Honda Magna 250

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

250cc bikes seem to have the least compromise between overall performance and fuel-efficiency. Too bad in my country the import of used vehicles less than 30 years-old is not allowed...

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by sendler

What is the worst weather that you get in the winter? I have 6 feet of snow on the curb. And -10F/ -23C.

We don't get very severe winters now, we haven't had snow at my place for 20 years. It rarely drops below 0 degrees C.

I've gotten soft over the years.
Now, if it's wet or foggy, I take the car.
If I'm working Day Shift (too many idiot drivers), I take the car.

[Grant-53]

My father-in-law used to tow the children around the field on their saucer behind his dirt bike. Good tires and protection from the wind is critical. We have ice racers and snowmobilers in western NY. My wife's family is from the area south of Buffalo.

[D.O.G.]

I've got three fills of "average" riding, not too fast, not too slow, some commuting, some weekend riding with my son, no serious hypermiling.

The average of these fills is 3.49 l/100 km (67.4 mpg), I'll use this as the base line to measure any mods against.

I've got the fairing mounted now and the new sprockets have arrived.
I'll probably play around with the height/angle of the fairing for a while before fitting the taller gearing, so I can see what works best without confusing the issue too much.

I haven't been riding as much as I'd hoped, we've had a very wet end to this Summer.

[D.O.G.]

It's time that I updated this thread.

I've given up the notion of using mpg figures to accurately compare adjustments or mods, there's just too much variation in riding conditions and minor fill errors with this little tank.

I started filling at my local service station and because they don't stock the 91 octane that I usually use, I filled with 95.
That gave me lower FE ???
Because previous experience tells me 95 should increase FE, I suspect their pumps are a bit off, so I've gone back to filling further down the mountains.

I fitted the larger front sprocket and saw an increase in FE. Fitting the smaller rear sprocket hasn't improved on that so far, but it's only been one fill, maybe I just need to get used to playing the gears a bit better.

I'm not happy with the screen I'm using, I'll probably make a custom screen rather than use another universal type, maybe not as big at this one though.

[sendler]

Higher octane fuel has less energy content so will usually give lower FE.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by D.O.G.

This one seems to trap so much heat around the rider's legs. I'd rather leave heavy aero mods for scooters...

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

This one seems to trap so much heat around the rider's legs. I'd rather leave heavy aero mods for scooters...

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While most of their "roof shields" are for scooters, they also offer versions for road bikes and even trail bikes.

Despite being aimed at weather protection and not aerodynamics, some aspects of the shield have given me ideas.

[Grant-53]

Streamlining an air cooled bike is a bit trickier than one with a radiator but quite possible with some thought. I use a coast down test to compare fairings. The hill is measured for height and distance. I average the speed of several runs after warming the tires. The best increases come from improving the flow behind the rider. See Sendler's tail box and some sailplane shapes.

[D.O.G.]

Here's an illustration of my current bike/car fuel savings.

We're having hot weather (40C+ one day) in my neck of the woods at present, so I've commuted by bike all this past week.

The rough difference between covering that 510km in the car (27.54 litres) verses the bike (16.58 litres) is $12.15 at today's fuel price.
That probably won't cover rego, insurance and minor maintenance, so for me there's no net gain financially by riding a bike to work.

The gain is in my mental wellbeing.