Fuel Economy

[Foxhuntr]

On my 35 mile commute, mostly freeway, some twisties, I average 40-41 on my '07.

 

[edocar]

FWIW. on July 03, I completed a 6,207 mile trip in 14 days on my '04 and my overall mileage was 45 mpg. Now here are the extremes: 57 mpg on a 160 mile stretch on I-80 with a 45 mph tail wind and cruising at 85 mph, 38 mpg on long stretches on the PCH where my speed registered anywhere from 5-70 mph. Most of the mileage was done at 7-10 mph over the speed limit and I as carrying probably 50-55 lbs of gear for a total weight of 240 lbs.

 

[Auburn]

We just got back today from a 3209 mile trip through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota through mountains and flat lands. We rode 2 up with both bags loaded, the top trunk loaded and a tank bag loaded. We encountered head winds that were as much as 50 mph. We rode about half and half that was twisties and high speed (80-100 mph) 2 and 4 lane highways.

Our mileage was 45.7 per gallon average for the trip. I saw a low of 34 mpg (high speed 90-100 mph average and very strong head wind) to a high on 59 mpg on one tank through the bad lands twisties in South Dakota.

One note: I have not done the the ECU change that many have, because I have not had any issues with mine and as I understand it, the change decreases the mileage a couple of mpg.

And of course your mileage will vary...

 

[Epirush]

Back in 06 when I was looking my wife liked the ST for it's cushy pillion seat but I thought it was too close to Gold wing. Since she only rides 1 or 2 times a year and I ride almost every day I went with the FJR. There are a lot of comparisons on the web. Just about every one says the ST is more tourer and the FJR is more sport. As for mileage I avg around 44 city and hwy.

 

[NNorth]

In my quest for an FJR yesterday I stopped into a local “Powerhouse” Honda dealership to give my wife an opportunity to sit on a Honda ST1300. I also wanted to see what the salesman had to say about a comparison between the FJR and the ST. He told me about his loyalty to Honda brand and about Honda quality but he didn't really have anything to offer as far as a comparison. One thing that he did offer which none of the other dealers have offered it to schedule a ride on one. My impression after sitting on one and looking at the specs is that it is more toward the Goldwing end of the spectrum than the sport bike end.
One thing that I couldn't get a straight answer on is the fuel economy. Since this FJR will be replacing my 919 I was wondering what I could expect for mpg? I have a 30 mile commute, half interstate where I can usually go between 75 and 80 and half country roads where I can maintain 50 to60.

Mine varies due to the terrain and my hand to give any numbers, but on the long rides my fjr and buddies st13 get about the same mpg..and other than the larger lump of black plastic in front of you making the st seem way bigger, I find they keep up well with each other.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Either you guys all ride like old farts or there is something wrong with my 07. 35-38 mpg on average is what I'm getting. I would describe my style as spirited but not aggressive. Shift points usually between 4-5,000 rpm. <_<
I'm running 20w50 YamaLube, maybe I'll try something a bit lighter like 10w40 next time. 20w50 (dealer recommended) seems like overkill in the Northwest with it's moderate temperatures anyway.

Since I didn't get to this until late and I do NOT ride like an old fart, I thought I would put my $.02 in. My '07 has not gotten less than 40mph. Average is about 42, but seem to be increasing a little lately since about 7k miles. Maybe something to do with the engine breaking in. If I am riding with a group I get low to mid 50's. I'm pretty hard on the throttle and am impressed by the 42 I do get. BTW...The ECU swap has no effect on gas mileage.

 

[Mike P]

380 mile trip Saturday on recently purchased stock '06AE with mixed riding.....47mpg. Was getting about 42 or so until I ran SeaFoam through it.

 

[jwilly]

If I am riding with a group I get low to mid 50's.

You need to find some new riding buddies! When I ride with a group I usually get about 30mpg.

JW

 

[El Toro]

A friend and I rented an ST1300 in October 2006 for a few days, and got 42 mpg. Some highway. Some rural with elevation changes and lots of curves. On my ST1100, which I owned for several years, I routinely got between 48 mpg and 54 mpg, but mostly toward the 48 mpg end. The 1100 was carburetted. The 1300 is fuel injected, like the FJR.

My 06 FJR AE has gotten as high as 49 mpg, but mostly gets something in the 44 to 47 range. 80+ mph runs on I-40, especially climbing runs (from West Tennessee on up the Cumberland Plateau) tend to be 44. I don't really have any good data for city riding or short commutes. If I get on the bike, its almost always recreational, and almost always at least 55 miles.

