48.6 MPG Combined Hwy and County Rds.

[Bungie]

The Ninjette will cruise at 80+ all day long and still has some punch remaining for passing. Bill

Ya but, we have the FJR for that

The CBR has no problems on the hwy and is better engine around town. I had a 94 (PreGen) Ninja that I sold when I bought the CBR so I know a bit of what I speak (the pregen are faster than the current crop).

 

[SkooterG]

Well I continue to get super-high efficiency and am really surprised at that.

Filled up today. 276 miles before reserve hit. 334 miles to the tank! 6.45 gallons in for 51.8 mpg. Distance to reserve and total miles to a single tank are both records for me. I guess at 109,000 miles the engine is finally getting broken in! :lol:

Of course it was a little bit different 6 weeks ago while running the TLAE rally and doing an 1800+ BBG.

 

[TripperMike]

This thread is really beginning to chaffe my hide. Until late last summer I was getting 40+ commuting to work and back, and 50 a few times on longer trips.

NOW I get right around 37/38 mpg whether I'm commuting or taking a long trip. THAT SUX!

OK so I've done a few "alterations" to the bike in that time, but the mileage was going downhill months after some of them were done:

Trooper mod

Air box mod (2 one inch holes on the starboard side)

Iridium spark plugs

CT (I knew this would dent the mpg a little)

CalSci Large (was running OEM w/ laminar lip previously when I got good mpg's)

And finally, I've run synthetic oil along with a K & N filters ever since I've owned the bike, about 7 yrs.

Moral of this story is (for me anyways) don't phuck with a good thing.

Mike

 

[Bungie]

Filled up today. 276 miles before reserve hit. 334 miles to the tank! 6.45 gallons in for 51.8 mpg. Distance to reserve and total miles to a single tank are both records for me. I guess at 109,000 miles the engine is finally getting broken in! :lol:

300 projected. Has anybody done 300 on a tank for real? Should be within easy reach.

 

[SkooterG]

Filled up today. 276 miles before reserve hit. 334 miles to the tank! 6.45 gallons in for 51.8 mpg. Distance to reserve and total miles to a single tank are both records for me. I guess at 109,000 miles the engine is finally getting broken in! :lol:

300 projected. Has anybody done 300 on a tank for real? Should be within easy reach.

??? Huh?

I've done 300 miles to a tank many times. This past tank above ^^^^ I went 334 *actual* miles between fill-ups.

 

[dcarver]

56.3 this trip.

.

.

.

On Wabs, dl650

 

[Bungie]

300 projected. Has anybody done 300 on a tank for real? Should be within easy reach.

I've done 300 miles to a tank many times. This past tank above ^^^^ I went 334 *actual* miles between fill-ups.

Ah. I misunderstood. The way it was written it sounded like you did 276 then did the math to get the range of 334.

Dayum. Nicely done Greg. Usually I'm out in the hinterlands when I run up the miles like that and HAVE TO get gas at the next stop.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You guys don't ride fast enough.

 

[SkooterG]

You guys don't ride fast enough.

Riding fast is dangerous. I never do that.

 

[WBill]

Ah, yes. But that same air is also less dense as part of the fuel air mixture...

WBill

I have often wondered WHY does the FJ get better mpg at altitude and hot weather. This I'm convinced of - FJ's get better mpg when the air-fuel mixture is richened-up. So why does the mpg take a **** on a cold day. I think the ECU is programmed to assist in maintaining a constant engine temp. On a hot day it richens the mixture. Conversely on a cold day it leans out.

Sorry, but I think you are completely wrong on this. Generally speaking, ANY vehicle is more efficient with a leaner mixture and less so with a richer one.

As for why better efficiency with high altitude and hotter temperatures? It's quite simple: Less air resistance. Period.

As altitude and temperature goes up, the air becomes less dense. Less dense air = less air resistance for any vehicle to overcome. Less air resistance means the engine needs to make less power, (which means less fuel) to maintain a certain speed.

 

[FJR Bill]

My favorite stretch of Arizona asphalt: Clicky.

Another nice stretch a bit further on: Clicky. Also where my last crash occurred but they have since repaved so all the crappy pavement is gone! :yahoo:

And never saw him before, but now a 'Killboy' copycat is located there. Wish he would have been in a better corner. My 'action' shot: Clicky.

Thread creep but hey Scooter started it. Recently drove 89A and 89 in Arizona and consider it the highlight of my Florida to California, Florida FJR trip. Can't wait to revisit it. If anyone rides thru AZ this is a MUST DO.

Bill

 

[SkooterG]

Well, the insanity continues. Did a nice 535 miles today getting up the Arizona high country and the quaint little town of Greer, AZ where it was only in the mid 70s!!! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Anywho, relaxed riding at high altitudes up to 9,200 feet resulted in some incredible fuel mileage. I thinks perhaps my best yet. Get this - I didn't hit reserve until 291 miles on the tank!!! I am willing to wager that will never happen again. No record setting miles per tank as I had to fill before being close to empty due to scarcity of stations, but I did put 332 miles on the tank and 6.03 gallons in for 55.0 mpg!!!

Even I am amazed at this.

 

[Bugnatr]

Sunday I did a little ride that included a lot of time in the triple digits between Pyramid Lake, Nv. and Cedarville Ca and still got over 41.5mpg. Doesn't that equal 57 mpg at the speed limit in the new math?

