There have been many products over the years that claim to boost the octane rating of petrol, thereby unlocking more power from your engine. While it is easy to be slightly cynical about the efficacy of such products, independent testing does seem to corroborate the claims made by the manufacturers.
Carburettors used to have their problems but they were far less finicky and infinitely easier (or more accessible) to work on than modern fuel injection systems. However, fuel injection is far more reliable and economical, surely important in this day and age.
Which makes it all the more important to look after your fuel injection systems. While it might seem there is little you can do, a new product from Motul promises to not only enhance performance by boosting the octane rating but also, adds an important cleaning function.
Motul Boost and Clean can be used in any type of engine – two-stroke and four-stroke – and irrespective of whether it runs on carburettors or fuel injection. Besides boosting the octane rating of petrol, it also helps clean carburettors, injectors, valves, transfer ports and combustion chambers. The cleaning property is especially important in fuel injection pipes and nozzles as they tend to be very fine and easily clogged.
It also works very well for motorcycles that are likely to be laid up or simply not used for a while, Boost and Clean prevents fuel residue build-up, which can lead to all sorts of problems when you come to start it after a few months (if it will start, that is!).
Bjorn Moreira (ZA Bikers) who owns a collectable 1994 Aprilia RS 250, had this to say:
“Heading into Spring has got many lucky petrol-heads uncovering and rolling out their vintage or classic bikes for a ride. Most of us have a whole set routine, almost like a pilot has; fuel tap on, choke back, a few blips from the throttle and a kick or two. That first puff of blue 2-stroke coming out of the expansion pipes always gets me smiling and the next few minutes of warming the motor before the ride, lets that 2-stroke cologne set in.
“There are ups and downs to owning an almost 30-year-old motorcycle, one being parts are scarce and the latter being that today’s pumped fuel is of a lower grade.
“Most high-performance vintage two-strokes were built to run on the premium octane fuel of that period. However, those octane numbers are long gone. In addition, today’s fuel is also loaded with varying percentages of ethanol and oxygenates that did not exist back in the day. The result is that any vintage two-stroke (being ridden aggressively) needs to be modified to live happily with the increased detonation risks of today’s pump fuel, or even be mechanically prepared to operate reliably on a well-thought-out mix of “higher octane” options.
“With silly money already being spent on rebuilding my Aprilia’s motor, these are risks I’m not willing to take, welcome Motul’s Boost and Clean. I’ve used Boost and Clean for the last 2 months with two full tanks of fuel and I’ve noticed a significant difference. Where I’ve noticed the main difference is under start up, the ‘RS’ starts up way easier (we talking 2 kicks instead of 12), which makes me believe that the 2 octane bump up and the special additives in Boost and Clean are in fact keeping the fuel system clean and away from harmful buildup.
“My reason for using Motul’s Boost and Clean has nothing to do with enhancing performance, but rather to keep and maintain my RS’s original performance going into the future. It is definitely a product that I will be using almost religiously going forward and it’s a product that I can highly recommend to anyone who has an older motorcycle or one that stays in storage for months on end” said Bjorn Moreira.
Obviously, the benefits of this cleaning action on both running and resting engines will only be seen over a long period and therefore, impossible to assess over a short period of time, but anything that might prevent problems further down the line is to be welcomed.
One aspect of the product we could test immediately was the ‘Boost’ element. I tried a bottle of Motul Boost and Clean in a Hero XPulse 200, adding a bottle to a full tank of petrol (13 litres). We thought this was the best way of testing the product, as the Hero’s 18bhp and 17Nm could really do with a bit of a boost. Motul claims an increase of 2-2.5 octane ratings, so your 95 should be increased to 97 octane or thereabouts.
Boost and Clean didn’t turn those 18 horses into 36 thoroughbred stallions, but the engine did feel as if it had a little more pep to it. Okay, so we ran a test over a couple of weeks, whereby we tried a tank without the Boost and Clean and then another tank with the Boost and Clean, to make sure that we didn’t imagine things. We can report that we were not imagining things. There was definitely more pep-in-its-step with the Boost and Clean added than without, albeit very slight improvements.
Motul recommends you put in a bottle every two full tanks of fuel. It doesn’t matter how many litres your tank holds: Motul states that a 200ml bottle is good for 20 litres but no harm will come to your engine if you put a whole bottle into a 12-litre tank. Of course, you have to work out for yourself if it is worth adding to the cost of filling up by adding a bottle every second time but apart from the short-term benefits of enhanced performance, what has to be remembered is the long-term benefits of keeping your fuel system in good order.
Don’t just take our word for it, here is what Hippocrates Bogiages (Business Technical Manager at Motul South Africa) had to say:
“I highly recommend including Motul Boost and Clean in your regular motorcycle maintenance routine, this additive is designed to both enhance the performance and longevity of your engine. This additive increases the octane number of your fuel, promoting better combustion, which will ensure the preservation of combustion chamber cleanliness while cleaning carburettors and injectors and preventing the formation of any deposits. To add to this, Boost and Clean will also disperse condensed water that may be in the system, it really is an all-round win that not only improves engine performance but your riding pleasure too” said Hippocrates Bogiages.
Wow, that’s very interesting information from Motul’s technical manager. Tell you what… we pay a fortune for our beloved motorcycles, therefore, if an oil company as advanced as Motul has developed a product to enhance and maintain the reliability of our engines, then, I don’t know about you but from our perspective, putting a few tins a month into our motorcycles is a small price to pay knowing that we have done all we can, to keep the heart of our beloved motorcycles in tip-top condition.
You can find Motul Boost and Clean at any dealer who stocks Motul products.
MOTUL Boost and Clean
For more information on the product featured in this article, click on the link below…
