What's your best motorcycle MPG?

[bdesj]

"The 30 MPH was a one time test, too boring to repeat."
You`re a very patient driver, JRM . I try, but I don`t think I could pull off a tankfull at 30MPH.

"The gas mileage was real sensitive to throttle useage - it would drop a lot if I got twitchy on the throttle."
I wonder if a throttle lock would help keep things steady. Since I have a particularly twitchy wrist (much more than my gas foot), I`ve been tempted.

[hmiwb]

I've owned a number of motorcycles of various sizes over the years. Most have usually gotten 40 to 50 mpg under most conditions. City vs highway mileage seems to be offset by bad aerodynamics at higher speeds. The best mileage numbers I ever got were 65 mpg with a Yamaha 125 enduro and 60 mpg with a Suzuki 650 Savage cruiser which was a single cylinder "thumper". Age and time have taken their tole on me so I'm currently working on a 49cc 4 cycle set up for a Schwinn bicycle that I own. The kit manufacturer claims 150 mpg, but I'm a skeptic so I'll wait and see what it actually delivers. Still anything over 100 mpg will be worthy of keeping my mini suv parked instead of taking it to the grocery store or for local errands, weather permitting of course.

[darcane]

My first bike was a '96 Katana 600 - 65mpg
Second was a '01 Ninja ZX6R - 55mpg
Current bike - '99 YZF R1 - 40mpg (very little time riding it, I hope to do better)

All three are very sensitive to riding position as far as mpg goes.

Mike

[darcane]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I'm betting you notice a difference at the pump by doing that.

That is funny. My buddy has an SV1000 - likes to remind me his motor is the same size as my car's, and about twice as powerful.

This is an old quote, but interesting...

Your Metro has the XFi cam, right? So you're probably at 49hp.

The new ZX10R has the same size engine, but over four times the power!

Mike

[bdesj]

Originally Posted by hmiwb

I'm currently working on a 49cc 4 cycle set up for a Schwinn bicycle that I own. The kit manufacturer claims 150 mpg, but I'm a skeptic so I'll wait and see what it actually delivers.

Well, that sounds conceiveable to me. Good luck with that project and I`m anxious to hear how it goes for you. I kicked around the idea too, but decided that it wouldn`t really be all that useful for my situation. Out of curiosity, what type of drive system is it? And are you going with a 35cc motor?

[hmiwb]

I'm going with a 49 cc 4 stroke engine. A kit I bought from Daemon.com. The engine size was dictated by Missouri law which considers 2 wheel vehicles with less than 50 cc to be mopeds which are not subject to normal registration/taxation rules which apply to cars/trucks/motorcycles. 2 stroke kits are cheaper, but I decided that I probably couldn't live with the weedwacker sound or the hassle of mixing fuel and oil all the time. Downtown in our small town is only about 4 miles and the grocery store is about 5 miles, all on surface streets with fairly light traffic. I think it'll work but I won't know until I try it. I'll let you know how it goes.http://dotable.com/images/smilies/turtle.gif

[bdesj]

Sheesh, now I see that you said 49cc right there in the first post! Sorry. I don`t blame you for not wanting the chainsaw motor. I bet your neighbors will be grateful, too. I know there are differnet types of drive systems. Are you going to drive a roller directly on the tire? Big pulley on the spokes? Tied into the chain before the derailler to take advantage of the gearing in your rear sprocket cluster?

They really do look like fun. The reason I decided it wouldn`t be worth it for me is that the close in locations I go to are so close that I usually just pedal myself there anyway, and "in town" for me is anywhere from 13 miles up (depending on where in town), so chances are I`d hop in my truck more often than not for anything outside of my little valley.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by hmiwb

I'm going with a 49 cc 4 stroke engine. 2 stroke kits are cheaper, but I decided that I probably couldn't live with the weedwacker sound or the hassle of mixing fuel and oil all the time.

2 strokes are also a LOT worse on the environment.

[hmiwb]

The kit I'm using has a gearbox and then chain drive to the rear wheel so the rear sprocket isn't huge, only 44 teeth. It leaves the pedal mechanism totally alone on the other side so the bike can be used in a normal manner also, but with some mechanical drag unless you remove/disconnect the motor drive chain completely.
Yes, 2 stroke noise, smoke and pollution I can do without. The 2 strokes have some sort of cat converter, but how long will that be effective before oil plugs it up?

[hmiwb]

I would love to just pedal my way to the store and back, but don't have much stamina since heart surgery and leg blood clots have messed with my circulation. I plan to pedal as much as I can and let the motor step in when I start to get leg cramps. It's an experiment, but if it works I can get out and run errands while leaving the car at home. Every little bit helps.