If we'd not been "testing" the ST1300 to see if we wanted to replace our ST1100s at the time, we might have gotten better mileage... but really, the punchline is that an mpg difference is probably not going to be sufficient to push toward one of these bikes or the other. For me the ST1300 feels even heavier than the FJR (which it is, by about 50 pounds or so). It does not feel as quick, although it is plenty quick.

I would not have bought another ST for two reasons. First, the weight. I'm tired of horsing stuff around in the 700 and up category. Second, the shifter arrangement on the ST1100 (and its the same basic design on the ST1300) has been a major factor in the arthritis that has developed in my shifter toe. You can see the pattern on my boot, right over the arthritic joint in my foot. No one else I'm familiar with runs a shifter linkage like the ST's. It literally rolls across your foot as you shift. I think it pretty much sucks. I rode the ST1100 primarily with Bass Pro Shops Rancher style waterproof boots, and later with Red Wing steel toed motorcycle boots. This year I've switched over to Sidi Vertigo Corsa Airs and Vertigo Megas (for wet forecasts). If I'd been using better boots when I was riding the ST, maybe I wouldn't think so poorly of their shifter set up.

I'm on the FJR in spite of its weight (around 650 for the AE model) because of the paddleshifter... but this was serendipitous. There are lots of other very positive points for the FJR. I love the bike. I'd been considering a BMW K1200GT to compliment my K1200Rsport (same basic engine, which I really like a lot), but the FJR has totally driven any lust for the K1200GT out of my head.

If your salesman points out the warranty differences, consider that you can add the Y.E.S. plan to the FJR purchase and get 5 years of total coverage with unlimited mileage for just $389 if you buy the plan from D&H in Cullman, AL.

 

[OBFJR]

41 MPG over about 12K miles. Yes, I am somewhat heavy handed. A good friend of mine just bought an ST 1300 because he wanted a great 2 up bike and his "wife picked it out because the seat was so confortable". Don't get me started. He admitted that the ST was more towards the "touring" end of the sport-touring spectrum, which fit his needs nicely. As the saying goes, doesn't matter what you ride, as long as you ride. This guy is a SERIOUS rider and at times has owned over 100 vintage bikes so I'm in no position to question his judgement.

Bob

 

[SEA-FJR]

Either you guys all ride like old farts or there is something wrong with my 07. 35-38 mpg on average is what I'm getting. I would describe my style as spirited but not aggressive. Shift points usually between 4-5,000 rpm. <_<
I'm running 20w50 YamaLube, maybe I'll try something a bit lighter like 10w40 next time. 20w50 (dealer recommended) seems like overkill in the Northwest with it's moderate temperatures anyway.

Since I didn't get to this until late and I do NOT ride like an old fart, I thought I would put my $.02 in. My '07 has not gotten less than 40mph. Average is about 42, but seem to be increasing a little lately since about 7k miles. Maybe something to do with the engine breaking in. If I am riding with a group I get low to mid 50's. I'm pretty hard on the throttle and am impressed by the 42 I do get. BTW...The ECU swap has no effect on gas mileage.

I just passed 2,000 miles, so I should be past the break-in period. It does seem to run sort of high at idle, around 1,200-1,300. Is that where it's supposed to be (past warm-up)?

 

[FJRPHIL]

In my quest for an FJR yesterday I stopped into a local “Powerhouse” Honda dealership to give my wife an opportunity to sit on a Honda ST1300. I also wanted to see what the salesman had to say about a comparison between the FJR and the ST. He told me about his loyalty to Honda brand and about Honda quality but he didn't really have anything to offer as far as a comparison. One thing that he did offer which none of the other dealers have offered it to schedule a ride on one. My impression after sitting on one and looking at the specs is that it is more toward the Goldwing end of the spectrum than the sport bike end.
One thing that I couldn't get a straight answer on is the fuel economy. Since this FJR will be replacing my 919 I was wondering what I could expect for mpg? I have a 30 mile commute, half interstate where I can usually go between 75 and 80 and half country roads where I can maintain 50 to60.

I usually average around 47 to 49mpg. It all depends on how much you flex the right wrist If you know what I mean

 

[JRO]

New 2007, ECU recall done, 12,000miles since last fall. 40-43mpg.

 

[Flyguy]

Here is a link to a test I ran some time ago.

