I received my 13# Motiv Octane Monday, and I must say that I am deeply disappointed in it's initial performance. It is drilled 40 x 3 7/8 x 65 with pin under RF. I have slower speed like 13-14 mph and revs on the low side of medium. PAP is 4 x 1/4 up. As for tilt and etc, I have no idea what they are. The ball simply doesn't move well regardless of lane condition it is thrown on. In fact it moves very-very little when it does move and the pin hit/carry is not good.

I previously have purchased the Thrash Frenzy, Primal Scream, and Primal Rage all of which are drilled some what in the area of the Octane and of which all balls were winners from the first throw out of the box, but the Octane isn't even close to being a winner. In fact at the moment I wish I hadn't even bought the ball as it performs that bad.

So, my question is ... has anyone else experienced anything similar with the Octane, and if so, what cover stock adjustments did they make to make the ball work if they were able to make it work?
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without release specs we cant make an accurate assessment. i ever put a layout like that on something it would hook at my feet and do nothing. also the two primals are asymmetrical arent they?

Another stab in dark could be the types of covers on these balls.  From what I have seen, the Octane's cover is an extremely fast reacting cover.  The Fusion pearl cover is pretty quick also but not as quick.  Combine that with the slower speed and less revs, it could be that once it sees friction, it is simply reacting immediately and leaving you with nothing at the pins.

And cheech, the Primals are also symmetrical.  The only asymmetricals Motiv has come out with are the Raptors, Cruels and Jackal.

Try a coat or 2 of neotac control-it or another polish with a slip agent in it......

I would compare your Thrash Frenzy to the Octane if same or close to same layout and same surface and report back on how they react.  Same core different covers.  Gotta believe the Agility SFX is a slightly stronger cover than Whiplash Pearl.  But rhey are close in numbers and oil handling ability.  Both listed by Motiv as late hook.

Like to hear how they compare on same lane condition.  To me that would be a very good comparison.

I would like to hear this also.  Even though the Thrash Frenzy was "late hook" by Motiv, it wouldn't be today by their current standards.  The Whiplash cover is not the same as the Agility SFX.

I really hope the ball will work.  I just have seen so many slower bowlers struggle immensely with quick reacting covers.

Quote from: scotts33 on November 10, 2014, 07:03:36 AM

I would compare your Thrash Frenzy to the Octane if same or close to same layout and same surface and report back on how they react.  Same core different covers.  Gotta believe the Agility SFX is a slightly stronger cover than Whiplash Pearl.  But rhey are close in numbers and oil handling ability.  Both listed by Motiv as late hook.

Like to hear how they compare on same lane condition.  To me that would be a very good comparison.

I would like to hear this also.  Even though the Thrash Frenzy was "late hook" by Motiv, it wouldn't be today by their current standards.  The Whiplash cover is not the same as the Agility SFX.

I really hope the ball will work.  I just have seen so many slower bowlers struggle immensely with quick reacting covers.

Does this mean that I may have gone in the wrong direction in removing the polish and finishing the ball with a 2000 grit sanding? (3000 LSS per Motiv''s chart)

Meanwhile, I will see what happens with what I did to cover stock

Ok, it appears that the direction I have initially taken of 500/1000/2000 sanding with Saair Pads doing 4 sides with each grit and 15 seconds each side, may be a step in the right direction. The shot wasn't good by any means today, yet I had somewhat decent movement on the back-end and the ball carried decent considering the lane conditions. That was much better than I had on the NIB coverstock as the NIB coverstock refused to move much at all and the hit/carry was bad. ( sort of like a sack of mashed potatos ) The ball seemed to retain decent energy for the back-end today.

I will be bowling in a league tomorrow on hopefully  a fresh THS. Will see how the ball reacts there. At the moment, I feel more encouraged than when I got the ball.

Scotts, in reference to my TF it was a success from the first throw out of the box with no cover adjustment needed. It has a ton of games on it and recently needed resurfacing. I followed the Motiv instructions for 5500 LSS Polished and it returned to NIB performance for me.

I bowled 4 games on the used so-so lanes today with the Octane trying different lines and hunting where it worked best. I did have to move in a bit with the Octane today and had some success there. Previously the Octane did nothing when I moved in, out or anywhere else for that matter, so that was a positive. The only problem with my moving in,  is I have never been a move left-throw out bowler. Have never had much success doing that, probably because of my low revs hindering it to get back to the pocket when it sniffed the dry.

Anyhow I didn't throw the TF enough today to get a good comparison as I wanted to get keyed in with the Octane as much as possible to see what this coverstock thing was going to do. Will do that another time. The few throws I did throw with the TF, the ball hooked a bit earlier and had a smoother arcing move on the back end whereas the Octane went longer and turned harder and a wee bit shorter (boards covered) when it turned. The Octane did seem to hit a bit harder with what appeared to be a bit more retained energy and it did not come close to that before the coverstock change.

I didn't count them, but it appeared that I "may" have had a few more strikes than I normally get, but that may be due to 13# now vs 12# previously. However with the TF I do have a wee bit more speed and "maybe" revs, but my revs and speed seemed to pick up a bit the 4th game as I got more comfortable with the Octane.