bigdaddy78
Member
What cruising rpm yields the best mileage? I know on a sv650 its 6k. So you get better mpg in fifth at 6k then 5k bin 6th.
rpm range for best mileage
- Thread starter bigdaddy78
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wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
Yeah, this got beat to death a few weeks ago, but I can't find it now (which pisses me off, because my search-fu is usually quite strong.)
Someone was headed out for 5500 miles and wanted to do it as "economically" as possible. Consensus was that slowing down enough to save any amount of fuel would add days to his trip, offsetting fuel savings with food and lodging expenses.
Even on a day trip, though, slowing down enough to save any appreciable amount of gas will cost you way more time than an extra fuel stop.
Someone was headed out for 5500 miles and wanted to do it as "economically" as possible. Consensus was that slowing down enough to save any amount of fuel would add days to his trip, offsetting fuel savings with food and lodging expenses.
Even on a day trip, though, slowing down enough to save any appreciable amount of gas will cost you way more time than an extra fuel stop.
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SkooterG
Purveyor of Crooked Facts
carlson_mn
Well-known member
About 3k in 5th gear will give you best mileage. Have fun with that...
Ken45
Well-known member
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
Ken
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
I am just patiently waiting for RadioHowie, our own "Mr. Congeniality", to see this thread, then we will have some "real fun"!
FJRay
Well-known member
I sure hope you're kidding. Why have a great bike and treat it like a Vespa. It's like having a race horse in a petting zoo. Mine has to haul my large butt around at well over the limit and getting 50mpg is common. Live a little and let your ride have some fun.
ionbeam
2 FUN
You have a Gen I so the answer will have to be Gen I specific.
The best rpm range for great mileage is from 0.00 to 0.0000 rpm. However, you will certainly be late.
The best mileage I have eveha gotten was when I was follow another New Englander who rode between 40 and 45 mph ALL the time regardless if the speed limit was 25 or 55. Due to the somnambulistic pace I couldn't tell you what gear I was in. Hmmm, perhaps I should also mention that during the entire day it was also raining so hard that you couldn't see the front tire let alone the vehicle in front of you.
The best rpm range for great mileage is from 0.00 to 0.0000 rpm. However, you will certainly be late.
The best mileage I have eveha gotten was when I was follow another New Englander who rode between 40 and 45 mph ALL the time regardless if the speed limit was 25 or 55. Due to the somnambulistic pace I couldn't tell you what gear I was in. Hmmm, perhaps I should also mention that during the entire day it was also raining so hard that you couldn't see the front tire let alone the vehicle in front of you.
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
+1, Gunny; ride it like you stole it, or as if you were trying to chase Fairlaner! I am just so glad that I am not a big fat ass like FJRay!I sure hope you're kidding. Why have a great bike and treat it like a Vespa. It's like having a race horse in a petting zoo. Mine has to haul my large butt around at well over the limit and getting 50mpg is common. Live a little and let your ride have some fun.
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bigdaddy78
Member
On my feej putting around town I try to keep it between 3 and 4 and I am getting mid thirties mpg. On the highway going 90 its about 40 if I am lucky. I am in awe of people saying they get 50 mpg on theirs.
On the sv note I did notice that to be true. I got 10 mpg more keeping it at 6k. Keeping it att the beginning of the power band instead of below it required less fuel. Might be because its a smaller engine ht has to work at a higher rpm range.
I figuured you gen 2 riders woould know off the top of your head since you have an awesome read out.
On the sv note I did notice that to be true. I got 10 mpg more keeping it at 6k. Keeping it att the beginning of the power band instead of below it required less fuel. Might be because its a smaller engine ht has to work at a higher rpm range.
I figuured you gen 2 riders woould know off the top of your head since you have an awesome read out.
This has been my experience. I have a Gen II so I'm always curious about this statistic as it is so readily at hand. If I'm riding hard, I avg. 33 or so. If I'm riding REALLY casually, getting into the highest gear as quickly as possible, I have gotten up to 43 mpg over a 200 miler trip.
Those of you who consistently pull 40 mpg or better are riding like the old men we are. None of that for me, except for the occasional mpg experiment.
ionbeam
2 FUN
Apples 'n oranges. The Gen II has different gearing. The awesome instantaneous readout is only a trend indicator and is not an absolute gauge.
