GEN I fuel consumption

[lele]

Hello,

Got my fjr from one month and have no issue with it, drive it every day in the city and outside in the country..but I have notice people in the forum ride it with consumption of circa 20 km/l ( 47mi/gal us)..at least my favorite fuel consumption is 13 km/l (30 mi/gal us) WITHOUT high revs, very very quiet handling.

the question is: can be an internal problem of the engine resulting in these high fuel consumption?

Valve clearance?

trottle body sync?

faulty compression?

I don't know..

 

[wfooshee]

Early bikes were geared shorter, i.e. more revs at the same highway speed. All these guys with higher mileage are on the {slower} GenII bikes, 2006 or later.

I think the gearing change was actually in 2004, but I'm not sure.

I'm in the same boat, my 2003 doesn't even approach 40 miles per gallon unless I'm staying under 60 miles per hour, and then, what's the point?

 

[lele]

so until you reach 60 mile per hour the fuel consumption is higher?

that's incredible..

 

[carlson_mn]

No that's all bogus. Gen1 and Gen2 fuel mileage is very similar, maybe 1 or 2 better on the highway with a Gen2. 03-05 all have same gearing. You should get 36mpg or better even when hard on the gas. How many km are on the engine? Look at the spark plugs and the air filter, make sure both are replaced if they are needed. Hopefully the timing is correct if a valve adjustment was performed in the past.

 

[gumba]

I've got an 04 and 09 and they get the same mpg. It's all in how you treat the right hand grip.

 

[lele]

the bike got 98000 km on it, I really don't know the spark plugs state but the air filter seems ok.

maybe I need a valve clearance adjustament

 

[carlson_mn]

I'm sure it is due for a clearance but I'd be surprised if that fixes your mileage issue.

 

[SkooterG]

Early bikes were geared shorter, i.e. more revs at the same highway speed. All these guys with higher mileage are on the {slower} GenII bikes, 2006 or later.

I think the gearing change was actually in 2004, but I'm not sure.

I'm in the same boat, my 2003 doesn't even approach 40 miles per gallon unless I'm staying under 60 miles per hour, and then, what's the point?

Not at all accurate.

I *rarely* get under 40 mpg and get as high as 50 mpg though most of the time I am in the 42-47mpg range. I realize not every FJR, nor every person operating it is the same but 30 mpg is definitely low. And gearing changes were made in 2006 with the advent of the Gen II.

 

[TomInPA]

the bike got 98000 km on it, I really don't know the spark plugs state but the air filter seems ok.

maybe I need a valve clearance adjustament

The air filter can "look" okay, but when replaced the bike will really feel different. Lots of power and economy can be lost to a dirty air filter. Change the spark plugs, and while you are under the tank do a throttle body sync if you have the ability. Plugs are one of the the leading causes of poor fuel economy. Finally, be sure your brakes are not sticking. The top reason for poor fuel economy is the smile that comes from twisting the throttle. That costs, but it is fun.

Valve clearances should not be problem, but if you have no service history, the basic maintenance should all be done: valve check, coolant change, new plugs, throttle body sync, lubrication service, forks.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Anecdotal evidence only, but on my summer ;'11 trip to Taos, the bike--an '05--started running very rough, almost stalling out at low revs and not really smooth at any speed, and my mpg went straight into the toilet--the LOW 30's. Earlier in the summer on a trip with two other forum folks it had begun to suffer less dramatically. My miles between fillups was well under the others'. My problem turned out to be a valve clearance issue that resulted in burned valves and a major engine rebuild. Hope that isn't your issue, but I wouldn't overlook the possibility. Bike is back hovering around 40 now, and I'm NOT easy on the right wrist.

 

[lele]

the bike got 98000 km on it, I really don't know the spark plugs state but the air filter seems ok.

maybe I need a valve clearance adjustament

The air filter can "look" okay, but when replaced the bike will really feel different. Lots of power and economy can be lost to a dirty air filter. Change the spark plugs, and while you are under the tank do a throttle body sync if you have the ability. Plugs are one of the the leading causes of poor fuel economy. Finally, be sure your brakes are not sticking. The top reason for poor fuel economy is the smile that comes from twisting the throttle. That costs, but it is fun.

