I Want More MPG

[Mongo]

If I want kick ass gas mileage I ride my KLR 650 (the urban assault vehicle) but it lacks that certain something on the street!

[pmackie]

Is this possible?

If you seriously want more MPG at the expense of performance, you can lean out the idle and needle circuits a little. The bike will loose some power off the bottom and mid range, but should pick up some MPG. Then don't feed it full throttle, run at steady throttle as much as possible and your MPG should improve by a couple. Keep and eye on the plugs to ensure your not TOO LEAN or TOO HOT.

And keep a clean air filter in it. You can also add a little more tire pressure, make sure the chain is well lubed, and run sythetic engine oil. None of these will make much difference, but together, they do add up.

[Bandit1250]

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.

I weigh about 288.

[Red01]

I was reading an issue of Motorcycle Classics that someone left laying around at work the other day and there was an article in it on the Honda S65 ('67 model, IIRC).  According to the specs, Honda was advertising 190 mpg and a top speed of 57 mph.  I don't think any of today's scooters can come close to that kind of economy - and few in that size category can go that fast.  (And at least in the USA, I don't think you can buy a street-legal motorcycle in that category anymore.)  I noticed Yamaha is advertising a some of it's <50cc scooters in the 90-110 mpg range, but these machines will only do ~35-40 mph.  (Partly due to many states allowing <50cc & <35 mph machines to be licensed as mopeds and not requiring a m/c endorsement.) I remember my first bike ('66 Suzuki 80) would get >100 mpg on it's big trail sprocket (top speed ~35).  I never measured it's mpg on its tiny street sprocket, because I rarely used it, but it would do ~50-55 with that gearing.

  Now, if they could do that 40 years ago, is going on today?  They ought to be able to build scooters & tiddler bikes today that could beat that! 

Same deal with cars... I've owned two 86 Honda Civics (both bought used) that would easily get 40 mpg city and 49 highway - and neither one was the more fuel efficient 1.3L HF model, but the middle line 1.5L carb'd motor... but you can't buy a new non-hybrid car today that'll do that. 

OK, off my soapbox now... 

[wizzobeer]

There used to be a annual race that challenged bikers to get the most mpg at freeway safe speeds. I read an article about it last summer. One of the challenges was to use 1 inch of fuel in a fuel line to see how far you can go. I will try to dig it up and post more info.

[snofrog]

an ignition advancer will net you some better mpg`s and the reason some econo cars built in the 80`s can get better mpg`s than todays econo boxes is the addition of more epa regulations on todays cars ,leaner isnt cleaner

[Barbarian]

Same deal with cars... I've owned two 86 Honda Civics (both bought used) that would easily get 40 mpg city and 49 highway - and neither one was the more fuel efficient 1.3L HF model, but the middle line 1.5L carb'd motor... but you can't buy a new non-hybrid car today that'll do that. 

One word: weight. Today's cars, even compacts, are heavier than the equivalent sized car was 20 years ago.

[Red01]

I can see the weight thing on cars, with air bags and other impact protection, and other gov't mandated stuff - along with buyers wanting more creature comforts... I admit, my Civic's weren't opulent and were pretty bare bones compared to my MINI Cooper.  (A little surfing shows the 86 Civic Si weighed 1984 lbs (and my DX's were probably lighter still) vs the Cooper's 2524 lbs. - so the extra 540+ lbs is costing me ~14 mpg.)

OTOH, I'm sceptical on weight as a reason why little bikes can't be doing better... the monocoque chassis common to Japanese bikes of the 60's wasn't lightweight and I'd think one would be heavier than a similar tube framed bike.

[gunzip]

 Just to weigh in on the fuel economy : I just pulled into the house from a 700 mile trip with the wife . I was very pleasantly surprised by the fuel mileage on the trip , better than what  I get commuting. 47 on one tank 48 on another and on a 85-90 mph blast down the interstate from fayetteville to oklahoma i got 55 m pg  !!  Mind you the wife and I together weigh in at more than 400 lbs. and we had the poor bike  [over]loaded to the hilt

  '07 bandit 1250 , bone stock 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Rather then wanting more MPG I think the main issue is personal supply and demand. Forget about the nation as a whole and think of ways you can lower your commuting expense based on commuting needs and means of transportation. Demand is the key and if you can cut down on your demand and need to commute using petroleum it will have the biggest impact on your cost. The second biggest factor is means of transport and a cheap bicycle is a great way to do allot of short trips and get in some needed exercise. In fact there are allot of companies out there that are developing small attachable motors for multi speed bikes and since humans only put out .25 to .35 HP (Armstrong) to power a bicycle imagine what a 2 HP motor would do for a bike that weighs only 10-20 pounds. I don't count the rider because we never count them in motorcycle specs.
   Since I retired I have cut down my driving by 99% and besides using my motorcycles when I can for errands I try and use my bicycle. After trying a scooter (Yamaha 125 Vino) that weighs 250 pounds and has just enough acceleration to get you run over, I decided that a bicycle with a bolt on 15 HP V-twin lawnmower engine would be the best way to go. I figure with a centrifugal clutch and 6 gears using the rear derailer, you would have no problem keeping up with traffic. LOL

[Red01]

In fact there are allot of companies out there that are developing small attachable motors for multi speed bikes and since humans only put out .25 to .35 HP (Armstrong) to power a bicycle imagine what a 2 HP motor would do for a bike that weighs only 10-20 pounds.

Isn't that pretty much how motorcycles got started in the first place?
Several of today's motorcycle manufacturers got their motoring start doing this... Suzuki, Honda & Ducati to name a few off the top of my head.

[aussie john]

Live i australia, got 03 1200,have pipe, air filter, with dyno,(stage one)and on high way, sticking to the speed limit, i always get 54mpg,if i up it, goes down to 42mpg, so if perfectly tuned,uses less effort to run.

[Red01]

That's 54mpg (Imperial) right?

Remember, us Yanks use the smaller US gallon.

[mademiriam]

this has been mentioned before...and I don't have a lot of data yet but with the 5 degree advancer I'm getting way better gas mileage. First tank after the switch waited till 220 km thats 126 miles before switching to reserve, before that was usually around 190km, mind you the last tank i was stuck on a ride going fairly slow for about half of it. Will post when I've put a few more tanks through it.

[aussie john]

That's 54mpg (Imperial) right?

Remember, us Yanks use the smaller US gallon.

I forgot you fellas are backward(he he) We work on 4.54609 litre to the gallon, What you work on?