I Want More MPG

[BLK]

Is this possible?

The old girl is already giving me a regular 42mpg. My riding style is relatively conservative and is a combination of surface street and highway. So I am guessing that 42 mpg is about what I should expect. I was just wondering if there are any mods or adjustments that might get me another couple mpg's. My commute is about 25miles each way so any additional miles out of a gallon of gas would be welcomed.

Finally, what's the total miles I can expect out of a tank. Right now I am getting about 165miles on the california tank, which I think is about 4.3 total gallons. I know that I should be able to do that math but I was just wondering what the personal experience has been for others.

Thank,
BLK

[mwheat308]

I get 39 mpg average. My commute is 12 miles highway, 60 to 70 mph and 3 miles in town at 35 to 40 mph.
I use only regular fuel ( read cheapest ). Lots of law on my way to work and back, speeding not a good option.
27,000 miles on my 00 1200. Sorry no good ideas for you.

Mike

[BLK]

Yeah, I had a feeling that my 42mpg was pretty good.

I'm thinking about removing P.A.I.R system and am wondering if that might do any good or any harm.

I'm also running an aftermarket can (a Super-Trap) and haven't noticed any change in mpg's.

FWIW my highway speeds usually average around 80/90 (on the speed-o-meter - so whatever that translates to in terms of real speed I don't know).

BLK

[mwheat308]

I replaced the aftermarket can with the orginal ( ebay ) didn't care for the noise, I'm old.
Checked my speedometer with a gps it is 5 mph fast at whatever speed. 70 is 65 and 140 is 135. I can live with that.
There may be someone else with experince with the PAIR system, I have none.
I'm happy with my bike overall, but when I get all the red covered with Gun Metal Gray it will be even better.
I'm not a flashy rider.
Good Luck

[txbanditrydr]

My riding style is relatively conservative and is a combination of surface street and highway.

"Relatively" is just that... I suggest you re-examine your riding habits (not that they're bad) to look for things like limited use of the brakes, shift early and shift often but don't lug the engine, accelerate as slow as possible without putting yourself in a hazardous situation (might not be possible) and other similar items.  Goggle the latest trend called hypermileing (or similar) for a better synopsis of my point.

Another suggestion would be to slightly over-inflate your tires.... say 42psi (assuming stock is 36... like on the best 2G models  ).  Check your brakes often for calipers that aren't releasing fully... usually noted by uneven brake pad wear.

To really maximize things you'll need to tuck in over 55mph (OK... it's just a guess) or otherwise figure out some way to reduce wind resistance.....................

..............OR.........................

Ride the snot out of it and enjoy doing something many folks only dream of.   

[BLK]

txbanditrydr:

After much examination, evaulation and consideration I think I'm going to go with your "Or" suggestion.

BLK

[mademiriam]

..............OR.........................

Ride the snot out of it and enjoy doing something many folks only dream of.   

for a bike the size of the bigger bandits...in all honesty I think this may be the only option. 
makes it tempting to get a small commuting bike...

[dhcolesj]

I've found that on my 1250S ('08 model) I get 44.9 MPG using Premium Gas, and about 40.5 using regular with my "relatively" conservative riding style.  That is I try to tuck in every so often, and I don't gun it out of the gate, etc.  (unless, of course, I need to.)

That extra 4.4 mpg may cover the extra .20 Cents per gallon, but it does keep me from stopping as often.   

However, I've decided to take the alternative . . . JUST RIDE!   

[Dink_1170]

Many people operate under the mistaken belief that accelerating gently will assist in reducing fuel consumption this is in in fact entirely false.
If you are accelerating gently you have the throttle open for longer, particularly as trying to be gentle generally involves using a higher gear (changing up early to reduce revs).
If however you rev the motor out to the torque peak revs and then change you are consuming fuel as efficiently as possible, you are accelerating harder for a far shorter period of time.
Please allow that I am not the best at explaining these sort of things in writing.

Dink

[dhcolesj]

Dink is right, but you have to find the balancing point.  I've actually found in my Pickup that accelerating slowly LOWERs my MPG, but jack rabbit type starts also lower it.  If, like Dink says, I go on and get up to speed, my MPG will hang around 18 - 17.6 (in the truck).  If I go to fast, or too slow it drops to 16.  The question is what RPM range would be the best for acceleration?  I would think somewhere around where the torque is highest.

The problem is that most folks around you think you are drag racing, or something, because they're still under that false impression.

[LowRyter]

33 mpg ave on my '98.  sometimes going to 30.  Once I got 37.

[orionburn]

Only easy option that comes to mind is to drop some weight on the bike, but probably not a whole lot you can get rid of. I imagine the aftermarket can you have has to be lighter than the stock one. Like tx said you can up the psi in your tires by a little bit, but remember that lowers the contact area your tire has with the road. I'd rather have solid grip over getting an extra mile per gallon.

Personally I'm happy with the mileage the Bandit gets for the size engine it has. Go with option #2 

[Bandit1250]

I've gotten over 50MPG with my 1250 Bandit.

I average about 47MPG.

[dhcolesj]

wow.  Well, I might get that if I removed the hard side and top cases.  I have to carry my laptop and associated gear, as well as some other things with me when I commute, not to mention I weigh about 230 lbs.  So, 45 MPG ain't too bad.

[Seniorbiker]

My wife's Prius gets better mpg then either my 1500cc cruiser or my Yamaha FZ1, but hey, the bikes are still a great deal better than driving my Tahoe.