Perhaps breakfast at the country club helped :lol:

 

[phroenips]

Just got back from NAFO today, with some detours before and after, of course. Looking at my records, I ranged from 29.96mpg with a strong headwind on I-90, up to 53.1mpg while cruising down Lolo pass (on the 55mph Idaho side)...all within the course of one ride. Same rider, same bike, fairly close weather all throughout (except altitude). Average was 43.11mpg for this trip (43.99mpg all time average since I've had it)

 

[SkooterG]

Spent three days in southwestern Colorado last week. One of my favorite places in the whole wide world! Beautiful and cool. High altitude riding. Mostly between 8,000' and 12,000'.

On two tanks I hit reserve at 280 miles. On one tank I hit reserve and 287 miles and filled up with 343 miles on the tank. Fuel mileage was 52.5 - 53.6 mpg for these tanks. And get this - this was with a car tire mounted. I usually get less mpg with a car tire and the car tire is larger in diameter than a moto tire which effects my odometer a little bit. All those numbers should actually be about 3% higher if I had a normal moto tire installed. So reserve on that one tank with a moto tire would have come at 295 miles, and I would have got 353 miles to the tank for about 55.5 mpg!!!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Spent three days in southwestern Colorado last week. One of my favorite places in the whole wide world! Beautiful and cool. High altitude riding. Mostly between 8,000' and 12,000'.

On two tanks I hit reserve at 280 miles. On one tank I hit reserve and 287 miles and filled up with 343 miles on the tank. Fuel mileage was 52.5 - 53.6 mpg for these tanks. And get this - this was with a car tire mounted. I usually get less mpg with a car tire and the car tire is larger in diameter than a moto tire which effects my odometer a little bit. All those numbers should actually be about 3% higher if I had a normal moto tire installed. So reserve on that one tank with a moto tire would have come at 295 miles, and I would have got 353 miles to the tank for about 55.5 mpg!!!

I have a question for you on this. Very few of the roads at high altitude are straight, they are mostly curves. Is it possible that because the bike spends so much time leaning onto the side of the tire that it is in effect changing the gear ratio? It is apparent with the car tire that the diameter is larger on the side than the motorcycle tire. Could this create a "higher" final drive ratio? Of course that would only be valid if you were staying in 5th and you probably aren't...

 

[SkooterG]

I have a question for you on this. Very few of the roads at high altitude are straight, they are mostly curves. Is it possible that because the bike spends so much time leaning onto the side of the tire that it is in effect changing the gear ratio? It is apparent with the car tire that the diameter is larger on the side than the motorcycle tire. Could this create a "higher" final drive ratio? Of course that would only be valid if you were staying in 5th and you probably aren't...

While what you state is true, I believe it has negligible effect. Even though I was in the mountains, there is plenty of straight roads, and I was with a slower rider and not pushing it as much as I might normally. However, the car tire is a larger diameter and does increase the final drive ratio. About a 3% change on the odometer from a moto tire. (Checked by GPS) However the car tire no doubt has increased rolling resistance due to more rubber on the road and running at a lower air pressure (32 psi vs. 44psi I run a moto tire). Also, the car tire has more mass. So I would say all those things are a wash in general. IIRC, when I had this car tire on 6 months ago for 9,000 miles before removing it to burn through moto tires I had in stock, my fuel mileage went down.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I thought about this overnight and realized that I was completely wrong. Even though the distance from the axle to the edge of the car tire is greater, that does not matter in this instance. The rolling circumference of the car tire remains the same and this is what would affect the final drive ratio. This would not change noticeably from straight up to full lean. I also remembered you had noticed increased mileage with the motorcycle tire installed. The circumference of the motorcycle tire is obviously smaller at the edge than in the center and at full lean the gear ratio would effectively be much lower. So much for my stupid theory.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Want more top end or better high speed mileage (for those who do a lot of 75mph) the answer is simple, swap out that 5th gear for a taller (act shorter) gear.

There is plenty of room from 4th gear to achieve this with still normal shifting practices, so you stay in 4th a tad longere... big deal. Did it on my Katana years ago with the results you are looking for.

On one of my 1200cc 4-stroke Ski Doo Sleds (went down 4T in gear case). Difference is more top end, better high speed mileage. The sled had so much low end torque I wasn't worried about losing that but went from (GPS not the dream-o-meter!) 97.5 to 109.8 mph and the frozen lakes were ruled by me. My high speed trail riding mileage went up about 10-12% also which is the point of this post.

So Gear up!

 

[phroenips]

Want more top end or better high speed mileage (for those who do a lot of 75mph) the answer is simple, swap out that 5th gear for a taller (act shorter) gear.

There is plenty of room from 4th gear to achieve this with still normal shifting practices, so you stay in 4th a tad longere... big deal. Did it on my Katana years ago with the results you are looking for.

On one of my 1200cc 4-stroke Ski Doo Sleds (went down 4T in gear case). Difference is more top end, better high speed mileage. The sled had so much low end torque I wasn't worried about losing that but went from (GPS not the dream-o-meter!) 97.5 to 109.8 mph and the frozen lakes were ruled by me. My high speed trail riding mileage went up about 10-12% also which is the point of this post.

So Gear up!

how do you propose that be done on a shaftie?