping...
my 06 pops less on mid too... but it gets better gas mileage on regular.... and it hasn't been doing the gunshot like my 99 did unless I ran mid...
Premium didn't get me any more mileage on my 99 nor any power... haven't tried it on my 06 yet....
but unless it was an exception on the last tank when I was riding the hell out of the bike... I got better mileage on regular with my last tank than mid...
I've not had the bike long enough yet to get a good tracking of fuel mileage... but so far it looks ok on regular.... and I save 5 cents a liter (about 20 cents a gallon)
some SV bikes run better with premium.. some with regular.. it just depends on how the bike is tuned at the time...
It was just weird how my 99 would be firing off shots left right and center at 4000-4500 rpm on engine braking every single time when I ran regular or premium.... but when I went to mid grade the gun shots went away....
I generally run mid grade on most of my vehicles... unless they ping and then I go to premium...
if you play with the timing eg advance the ignition then you need higher octane... otherwise.. go with regular or whatever you find works the best in the bike.... but to tell.. run 3 or 4 full tanks of a specific grade before you make your decision