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Originally Posted by sendler
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2014 CTX 700 owner...Competed in the 2014 AMA Challenge with a disqualified finish near 102 mpg (my calculation was more like 97, but my trip meter showed less miles than was used for the official record of the event and so this caused at or about a 3 mpg discrepancy from me and my bike, but if it was true that my mileage record was more accurate than the official record, then this same error could have been applied equally to all contestants; meaning, from a comparison standpoint, I was still in the same place).
I laid my bike down in November 2014; repaired it via an insurance claim and kept it at a couple of bike dealerships trying to sell it for a year-and-a-half. Recently, I gave up trying to sell a CTX700 that is not an automatic and therefore no one has been interested in it, and am riding again. New tires. Pilot 4s; not yet checked trip meter accuracy with the new tires and adjusted mpg calculations but will be doing that soon, as I'm sort of obsessed with getting my mpg records as accurate as possible. My first 4 fillups have been at or about 75, 76, 76, 79 without an odometer check; mostly commuting along state highways and through one small town with five traffic lights to and fro.
I have a history of being interested in stock vehicles with supposedly better mpg w/o paying a large price premium for these choices and using reasonable operating techniques w/o out-right hypermiling and doing pretty well (except for Saturn Hybrid listed below): 2006 VW Jetta TDI (EPA estimate - 36 mpg mixed; actual 45 lifetime); 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid (spouse's vehicle, EPA estimate - 33 mixed, actual lifetime so far at or about 30). 2014 Honda CTX 700 regular straight-shift, standard brakes, fairing model, red, mostly stock except for Madstad 12" windscreen and milk crate attached to pillion portion of the seat (Honda's estimate 64; actual so far this time at or about 76, but history shows much worse, and I mean much worse in cold weather operation; maybe down to low 60s). And my most recent purchase, a 2015 Ford F150, regular cab, 2wd, 3.31 rear axle, short bed with the 2.7-liter Ecoboost V6 (EPA estimate mixed 22; actual so far at or about 24 in a supposedly much overrated Ecoboost engine but which has not been the case for me so far.(EPAMy mpg in the CTX700 came in way above the next-highest, non-streamlined bike that finished the entire race. Second place, who was also disqualified due to the Hayes rule regarding the groceries, was riding a 200 cc dual-purpose bike. The Hayes biodiesel machine (not stock, but a stock-style bike) was doing much better mpg wise than me, but was DNF in this challenge due to mechanical issues and my mpg in that event was a full 17-18 higher than I had ever accomplished from one fill up to the next.
Vetter Fuel Challenge at the AMA 2014: I had the same equipment and accessories always kept on my bike for commuting and other uses as during the event, and had been on even slower rides, i.e. charity rides and had never before exceeded 83 mpg, and since I short shifted as normal in this torquey 670 cc, 500 pound, low-slung, small fairing, straight-shift version, auto tech engine, Honda dream machine; the only thing I can attribute to the mpg-busting score that I accomplished at the AMA ride was that I tucked down inside the fairing whenever I felt it would be beneficial to do so. Tucking is something I never do normally, but I wanted a good score. My tire PSI was normal; everything was the same, except at home I usually run pure gas, but up in Ohio, pure gas wasn't available and it would have been against the rules anyway.
The box, which was rectangular, tall, and mounted long ways, at or about 53-liters inside capacity, strapped to my seat, along with the fairing version of my bike and the small windshield was suggested by some of the other riders, that it could have created a somewhat streamlining effect. And based on how well me and my bike did in that event, its likely there had to be some truth to this assumption. The CTX700 has a dyno rating at or about 47-48 peak horsepower and at or about 41-42 peak ft pounds of torque, 90% of which is very flat torque through much of the RPM range. I am a believer that a right-sized displacement engine with good torque can deliver very good mpg when available horsepower is kept in check and the driver uses the down-low torque to keep RPM low, even while accelerating. Even though I'm not very physics minded, I know that I really like the driving character of good low end and mid-range torque and have been happy with the results of all three vehicles I've chosen with respect to mpg and performance (not counting the Saturn, as it has to scream to get torque).
Here is the problem as I see it regarding the CTX700 and the lack of good mpg recording via Fuelly or other places. I used to be highly involved at their discussion forum website, and almost no one there gives a rat's **** about mpg. Most of them are all about the fancy modifications: running boards, side cases, wind-blocking Cee Bailey windscreen, etc.
Most of the owners come from one of the following categories and I know, no one fits squarely in a category, but it's helpful to understand why I can find no one but myself who bought this particular bike for it's great mpg opportunity and good torque for a mid-size entrant: (1) 2nd bike for a female spouse, so she can ride with hubby on his more powerful or heavy bike; (2) downsizing from a touring or sport touring history of riding; (3) switching to an automatic due to injury or just for convenience in in-town riding; (4) they like the idea of a smaller cruiser-style bike that is a little more performance-oriented than most any scooter from a handling perspective, which puts this bike in a hybrid category, which has now been duplicated in the naked version by HD (in a Street 750) and Yamaha Vulcan S, but only Honda has such an animal in a faired version and only Honda has one with an automotive-like engine with impressive mpg.
Almost everyone over at that forum has the automatic. I believe the automatic is far less efficient, but I can't know that for sure, because many who ride the manual version also get poor mpg as compared to what I do, so who knows...