[stillsearching]

By hiway I mean demanding interstate btw running 70-75mph all day even up to 80mph on occasion.

I see some great mileage figures posted for 125 and 250cc motorcycles, but i've heard comments on other boards that if your struggling near the top of their speed range the mileage goes to pot. An example is the Virago vx250 - suggested over 80mpg got me interested, it can technically hit 85mph so I thought it would be a good commuting choice... yet i'm often forced into 77mph flow of traffic situations where I live at times and one comment said that if you cruise over 60mph it will drop down to like 50mpg. (which is worse than 650cc bikes below there) I cant verify this but it drops my interest alot if so. My current hours mean busy roads where pulse/glide wont work but if I can change that it may become so later on alternate hours. A different living location might mean different roads, distance, and travel speeds but this question will still be valid for others.

I'm aware slowing down is one of the best things you can do, and so is aeromodding. If time didn't matter I could ride a 144mpg Honda Dio to work and take twice the commuting time after a 10 hour job to collapse in exhaustion after such a day... What about those of us for whom by road situations or circumstance forces faster travel speeds? I'm still in the process of trying to explore alternate living and work arrangements for a future situation for which i'm trying to cut down to absolute minimum travel cost while still having to go faster speeds.

It's starting to seem like 30+ hp is the minimum for a 70-75mph commuting motorcycle as it is. (unless one gets the hang of making full fairings and such, but just going by rules of thumb to start, people starting with stock bikes saving up for mods, and afraid to drop and ruin their new fiberglass fairing being a young rider isn't an instant fix for all) I'd love alternate opinions, from people here (since i'm tired of the idiocy on most motorcycle boards where i've literally been told anything less than 883cc cruisers for first bikes is for "f_gs and women" so i'm tired of trying to ask them for advice) more concerned about real world mileage. I'd like to know what kind of commuting speeds are "not overstressing" (that is getting advertised mileage figures) for the lesser ~20hp 250cc's and the 13-15hp 125cc's for instance, or even other bikes somewhere in the middle. The Yamaha 400 Drag Star Four was quoted as 32hp and 100mpg (! better than the 82mpg quoted for the Drag Star 250??) in one review, if that's not a misprint. Then that may be at 55mph too.


I seriously want a 100mpg bike, but know that I may not get what I want of course and even if it does that at 55 it probably wont at 70, but how close can it get? Not being overstressed staying at 100% throttle seems important. Going too small may not be the answer is what i'm realizing and smaller displacement bikes may drop faster in mileage and probably engine lifespan due to being pushed too hard. The Ninja 250 sounds like a maybe, even if marginal, it's over 30hp, but I was hoping there'd be more than just one bike that can do that as it seems the only 250 that keeps up in the real world and most of the 650's seem to top out around 60mpg best possible.

If we can keep speed down whether 65mph, or 55mph, how well do real world figures match the (poorly clarified/speeds not listed in reviews by bike magazines) claimed figures over 80-100mpg? Is a typical 250cc standard/cruiser being pushed too hard to maintain 65mph to get the mileage? Is there a best 250cc for actually running that sustained speed?

With some 125cc's often hitting the wall as low as 60mph and nearly all by 65mph can I actually expect rated mileage at 55mph or not overstressing it running that close to the line sustained?