Kawasaki starts promoting its bikes' MPG ratings - best = 70 mpg

[theycallmeebryan]

Originally Posted by Norm-SV650

If the bike is fuel injected and uses a oxygen sensor an owner should have no problem exclipsing those numbers by 20-40% right out of the box after break-in.

Norm

I will say that changing the jets in a carburetor is not difficult at all. It's just a matter of taking the carburetors out and replacing them. Its a simple mechanical technology that has worked well for many years, and work really well when you dial them in. In fact, you can get more power in a Naturally aspirated engine with a carburetor than you can with EFI. However, with the belt tightening of emissions laws and what not, EFI is the answer. Not to mention, I'm so used to EFI on my Buick Grand National, and love the luxury of adjusting everything on the fly on a laptop .

Too bad Kawasaki wont bring the EFI Ninja 250 over to the US! Only Europe gets to have the fun . There's a discussion going on at the ninja 250 forums about why that is.... People are saying that it will further increase the price of the US version...that would make it priced closer to the 600 and people would probably just splurge the couple extra bucks and get that, and potentially eliminate the 250.

I'd love to source out the TBI setup that the Europe EX250 uses:

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by theycallmeebryan

I will say that changing the jets in a carburetor is not difficult at all. It's just a matter of taking the carburetors out and replacing them. Its a simple mechanical technology that has worked well for many years, and work really well when you dial them in. In fact, you can get more power in a Naturally aspirated engine with a carburetor than you can with EFI. However, with the belt tightening of emissions laws and what not, EFI is the answer. Not to mention, I'm so used to EFI on my Buick Grand National, and love the luxury of adjusting everything on the fly on a laptop .

Too bad Kawasaki wont bring the EFI Ninja 250 over to the US! Only Europe gets to have the fun . There's a discussion going on at the ninja 250 forums about why that is.... People are saying that it will further increase the price of the US version...that would make it priced closer to the 600 and people would probably just splurge the couple extra bucks and get that, and potentially eliminate the 250.

That's true, and the 250 is like their most sold bike too.

[olmon]

hardknockbobber sells a 125CC for $1700 and a 200CC w/5spd for $2000.
I've been thinking pretty hard on getting one of these myself. @$2K for a 200CC & $1700 for the 125CC, sure beats the price of the rest of the market on scooters and motorcycles too. And has the added benefit of being unique. I've only seen one of them on the road, so not many are going to know what it is that you are riding.

[hotrodfeguy]

Did you see the Eliminator 125 by Kawasaki it shows 95 MPG. I wonder what a person could eek out of that with mods.

[kawboyCAFE]

its all about perspective. people are all different. lets use kawasaki for instance. a person wanting a little speed is not going to be happy with a eliminator 125, where as, a person wanting great fuel economy wont be happy with anything over a 125cc bike or scooter. also, those numbers the motorcycle companies put out about mpg are a joke. they ride the test bikes at a steady 30 mph for an hour on a circular test track, and then tell the public what great numbers they got. they just fail to mention that they did not get those numbers in a real world enviorment.

[Grant-53]

The 125cc Honda Egg in the Vetter contest managed 472 mpg highway. That's why they advertise the EPA protocols so there is some way to compare; otherwise you do the Jack Benny run - coast down the hill to the gas station, check the tank, and proclaim with a smile, "Full. I didn't spill a drop!" For the motorcycles reducing aero drag is paramount for both FE and speed.