What's your best motorcycle MPG?

[low&slow]

Hi, I got a new PR with a tank of 66+ mpg for my 1982 Yamaha Vsion. I backed this up with a 62 mpg tank and and 60 mpg tank. I rebuilt the carburetors and have been doing a small bit of EOC. The weather starting to get cooler so I'm probably maxxed out for thid season but we'll keep shooting for a 70mpg tank.
L&S

[alvaro84]

Keep up the good work, you're improving
Weather is getting cooler here too, making harder to make good tanks. This morning on the way home it was 0..-4C (31..25F) when I gave a lift to a colleague - battery died in his Transalp. Just for the record, I can't really take any colder... My feet were cold and I felt the tires losing grip on that forest backroad I came through.

'Thanks' to the weather and the frequent 2-up (and packed) journeys I'm full of sub-80mpg tanks and have even sub-70 ones Rain, wind, and freeways take their toll, just like the extra weight. I'm may having a 80+mpg segment right now, but I don't trust it'll last for the tank - we're going on a 2-up travel through half of Hungary again. Out of necessity, not joy...

[dday]

2008 KLR 650 54mpg

1986 honda Elite 150 scooter 70mpg

[paul_g]

I am very pleased with the slightly used 2009 BMW X-Country I bought. This is a 650 thumper / 50hp that will easily do 100mph. I routinely get it up to 80 or so on my commute. It's been a very consistent 65-70 mpg so far without a fairing. That's at 7000+ feet in altitude here in the foothills of the southern Rockies. Once I get a fairing on it, I plan to do a tank of gas at 55 and 60 tops to see what kind of mileage I can eke out of it.

This thing weighs in at just 325 pounds dry!

But it looks like a much heavier bike.

Originally Posted by Who

84 MPG Imp. / 70 MPG / 3.4 LHK tooling around @ 50 MPH in New York State

it also got

29 MPG Imp. / 24 MPG / 9.7 LHK on Highway 401 @ 85 MPH

Which gave it the distinction if being the best and worst of my motorcycles.

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by paul_g

I am very pleased with the slightly used 2009 BMW X-Country I bought. This is a 650 thumper / 50hp that will easily do 100mph. I routinely get it up to 80 or so on my commute. It's been a very consistent 65-70 mpg so far without a fairing. That's at 7000+ feet in altitude here in the foothills of the southern Rockies. Once I get a fairing on it, I plan to do a tank of gas at 55 and 60 tops to see what kind of mileage I can eke out of it.

This thing weighs in at just 325 pounds dry!

But it looks like a much heavier bike.

Do you have a log about it? My Teresa is built on the same engine, is a bit more weighty (187kg/412lbs wet) (but still slim), and has a bit of fairing. Depending on the circumstances (weather, extra weight, road conditions, occassional hurry...) the mpg(US) I mostly get is in the 70s/80s. Sometimes under 70 (big hurry and/or side/headwind, rain, cold, extra weight), sometimes over 90 (nice weather, a bit of altitude, generously distributed PSL changes or outright P&G, noticeable elevation decrease over the - tank pick a few ) - all time best is 98.9, worst ever is 37, for a short distance but having to deal with all day long traffic jam without ANY experience - won't EVER happen again.

[paul_g]

No log. I sometimes set my trip meter after filling up, and then when I fill up again, I do the math. You are getting great mileage. I'm actually surprised that a twin can get such great mileage. I did a lot of comparison before I bought this and none of the twins had ratings above 56mpg.

What is your altitude and how much do you weigh? (if you don't mind my asking). I'm about 200lbs, which probably isn't helping Also, it's a dual sport, so I don't always have the tires pumped up tight. They are the Tourance dual sport tires with aren't optimized for street or dirt, but are good for both.

I've been told my model is based on the Aprillia. Looks like it.

There is quite a range there between your best and worst. I never got below 56mpg, even when my exhaust pipe got clogged and needed to be replaced. But haven't really broken 70mpg yet either. We'll see. I think a decent fairing will make a big difference.

Originally Posted by alvaro84

Do you have a log about it? My Teresa is built on the same engine, is a bit more weighty (187kg/412lbs wet) (but still slim), and has a bit of fairing. Depending on the circumstances (weather, extra weight, road conditions, occassional hurry...) the mpg(US) I mostly get is in the 70s/80s. Sometimes under 70 (big hurry and/or side/headwind, rain, cold, extra weight), sometimes over 90 (nice weather, a bit of altitude, generously distributed PSL changes or outright P&G, noticeable elevation decrease over the - tank pick a few ) - all time best is 98.9, worst ever is 37, for a short distance but having to deal with all day long traffic jam without ANY experience - won't EVER happen again.

