rpm range for best mileage

[beemerdons]

I try to maintain a steady speed as much as possible on the road,to me that helps keep the MPG at 70 to 75 around forty five.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Funniest post so far in 2012!!!!

No dork...He's saying that at a steady 70-75, he gets around 45mpg. I could see that. I get a little less running between 80/85.

I love it when Z puts the smackdown on Radio.

+1, Gunny; Right you are Wheatie, nothing beats a girlie man fight between "Dumb and Dumber"!

 

[madmike2]

I try to maintain a steady speed as much as possible on the road,to me that helps keep the MPG at 70 to 75 around forty five.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Funniest post so far in 2012!!!!

No dork...He's saying that at a steady 70-75, he gets around 45mpg. I could see that. I get a little less running between 80/85.

I love it when Z puts the smackdown on Radio.

+1, Gunny; Right you are Wheatie, nothing beats a girlie man fight between "Dumb and Dumber"!

Don.....Don.....Don....are you SURE you want to join them and make it a trio?

From about the second tank on, I've been consistently getting 39 mpg. That's a far cry from the mid-40s and 50 I saw so many references to when doing Pre-buy research.

you didn't have enough data points. of all those reports how many ride exactly like you in exactly the same location, with the same conditions, and same fuel amalgam?

oxygenated fuel gets lower mpg than non. altitude and temp also impact mpg. UK (imperial) gallons are larger than US gallons so they report higher mpg than US riders but actual consumption might be closer than it first appears (again, given the same rider, in the same conditions, with the same fuel).

lots of variables. i often get 32mpg. i sometimes get 52 mpg. the difference is getting out of town, running tank-to-tank to get things working well, then running at a higher altitude without oxygenated gas, at a set speed of under 90 on a flat expanse. Cruising at 75 mph in NM typically nets me more mpg than cruising up I35 to OKC at 70. Even though i'm "cruising the slab to OKC, there's more traffic so my speed varies more and the gas is for shit in metro areas.

I learned some years back that it's like trying to compare tread life. you can't tell squat from a rider reporting that x tire gets y miles unless they also provide details on how, where, and conditions of when they got that mileage. the most you can hope for is that they got x with y tire and z with k tire so you can compare tire k if you also had it. there are simply too many variables for a straight up comparison without asking a lot of questions (which i find eventually frustrates those who report basic numbers and don't want to be bothered with all the minutia).

Nicely put, Mark. :clapping:

 

[JT Pedersen]

From about the second tank on, I've been consistently getting 39 mpg. That's a far cry from the mid-40s and 50 I saw so many references to when doing Pre-buy research.

you didn't have enough data points.

....

I learned some years back that it's like trying to compare tread life. you can't tell squat from a rider reporting that x tire gets y miles unless they also provide details on how, where, and conditions of when they got that mileage. the most you can hope for is that they got x with y tire and z with k tire so you can compare tire k if you also had it. there are simply too many variables for a straight up comparison without asking a lot of questions (which i find eventually frustrates those who report basic numbers and don't want to be bothered with all the minutia).

Hi All,

You're quite right...not enough data points. Been around the 'forum block' for years, so the range of responses was not unexpected. Sometimes though you simply pick up a tidbit you hadn't thought of. I think in that category, the one thing I'd forgotten was the US/Imperial gallon variable. Otherwise, I'm never surprised when grandpas with Town Cars getting 45 mpg show up either.

What you will most likely see on a bike I ride are Continental tires hard enough for me to get 25K life. Soft, sticky, 7K is what I typically got on the ST. I figure more of the same or less with the FJR. After all, the bike's there to work for me, not the other way around.

Cheer,

JT

 

[Harald]

Well I tend to keep the RPMs down, shifting near the points recommended in the manual. A lot of people claim that's stupid but then I seem to get better fuel economy (46-48 measured) than what you typically see posted around here. I also stick close to the posted limits and rarely get above 60 mph.

Ken

To each his own, but that style of riding would drive me absolutely NUTS! :crazy:

I used to get almost 40mpg when the bike was new until I installed the PC-III and that dropped the mpg a few. A more normal mileage is 35-37mpg for mixed highway and city commuting with crap gas that's sold around here. It's important to note that I calculate mileage manually because the bike computer no longer calculates correctly with the PC-III installed.

I did take a 200 mile trip last year with my newbie rider wife and some Harley friends on interstate and rural highways with some city riding. I followed the group on the ride and let them set the pace, which consisted of "make grandma proud" acceleration from stop lights and never exceeding the speed limit. I was shocked to see my mileage at 47mpg for the trip! I suppose if my goal were best mileage, I'd ride like that but I went bonkers the whole time because I couldn't properly twist the right grip!

