101.5 MPG on my 2003 Ninja 250!!!

[dcb]

LOL, this thread is so long thread anyway, just worry about trying to beat the pants off of 101.5

[Christ]

It'll be tough on a 185 Cruiser, I think...

Mine's only a 4 speed, though... that might be a problem for me. I'll probably have to change ratios to get higher than the OEM rated ~65 (I think that's the right number) without employing serious HyperMiling tactics.

First things first, maybe getting a test ride in, and even if not, I'm going to go over it completely, clean it up, and get it running in perfect form. Then I'll worry about playing with it.

Of course, I'll establish a base-line mileage before I even bother making any changes, but I do want to keep it able to be returned to OEM as easily as possible. I'd actually love to keep it all OEM optioned, if I could. We'll see!

[theycallmeebryan]

Originally Posted by Christ

I thought about that right after I posted those pics... I'll start a thread after this weekend, when I can get the bikes out in the open. They're still sitting in Cara, because I don't want them here where I'm living. I'll store them at my Father's house, and I'll rub some saddle oil on the seat and put WD40 on the metal/painted bits every couple weeks to keep the crusties from forming.

Thread coming!

Meanwhile, if the OP prefers, I can delete those pics.

What say ye, Bryan?

Nice find! The twinstar looks like its in decent shape given its history. Make sure you thoroughly go over the bike before you hop on it. Do all the normal tuneup bits, and check every fastener and bolt to make sure they are tight! Replace any rusted parts that you find (it doesn't look like there are many). By the way, that seat looks comfortable!

You can leave the pics if you want. Part of the reason for me doing this whole thing was to inspire people. I'm glad that people are coming around!

Remember..... ATGATT.... All The Gear, All The Time. I can not stress this enough. Jeans and a t-shirt do not protect your skin from the pavement. My father was just in a motorcycle accident 2 weeks ago. He was only wearing riding pants. Wasn't wearing his jacket or gloves (he said it was too hot out). Needless to say, his whole upper body was roadrashed pretty bad. His helmet has a huge gas in the backside of it because he slammed his head on the pavement. Had he been wearing a stupid "skull cap" helmet, this story would be a little bit different... But he was wearing a full face helmet. Needless to say, all of his Harley buddies that were with him that day are all buying full face helmets and proper gear now after seeing my father go down.

Ride safe and i'm looking forward to a thread about your 100+ mpg adventures

[Christ]

ATGATT - I know this well.

At a young age, I dumped a pedal bike at high speed and skidded about 400 feet down a gravel hill. I don't think I managed to pick it all out, even after several days of trying. Since then, I wear fairly thick clothes if I'm going to be doing anything more than leisurely pedaling.

I wear a full face helmet when I'm on anything that goes any faster than about 10MPH and has an open cabin, except my lawn tractor. It does about 30, but I use a 3/4 helmet with it.

Sorry to hear about your Father, but I hope he learned his lesson without too much pain involved. Apparently, it taught others a lesson more easily learned by them than him, so at least someone got something from it.

So, realistically, what do you think I could get out of it as a base line under normal riding conditions?

[dcb]

Well, this guy is claiming 85mpg and I can't tell if he is trying or not:
Honda Twinstar (Honda CM200T) | Fuelly

[Christ]

Originally Posted by dcb

Well, this guy is claiming 85mpg and I can't tell if he is trying or not:
Honda Twinstar (Honda CM200T) | Fuelly

Seeing his average, looks to be low 80's, but still excellent. He really shoudln't be having to try that hard to get that mileage, by what I see... looks to be a side-by-side twin, single carb, dual exhaust, might be DOHC, haven't checked closely.

I'd think 80 should be a good baseline for the 200, the 185 isn't much smaller, so maybe mid 80's?

If that's what I'm starting from, shooting for 100 just seems like cheating... LOL.

I'm thinking about restoring that Dream 90, too. It only has a few thousand miles on it, as well, but is in considerably worse condition, and in need of a full resto, even though the engine is rebuilt fresh in the last 100 miles.

[Christ]

I think if I were going to buy a new bike, this would probably be it... the Ninja 250 is just getting to be too expensive for a basic bike, and the economy went down with the newer generation.

People are trying to sell their 250's for several thousand dollars used from '96 with 24,000 miles and no record of maintenance...

[3-Wheeler]

If you want more fuel mileage beyond 80, then be sure to check out the old Craig Vetter High Mileage Contest motorcycles from the years 1980 to 1985.

The winner for the 1985 year got close to 500mpg from a smallish displacement motorcycle. Gearing and aerodynamics are your friends!!

Jim.

[extragoode]

I looked into those Lifan bikes very hard when I was looking for a second bike, but I never rode one. If you're lucky you'll have a local dealer. My closest one was 100 miles away, which is why I never test drove one and also made if kind of difficult to justify in light of the questionable quality some people were reporting. Personally I still plan to check them out once I get more financially stable from being laid off, I just wanted caution you that all may not be as it seems. That MSRP is very deceptive as well. The only way I found to get that price was in Florida or Texas where the delivery costs are lowest for some reason. The best price I found on them in Iowa was $2700 plus tax, title and license, so I figured it's be $3000 before I was done. I imagine the situation would be similar in Pennsylvania.

Please keep us posted on the restoration of your Honda. I for one am very interested about what you find in the way of gearing and jetting because yours looks strikingly similar to my 81 CM400E I've been riding for the last couple years. I think mine has a 43 tooth rear sprocket and the only taller stock gear was a 42, so I figured it wasn't worth it to have one custom made.
What exactly goes into jetting? I've ask a couple people I know and they tell me to either not mess with it or have a professional do it.

I wish you better luck with junkyards than I had on the headlight. My advice, when you find one, order two. The best I could do was $70 + shipping from a junkyard or $85 from the local dealer, either way it was going to take them a month to get it to me. My low burned out less than 100 miles after I got it, and the high burned out less than 200 miles more, by the way. That's why I retrofitted my nerdcycle with the LED headlight, but I reused the original housing, so that may not be an option for you if the previous owner didn't have it anymore.

[jonathan150cc]

Regarding Lifan and other Chinese bikes, as long as you are handy with a wrench and don't mind tightening up ground wire bolts and other miscellaneous things that weren't tightened to spec before they went in the shipping crate, they are great little bikes to have.

The engines, from all of my experience, are usually never a problem. The plastics are a little cheap and brittle but as years go by, they must be constantly redesigning because they keep getting better. My 2008 plastics are just a notch down from my sister-in-law's 2009.

If I ever do trade the scooter in for another bike, it will certainly Chinese. Keep in mind, I am a DIYer. I fix my own stuff and I don't mind doing it. I also keep my things well maintained. If you are like me, then you really can't go wrong for the price. Yes, they are lower quality than the Jap bikes, but I think the savings of over $1000 from the Japanese counterparts more than makes up for it.