Kawasaki starts promoting its bikes' MPG ratings - best = 70 mpg

[beatr911]

That 50mpg number is not a calculated number. Ask your buddy to calculate his average of 3 tanks to at least one decimal point. I can almost guarantee he'll see better than 55. My 1000 gets 54+.

Many Ninja 250 owners report 65+. To max the 250 change gearing and use hypermiling techniques. Your buddy could see 70+.

[Electric Frenzy]

I own a 2004 Honda Reflex 250cc and currently use it is my sunny-day-daily. I'm 265lbs and have NO problems averaging 71mpg as long as I keep it under 65mph on my commute. It'll drop around 65mpg when I get on the highways.

Gotta love a scooter commuter. $9/month in insurance and a $12/month gas bill.

[theunchosen]

actually. . .

The problem with bikes. . .is the engine is tuned for HP with no consideration for FE. Most people who buy a bike honestly buy it because they want to be outside of the box and the allure of going really fast, even if they never do it.

Cars are tuned to get good MPG and HP so its a trade. McLaren F1 gets like 13 mpg but goes 200+, Civic goes maybe 100 and gets 41 mpg. IF you added the extra 2,000 pounds to a bike it would get terrible gas mileage. Plenty of people have replaced car engines with bike engines and made a very fast car, with much lower gas mileage.

Motorcycles usually run at higher rpm and don't allow for the cylinder to cool and clear as thoroughly as say an L4 B16e. If you ran your B16e around 4,000 rpm all the time it won't get very good mpg either.

[JacobAziza]

I've gotten above 70mpg several times with my Ninja 250.
(I usually get closer to 55-60 due to the appeal of the throttle)

About per passenger mpg: It can take one passenger, same as the Insight.
Also, it costs about 1/5th the price.

Best of all, in CA its legal to split lanes - the only thing better than having the engine cut out in stop and go traffic is never getting stuck in stop-and-go in the first place!

(No disrespect meant to the Insight, its the best car we got in this counrty)

[Super22LL]

I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a Yamaha R6S. I average 48-52 depending on how I ride it. I'm knocking on the door of 40 years old so I don't ride it hard as I may have once would have but I do let it out fairly often. If I rode it for FE I'm sure I could get better mileage, but I'm satisfied with what I'm getting on it.

Bikes aren't for everyone, and those of us that do have them can be divided into several catagories IMO. I'm a blend of the rice rocket/fuel miser/weekend cruiser lol. I'm at that age where I'm not ready for a gold wing but a 1000cc sport bike is too aggressive for me. I wish they still made the Honda Pacific Coast, that may be the perfect bike for me.

[beatr911]

Super22LL, I'm with ya! I want to ride until I can't make good decisions anymore, which I hope will be 90 years. I have 45 left to go so taking risks often is something I avoid.

The occasional wild hair keeps things interesting and ensures an ear to ear grin, just before the heart pounding and the "that was kind of supid" thought creeps in.

But then the smile slowly creeps back.

[car-zone]

70 mpg - KLX™250S
61 mpg - NINJA® 250R
55 mpg - KLR™ 650
53 mpg - Versys™
51 mpg - Ninja® 650R

But i never got 70 mpg .. What should i do ??

[JacobAziza]

Originally Posted by car-zone

But i never got 70 mpg .. What should i do ??

Exact same thing you would do to hypermile a car.

Slow down. Accelerate more gently. Don't idle.

I went from an average of 55mpg on my Ninja250 to 70mpg, no mods, just driving better.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by beatr911

I'm with ya! I want to ride until I can't make good decisions anymore

LOL, so you *could* decide to keep riding after that point anyway

[Norm-SV650]

If the bike is fuel injected and uses a oxygen sensor an owner should have no problem exclipsing those numbers by 20-40% right out of the box after break-in.

Norm