 

[supertankerm60a3]

I Usually get 42 +/- 2 MPG making a 22 mile commute at 70 MPH with 5 stoplights in the middle twice a day. I have got 47 IF i use a whole tank all at once at , without bags, oh, and windscreen down, which I have only done once. Evaporation after shutdown (volatile fuel stored over hot engine gets warm) can cost a substantial amount of fuel if you are making a lot of short trips. When I go out with other fast riders my mileage goes down to about 36-33 in canyon country.

General rule of thumb: The slower you go the better your mileage... right into insanity!

 

[SkooterG]

Evaporation after shutdown (volatile fuel stored over hot engine gets warm) can cost a substantial amount of fuel if you are making a lot of short trips.

Oh really? And just exactly how does this fuel evaporate out of the system?

 

[JT Pedersen]

I mis-spoke earlier, saying, "What you will most likely see on a bike I ride are Continental tires..."

NOT.

Sticky, Grippy, my preference, with heavy preference for Metzeler's Z series.



That's what I get for using a small mobile screen in a rush...

 

[SkooterG]

with heavy preference for Metzeler's Z series.

That's too bad.....

 

[supertankerm60a3]

The tank is not closed, it is vented. it vents to either a charcoal canister with a pressure regulating valve (14 inches of water to be exact) or it vents to the atmosphere without a valve since the valve in located in the canister. The tank is not a closed, sealed, object. Infact, prior to the mandating of evaporative emission controls, 20% of hydrocarbon emissions were from evaporation. all this in a car were the tank wasn't even mounted directly over the hot engine.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Your mileage will be better in cooler, high humidity environments with cooler fuel. It all expands more once combustion takes place.

 

[Bounce]

As well as the air being partially saturated by the % of RH and the O2 content being higher in the more dense (cooler) air.

 

[SkooterG]

The tank is not closed, it is vented. it vents to either a charcoal canister with a pressure regulating valve (14 inches of water to be exact) or it vents to the atmosphere without a valve since the valve in located in the canister. The tank is not a closed, sealed, object. Infact, prior to the mandating of evaporative emission controls, 20% of hydrocarbon emissions were from evaporation. all this in a car were the tank wasn't even mounted directly over the hot engine.

Well on that we can agree. However, I don't agree at all with your assertion:

Evaporation after shutdown (volatile fuel stored over hot engine gets warm) can cost a substantial amount of fuel if you are making a lot of short trips

On really hot days here in Arizona (110+), if my tank is on the fuller side with the FJR in the sun I will see a few drops of fuel on the ground from the vent tube. But there is never any fuel smell in my closed garage after a shut down. Nor do I see any change in fuel mileage in hot temps with short trips. So any fuel that evaporates is completely insignificant in my not so humble opinion.

Your mileage will be better in cooler, high humidity environments with cooler fuel. It all expands more once combustion takes place.

I don't agree with that either. The engine may produce more max power in those conditions, but the denser air also leads to higher air resistance which lowers fuel mileage. At least that tends to be my experience.

And didn't you mean 'low humidity'?

 

[ionbeam]

Your mileage will be better in cooler, high humidity environments with cooler fuel. It all expands more once combustion takes place.

I don't agree with that either. The engine may produce more max power in those conditions, but the denser/colder air also leads to a richer fuel injection shot to maintain the A/F ratio...

 

[beemerdons]

Your mileage will be better in cooler, high humidity environments with cooler fuel. It all expands more once combustion takes place.

I don't agree with that either. The engine may produce more max power in those conditions, but the denser/colder air also leads to a richer fuel injection shot to maintain the A/F ratio...

 

[SkooterG]

Oh, mi bastard step-pappy, you should NOT have posted that!

Guess who is going to pull it out every time you take a thread off topic with your first grade drivel about sheep, goats, burros, and manatees! You have opened Pandora's Box!

:finger:

 

[Bugnatr]

Ride the high country of Colorado. My 04 goes from 41+ to 50+ mpg when riding above 8,000 feet

 

[HotRodZilla]

Oh, mi bastard step-pappy, you should NOT have posted that!

Guess who is going to pull it out every time you take a thread off topic with your first grade drivel about sheep, goats, burros, and manatees! You have opened Pandora's Box!

:finger:

If it wasn't for first grade drivel about sheep, goats, burros, manatees, pictures of you with boobs, and the occasional kick to Bust's apple sack, a lot of us wouldn't even come to this site.