FJR fuel economy at various speeds

Also, in retesting after installing the PCIII the mileage figures actually were higher even though the low RPM mapping was a slight bit richer. Go figure.

AND - before anyone tries to compare their figures against these, keep in mind that these were recorded at a steady state speed with no throttle influence AND there was no runup to the given speed.

 

[cadman]

Apologies for ignorance, but does anyone use fuel additives in this bike like Chevron Techron or the like? Is it a good thing for this kind of engine? Seems to help in a car.

Zip,

Every few months I run Lucas Fuel treatment thru the system. I have run this product for years in my vehicles.

I got a great deal on a case of the stuff so its cheap to run.

I havent' yet with my FJR, but with my XS1100, i would run a tank of premium every 4th or 5th tank.

As far as running the fuel additive off the parts store shelf, figure the cost of $6-7, compared to buying a few gallons of the good gas every now and then.

cadman

 

[olie]

... A good friend of mine just bought an ST 1300 because he wanted a great 2 up bike and his "wife picked it out because the seat was so confortable". Don't get me started. He admitted that the ST was more towards the "touring" end of the sport-touring spectrum, which fit his needs nicely. As the saying goes, doesn't matter what you ride, as long as you ride. This guy is a SERIOUS rider and at times has owned over 100 vintage bikes so I'm in no position to question his judgement.Bob

hopefully your friend and his wife are "light weights", because the load capacity of the st1300 is about 395# and this figure icludes gear + luggage. If not, regarless the number of riding year and bike, his decision can be challenged.

 

[Harald]

Either you guys all ride like old farts or there is something wrong with my 07. 35-38 mpg on average is what I'm getting. I would describe my style as spirited but not aggressive. Shift points usually between 4-5,000 rpm. <_<
I'm running 20w50 YamaLube, maybe I'll try something a bit lighter like 10w40 next time. 20w50 (dealer recommended) seems like overkill in the Northwest with it's moderate temperatures anyway.

Ditto! I can't understand these high mileage numbers. I probably average 38 commuting to work on mixed highway and local roads. We do have a lot of hills, so I'm sure that has a negative affect on mileage. And perhaps our Seattle - Tacoma area gas is inefficient?

I can't complain because this past weekend I went camping with the family in my 2000 Ford F350 crew cab V10 engined dually pickup with my 4000 lb truck camper loaded. Averaged 9mpg with speeds around 65mph. Did I mention that the truck has 4.30 gears in it? It'll pull a house off the foundation, but mileage is not it's strong suite.

BTW, I run Rotella 15W40 in my FJR but I don't think oil viscocity will make a big difference in mileage. And I have almost 14,000 miles so it's broken in. I'm fairly certain that the key to good mileage is in the right wrist, but I just can't bring myself to accelerate slowly :devil:

 

[jordylad]

I rode from So. Cal. to No. Cal last weekend, Mission Viejo to Monterey actually, 410 miles each way. The planned outbound route was to use Hwy 1 as much as possible. The trip was neatly broken into 3 legs.

The first let was to Santa Barbara 60 miles of 405 freeway at 70 - 80, then 70 miles of Hwy 1 at 60 - 70ish. I averaged a best ever 48 mpg.

Leg 2 was on 130 miles on hwy 101 averaging 80 - 90, got 42 mpg.

Leg 3 was 140 miles of mostly twisty Hwy 1 through Big Sur, riding fairly briskly, returning 37 mpg.

 

[Bungie]

04 with TPS done..

55.34 Imperial MPG

46.1 US MPG

Mixed riding about 70% hwy.

This is a really handy site for calculations: Online Conversions

 

[Big-B]

40 or less for pretty much everything. I have found the more stops and starts that you have the worse the mileage gets. I ride 40-45 miles through Amish country before getting over toward Philly and the traffic in the western suburbs. Riding across the little back roads and running from stop sign-to-stop sign knocks of the avg mpg as compared to the stretches where I am able to hold a more stable speed.

I have an '06 AE that I have never seen 45 out of it, even on a 2500 mile trip home with it from NM in March. I had an '05 and an '04 and I would occasionally hit 45 with them. The '05 usually ran about 42, with the AE I am always on the low side of 40.

As far as an ST/FJR comparison it just comes down to whether you want the mini-Gold Wing and if you want to spend the extra money to get it.

I started out looking for an ST a few years back, but decided it was bigger than I wanted. Hell, might as well get a Gold Wing at that point.

I love the FJR. Sure glad I made the right decision on that one.

Brian.