i like the seat of the pants approach as well...and what you say sums it up....
what i have a hard time understanding is how a few degrees of ambient temp...say the difference between a 90degree day and a 110degree day...all things being the same..would cause detonation. and change the octane requirement. piston slap i could see...but not the octane requirements.
would it be safe to say then that a bike run in the winter needs a faster flame front than a bike in the summer? even thought the operating temp of the motor itself is nearly the same?my kz1000 has a comp ratio of 8.5 to 1...at what temp should i expect that i need a higher rated octane or slower burn?
do the air/fuel molecules in the combustion chamber become so excited and expanded they spontaniously explode?whats the trigger?heat or compression if not the spark...now im talking about a perfect ,new, clean no carbon build up 8.5 to 1 motor...say in a temp controlled room...i sit this engine at say 5000rpms...and start slowly raising the temp in the room to say 200 degrees from 50 degrees. at 80 degrees all is fine with 87 octane. but at 100 degrees it starts to ping? what would happen at 150degrees?
BTW great thread!