2013 Owners, MPG better in Touring or Sport Mode?

[SoCalFJR1300]

Have any of you noticed if you get better MPG in Touring Mode VS Sport Mode or is it about the same??

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Don't know why this double posted I only hit it once and waited the 3 minutes for it to post??

 

[jayke]

I switch back and forth between Sport and Touring. Averaging around 40 MPG. The bike will show ECO at steady throttle in either mode.

I think MPG is more about how much you twist the throttle. I always get better mileage with the wife on the back. Her screaming in my ear tends to reduce the amount of throttle twisting hence better mileage.

 

[cota95]

Touring mode is so anemic that I never use it so I can't tell.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

i think touring mode gives a little better mpg, since the fuel delivery is more even (simulates less twisting of the throttle). I like the touring mode, as the sport mode is almost too much sport. I probably use T mode 95% of the time.

 

[CA G-Man]

i think touring mode gives a little better mpg, since the fuel delivery is more even (simulates less twisting of the throttle). I like the touring mode, as the sport mode is almost too much sport. I probably use T mode 95% of the time.

+1.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Touring mode is so anemic that I never use it so I can't tell.

I finally got a chance to ride mine yesterday. I doubt I will ever use touring mode.

 

[CopB8]

I use Touring mode 90% of the time that my wife's on the bike and Sport mode 100% of the time when it's just me.

I prefer the feel of Sport but Touring 'smooths' everything out when you have a passenger. When two up and in a constant 2 lane passing mode I'll leave it in Sport for the quick response. At first I couldn't imagine using Touring but now it makes a bit more sense.

I haven't noticed any significant difference in the two because when in Touring we're two up.

 

[Fairlaner]

i get better gas mileage in touring than i do with the truck.....and the truck gets double the gas mileage that the Fairlane gets.....But i get really really good gas mileage when the FJR is in the back of the truck......

R

 

[Old Guy]

I've read in one of the magazines that there's no difference in mapping between the two modes, and that it just changes how the throttle operates. I know I can ride mine with much less throttle movement in Sport mode than Tour mode. I have ridden about 40 of my 2000 miles in Tour mode, but that was enough to know that I do not like it. If anyone gets better mileage in Tour, I suspect it's just because they're riding more conservatively.

 

[tyronewildman]

I have noticed, in the S mode, that the ECO button is only on with steady throttle. Any twist of the wrist it goes out, where as in the T mode, you gotta twist pretty good to make it go out. This tells me that T mode=better gas milage. I can't ride a tankfull in either mode to find out! Later,,,De

 

[Bustanut joker]

Seems kinda obvious.. Touring, if you read it right, is the sedate mode.. Sport hedges towards the performance side.

If that in fact..stands to be true?? Pretty obvious which is the fuel saving mode.

 

[Old Guy]

Found it: The February 2013 issue of Motorcyclist. Talking about the two modes:

Yamaha says that id did not sacrifice any power in Touring mode, it's simply a programming trick that softens power delivery. Touring mode is just that; very soft.

I've read somewhere else that the fuel mapping doesn't change, but darned if I can find it now.

It just seems to me as if I've added a quicker throttle in Sport mode. I can get it to do the same thing in Tour mode, but it takes a lot more twisting on the throttle. The ECO light does go off quicker in Sport mode, but I've assumed it's just because it's the equivalent of a much bigger turn in Tour mode. It comes back on almost immediately if I hold a steady throttle.

FWIW, I went on a ride with a Goldwing buddy a couple of weekends ago and got 47.7 mpg average for the 417 mile day and ran Sport mode all day -- 48.8 on one tank. We were running crooked Arkansas roads at 65 to 70 mph on the straights, but I was running a light throttle coming out of corners and such to keep from running over him

It'd be hard to get a definitive answer because mileages will change tank to tank anyway, but so far, I've got 1991 miles on the bike, and I've averaged 44.4 mpg (I keep a spreadsheet). I've run about 40 miles in Tour mode, and I couldn't stand it any more. The rest of those miles have been Sport, and it'll stay that way.

 

[steveoreno]

I only use the tour mode when riding with my friend who has an old Honda Shadow 750, if I use sport he can't keep up. No difference in mileage that I can tell.

 

[CA G-Man]

Sort of funny, isn't it, how on other parts of this forum you can read threads with titles like "Taming of the Throttle" where guys talk about all the after-market mods they have done to "smooth the abruptness" of their earlier generation FJRs, then when Yamaha gives us a choice of "smooth vs. abrupt" in the 2013 there's a bunch of guys sneering that the touring mode is too wimpy. I think that's why we were given a choice - if you like sport mode, ride it in sport. If you prefer the smooth transitions offered by touring mode, ride it that way. If you like a different response for different situations, change with the press of a button!

As for fuel economy, I think that Touring mode is best viewed as a throttle damper. I'm pretty sure that for any given (maintained) throttle position you will end up at the same RPM/power output in either mode, but in Sport mode the change is a lot quicker. I also don't think there's any dispute that smooth throttle application will result in better fuel economy, so just on a purely theoretical level, I don't think there can be any doubt that Touring mode should result in better economy. Measuring that empirically on the road is likely impossible with all the other variables at play (a stronger twist of the wrist 1 time coming out of 1 corner would skew the results).

 

[Old Guy]

Well said, CA G-Man. I like the phrase "throttle damper." That says what I was trying to say; only better.

Personally, I find that the throttle is smooth in S mode; I just don't have to turn it much. But ,then, I've tried for years to be economical in my actions on a bike (even in a car, actually). If a person is more abrupt in his/her throttle hand, the T mode may be of benefit.

 

[deanw]

Don't like Touring mode? downshift once in a while; above 4500 or so it's all the same.

Any MPG difference will be Sport Mode being slightly less as it tries to respond to your input more quickly.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Seems kinda obvious.. Touring, if you read it right, is the sedate mode.. Sport hedges towards the performance side.If that in fact..stands to be true?? Pretty obvious which is the fuel saving mode.

I would have thought the same as you but so far, those that have responded say it's about the same in either mode.

 

[Old Guy]

Seems kinda obvious.. Touring, if you read it right, is the sedate mode.. Sport hedges towards the performance side.If that in fact..stands to be true?? Pretty obvious which is the fuel saving mode.

I would have thought the same as you but so far, those that have responded say it's about the same in either mode.

It also stands to reason that if you use Sport for more aggressive riding and Tour for a more sedate ride, you'll get better mileage in Tour. I've always gotten better mileage on a sedate ride on every motorcycle I've owned, and none of them had the switch.