Quote:
Originally Posted by jkv357
He didn't say he wanted to add luggage and go touring, he said he wanted better mileage. If mileage is a concern, riding a BIG (1000cc) V-Twin isn't a great choice.
Getting into major mods like you suggested in order to get slightly better mileage from a 1000cc motorcycle is not a useful suggestion.
I think my comment of "just ride it and have fun" is a useful suggestion.
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Well smaller capacity is better, its also obvious that mileage isn't his only concern when it came to his choice of motorcycle.
Have you had a big Honda twin? I have. I owned their racebike for the street, a RC51 also know as a RVT1000SP2.
When I bought the bike it had stock gearing 16/40 (or 2.50:1 ), stock efi, slipping clutch and the fuel sender did not work, so I found out quickly that it had a range of about 125 miles on the 4.8 gallon tank - or - about 26 mpg.
The slipping clutch meant I had to make small smooth throttle inputs, so I was pretty sure that the bike wasn't going to get better mileage, once I could whack the throttle open.
So I fixed the clutch,
fixed the gas tank sender to know when I hit reserve (1.2 gallons),
replaced sprockets 17/39 (or 2.29),
added a Power Commander III (with a more 'street' tune),
installed a taller rear tire 190/55zr17 (over the 190/50zr17),
added a progressive 1/4 turn throttle (over the stock 1/6th),
reversed the radiator fans (to solve overheating issues),
and last, replaced all the air filters.
That meant that I had a bike that was marginally slower to 100mph than my friends rc51's, but I was getting 165 miles before the reserve light would light up. That's than 43 mpg.
Now if I could have had gear by gear mapping of a Power Commander V, a smaller rear sprocket, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, smaller injectors, a better airbox design, a rear suspension link, lighter wheels and brake rotors - I'm sure I could have managed even better mileage.