Valve clearances should not be problem, but if you have no service history, the basic maintenance should all be done: valve check, coolant change, new plugs, throttle body sync, lubrication service, forks.

ok probably is a mix of things..plugs, air filter ecc

how can be sure the brakes are not sticking?

 

[Patriot]

my '04 has always / mostly gotten high 30's and reserve around 165mi

I've done a tbs, occassionally clean the air filter, always run /change my Iridium plugs

mostly with avcc cruise set to 79mph running on the interstste / slab

calsci medium windshield, seatbag and Yammy trunk

that's b4 CT which has lowered that a bit

so don't sweat that somethings wrong

 

[SkooterG]

my '04 has always / mostly gotten high 30's and reserve around 165mi

I've done a tbs, occassionally clean the air filter, always run /change my Iridium plugs

mostly with avcc cruise set to 79mph running on the interstste / slab

calsci medium windshield, seatbag and Yammy trunk

that's b4 CT which has lowered that a bit

so don't sweat that somethings wrong

I think yours is low Mike. I just don't understand how you can get that low. I mean, other than all that additional weight of all your farkles requiring more chemical energy to get them down the road! :lol:

And I think there is a HUGE difference between '30 mpg' and 'high 30s'. As far as I am concerned, there is something wrong with his.

 

[FJRay]

Keep in mind that the air filter works from the inside out. It's hard to see inside to see how nasty it is. I would change it if you don't know the history.

My 03 gets between 45 and 50 just about all the time and I think my best was 53 on the way to NAFO in Colorado. I get right at 40 with two up and towing the trailer but I don't run as fast as I do solo.

 

[Patriot]

straight or gasohol makes a diff on mine

and valves were perfect recently at 55k non engine...he did find a big rodent nest in air filter

watch me get 55mpg on next long ride

(didn't)

 

[wfooshee]

so until you reach 60 mile per hour the fuel consumption is higher?

that's incredible..

No, it's lower. It drops off sharply in the 70-80 mph range.

Remember, we Yanks calculate fuel economy (distance per fuel unit) rather than fuel consumption (fuel units per distance.)

It can be misleading. One of my favorite illustrations of this is say you have two drivers in different vehicles. One guy has a pickup truck and gets 12.5 miles per gallon. The other guy has an econobox and get about 33 miles per gallon.

Both guys get a tune-up and some other work, and afterwards the truck gets 14 and a quarter miles per gallon, and the econobox gets 50!

Which one is saving more gas, now, compared to before the tuneup?

Most Americans will say the econobox, but if you got through an compute the consumption rather than the economy, they both run 1 gallon less gas per hundred miles, exactly the same reduction.

The truck was consuming 8 gallons per hundred miles, now consumes 7. The econobox was consuming 3 gallons per hundred miles, now consumes 2. Yes, the econobox did better percentage-wise, but that wasn't the question. "Which one saves more fuel?" Neither. They're each 1 gallon per hundred miles better than before.

So our thinking isn't, "How much did you use?" It's more like, "How far did you get?"

As for my gearing comment earlier, I thought there was a gearing change in 2004. Not in the transmission, but in the final drive, or maybe the front of the drive shaft.

But my economy is very low 30s in town (sometime 29s) and very high 30s on the road (rarely breaking 40.) I have PC-III running the Wally Smoothness map.

 

[FJRMGM]

if I ever get less than 40 mpg on my '05 FJR that has 88,000 miles I will be extremely worried.

Usual mileage is in the 44-46 mpg range. If I run 55-65 I will get 50+ mpg (high 54) and if I run 75-80 I will get 44 mpg all day long.

I'm convinced that the Cee Bailey +2+2 with flip windscreen helps the aerodynamics and that I am 5'8" tall and weigh 150 also helps. And I run a Uni-Filter on the air filter.

I have ridden with three other guys on '04 and '05's all day long and my bike just gets better mileage than them.

My '05 has always gotten great gas mileage and I brag about it a lot.

BTW - 47 mpg on the last tank and while I may not run the heck out of it like some I don't baby it either cause I like the feel of that big motor when its spooling up.....

 

[Pepperell]

...and you may be riding it at too low rpms. If you're tooling around under 2000 rpm, mileage will be poor. O