[alvaro84]

Oh, you can call them one-offs... my typical FE ranges from ~64 to ~92mpgUS.
Having a passenger and a topcase full of books makes a difference, so does rain, cold (down to mild frost), head/sidewind... Teresa's a real workhorse, I often can't choose the weather I'm riding in.
Speed is another important factor, prolonged rides at freeway speeds could bring the FE under 60mpg (once I tried it too), so I don't do it. But at ~110km/h (~70mph) she gave me ~73mpg in the summer, which I feel much better. For ~90 mpg I need hilly area, nice weather and 1-up riding, mostly low speed in highest possible gear (only a few pulses over 55mph), and much coasting (or agressive pulse&glide on the flat which can be tiring).

I'm usually 146...150lbs (plus my riding gear, of course), of course it makes a little difference. Typical altitude is 100-200m here (~330-650ft) so the air is pretty dense. It's not even easy to find any road over 4-500m nearby.

And she's another thumper, not a twin, with the same 4-valve 652cc Rotax engine (some batches are built in Taiwan though) - a little modified compared to the old Aprilia one, which has 5 valves. (Oh, wait a minute, we have a twin too and gets similar mileage, but it's a 250cc twin )

As for tires, I've been using Metzeler Z6 (strictly road) since day one, it's the second set on, now at 22000km (I got the first pair already equipped since I bought Teresa used, and had them for ~21100km, replaced together), and inflated to sidewall max instead of BMW recommended.

[paul_g]

How do cold temps affect mpg? There is more oxygen density in cold air, I think. So, does that make the engine burn cleaner or richer? I have a Teknic jacket with a thermal liner that permits me to ride down into the low 20's for good distances without feeling so much as a hint of cold. But I don't recall it affected my mileage at all. Still 65-70. Now... dropping down to 4,000 ft elevation did take a toll on my mileage. That, and the fact it took place in a city with lots of starts and stops...

Do you know if engine rpm plays a role in efficiency? I've heard bikers say it doesn't play a role. But I usually try to keep the rpm's in the sweet spot, figuring the bike has to work harder at either the low or high end of each gear. Not sure what the science is there.

When you say "coasting" do you mean you are turning off the engine on downhill? Or shifting into neutral?

If you are getting 75 easy at less than 500 ft... I imagine you'd get amazing mpg at 7k feet where I am.

If you've got the same engine, then the prime difference between our riding factors are:

tires: advantage alvaro
fairing: advantage alvaro
rider weight: advantage alvaro
bike weight: advantage paul_g
altitude: advantage paul_g
riding style: advantage alvaro
body design: no advantage?

I ride my bike consistently pretty hard. I'm a new rider still having a love affair with the power and torque of the bike and haven't settled back into the just cruising mode. The feeling of accelerating up hill is one that is hard to resist.

BMW recommends a pretty low psi for the Tourence duals. 24 for the front and 28 for the back. Probably because the bike is designed to do some off road. What pressure do you have yours pumped to?

Originally Posted by alvaro84

Oh, you can call them one-offs... my typical FE ranges from ~64 to ~92mpgUS.
Having a passenger and a topcase full of books makes a difference, so does rain, cold (down to mild frost), head/sidewind... Teresa's a real workhorse, I often can't choose the weather I'm riding in.
Speed is another important factor, prolonged rides at freeway speeds could bring the FE under 60mpg (once I tried it too), so I don't do it. But at ~110km/h (~70mph) she gave me ~73mpg in the summer, which I feel much better. For ~90 mpg I need hilly area, nice weather and 1-up riding, mostly low speed in highest possible gear (only a few pulses over 55mph), and much coasting (or agressive pulse&glide on the flat which can be tiring).

I'm usually 146...150lbs (plus my riding gear, of course), of course it makes a little difference. Typical altitude is 100-200m here (~330-650ft) so the air is pretty dense. It's not even easy to find any road over 4-500m nearby.

And she's another thumper, not a twin, with the same 4-valve 652cc Rotax engine (some batches are built in Taiwan though) - a little modified compared to the old Aprilia one, which has 5 valves. (Oh, wait a minute, we have a twin too and gets similar mileage, but it's a 250cc twin )

As for tires, I've been using Metzeler Z6 (strictly road) since day one, it's the second set on, now at 22000km (I got the first pair already equipped since I bought Teresa used, and had them for ~21100km, replaced together), and inflated to sidewall max instead of BMW recommended.

[skyl4rk]

Would you recommend a F650 CS for long distance touring? I am trying to decide what bike to get and would like a relatively lightweight bike but it still needs to do 2-up long distance tours.

[kawboyCAFE]

skyl4rk: you can do 2-up long distance touring on just about any motorcycle or scooter, the question is, how much are you concerned about power. i have did many,many touring miles over the years on 250cc bikes, but thats just the way i am. and i never had a problem, because i am not a hot rodder.