Hi John:

I keep a ST1100 in Switzerland, I've ridden it 60,000 miles all over the place in the last 5 years.

I pretty much agree with what Bruce has said. I can't remember ever seeing a gas station in an EC country that didn't sell premium grade fuel. Maybe in rural Poland or Romania, perhaps, but certainly you won't have any concerns about getting premium fuel in Western or Central Europe.

Buying fuel after-hours (nights and weekends) can be a PITA in France, but as Bruce mentioned, all you have to do is wait until a local comes along to fill up their car (using a credit card), and swap them cash. Just be sure to have a few 10 or 20 Euro notes on you (you can't expect someone to have change). I have never had any difficulty doing this, as soon as the locals see you are from out of the country they instinctively comprehend your problem. Heck, my Swiss credit card doesn't work in most French gas stations! That notwithstanding, France is a great place, don't miss it. However, if you ever need to buy (for example) a can of Coke, a pack of cigarettes, and a newspaper, just be aware that you are going to have to visit three separate shops to accomplish that task.

Ethanol doesn't seem to have caught on in Europe. It's big in North America because there are huge swaths of land available to grow the corn. In Europe, farms are not so big, and the farmers can make more money growing other stuff. I would not be too concerned at all about the ethanol.

Although Luxembourg does have cheap fuel, Switzerland has even cheaper fuel. Netherlands and the UK have the highest prices.