You can do the same thing on your Gen I by taking an automotive vacuum gauge and using it as a fuel mileage indicator. The higher the vacuum the better your mileage. True! You would need to buy a wood dowel that would fit into the vacuum gauge tubing and drill a 0.022" hole as a vacuum restrictor or buy one like this to stop the needle from bouncing and vibrating. The restrictor would need to be placed in the vacuum tube at the synch port where you would tap for the vacuum signal. The FJR idle vacuum will be in the 5 in/Hg range and at full throttle the vacuum will be around 1". Normal cruising vacuum runs in the 2-3" range and you can see even the slightest throttle twist drop the reading and almost undetectable slope changes will cause a change in vacuum. I have ridden my Gen I with a vacuum gauge attached and this is where the numbers come from. I was troubleshooting a driveability problem that turned out to be a bad TPS before the TPS was known to fail and before the TPS recall.
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carlson_mn
Well-known member
Since this is heading to NEPRT, I always accelerate hard but I always click it up to top gear whenever I'm cruising. 5th gear is fine from 35mph up. Not sure why people cruise around between 3-4k at lower speeds. My Gen2 readout has been accurate with a couple tenths at the pump every time I have filled up. The FJR peaks out at 50ish mpg anywhere from 35-55mph in 5th gear, instaneous readout pretty much stays the same between those speeds, then drops about 1mpg/5mph speed increase. My best mpg was 47mpg over a 200 mile cruise sitting at 70-75mph the whole time. 95 indicated reads in the mid-high 30s. I get a couple more mpg on gen2 than my gen1 on highway.
madmike2
Shtirrenuppenmeister
+1
I sure hope you're kidding. Why have a great bike and treat it like a Vespa. It's like having a race horse in a petting zoo. Mine has to haul my large butt around at well over the limit and getting 50mpg is common. Live a little and let your ride have some fun.
Gotta agree with Brother Ray (a member in great standing of the Church of FJR, you'll enjoy our Sunday "worship services"). :yahoo:
Like Ray and Brother beemerdons (who is built like a shorter version of Ray), we are all part of the normal-size-men club so our motorcycles get a good workout just hauling us around before we pack them for a trip.
I tend to meander down the highway between 4k-5k rpms, occasionally being more adventurous and spirited on twisty roadways in the Sierra Nevada (or Coastal California or Rocky) mountains.
Commuting in traffic I average around 37 mpg.
Trips in CA (oxygenated gasoline) I get between 40-45 mpg.
Highest ever mileage between fill-ups was 52 mpg riding Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park with TurboDave. Neither of us could believe the mileage we got. :clapping:
On the same trip, while "blasting" across Hwy 50 in Nevada I got considerably worse-than-commute mileage. :blink:
Much depends on the terrain and speed you normally ride and what kind of gasoline is available. Obviously, around metropolitan areas the "gasohol" is not as efficient as "real" gasoline.
Over the lifetime of this motorcycle, I wonder how much money per mile we would be talking about here as opposed to the joy and exhilaration of simply riding the bike and experiencing the scenery and people?
You want good mpg? get a 125cc single and putter around at low rpm. When you hop on the FJR, hop on it and mpg be damned.
Bungie
FrostBack #2 - IBA # 44620
Good advice.
Btw, with regards to better mpg in 4th than 5th at hwy speeds. I believe it's true. The engine is closer to it's torque peak and therefore, optimum BSFC point. My lil CBR2fitty gets unbelievable mileage (100+) when the revs are kept around 5000 (torque peak) at cruising speeds.
Oh, and another btw, time to bust a myth. Accelerating 'briskly' to get up to speed than snicking it into a cruising gear is *FAR* more efficient than babying that bitch watching a vacuum gauge and shifting at 2500 rpm. My Ultragauge in my car bears this out everyday (GPH/Instant MPG etc..)
Want to save big money on gas? Stop driving your damn cars
No, seriously, that's really not an option for most ppl. Get yourself either a ScanGauge or an Ultragauge, both are under a $100 and pay for themselves in really short order. You'll be shocked that little changes in your driving habits have on mileage. You'll also cry watching your avg's tick down while waiting for a light to change or warming the car up a bit on a frigid morning. Both plug into your cars OBDII port. Plug 'n play baby!bucky
Well-known member
I doubt it will vary by much no matter your speed as long as you keep it out of the triple digets most of the time. Me and the wife 320# for us both and about 30# of gear took our last trip, about 1k miles last summer. Got about 43 mpg as I recall. Does it really matter whether you spend a little more for gas? Have fun, keep it between the ditches and ride it like you stole it.
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Um yeah dude...Wrong crowd. 99.9% of us didn't buy the bike because of its awesome MPG. We bought it because of what happens when we twist the throttle. Seriously...If your that worried about MPG, sell it and buy a scooter.
carlson_mn
Well-known member
The fact is the FJR gets better mileage than the new 600cc SS bikes so I'm damn happy with it.
