VF500 fuel mileage

Speaking of 250 Ninjas I would love to get one of those for my girl. The new body style is great.

 

really! that much i only get about 145 to a tank bone dry

 

I just drove my 83 750 all highway and averaged almost 40.

 

Adjusting carbs for better mileage.

:doh: :whoops: :redface: I have to correct myself regarding setting my '84 V30 Magna lean. I set the '84 500cc V30 dead on the factory spec of 0.24 inch or 6.2 mm, while holding the carb body at 15% from the vertical as the Clymer manual describes. It was the '82 750cc V45 that I set lean. :sorry: I have yet to get the V45 on the street because of the tank rust problem. So I have gotten near 50 mpg on the V30 with the floats set to standard height and I've gotten 38 mpg driving it in town with the standard float setting. :thumbsup: The V30 needles and seats were new when it's floats were set. The carbs had been dipped and throughly cleaned as well.

I have seen and compared the '84-85 500 cc carbs with the '86 500 cc carbs. There is a significant difference between the VD 57A Keitin's used on the earlier '84 CA 500's @ 1.255 in. (@32 mm) dia. throttle throat and the '86 500's VD 32 Keitin's @ 1.17 in (29.7mm) dia. throttle throat. The VD 32's are considerably smaller in overall physical size than the VD57's. The VD 57's use the same main jet piston and diaphram as the 700cc and 750cc VF bikes. The VD 32's have smaller pistons and diaphrams that fit in their smaller carb body. :nerd:

If this resulted in better gas milege for the '86 I can't say. The VD 32's were only featured on the '86 Interceptor. I don't know enough about the changes that were made as a result of align boring the '86 head's cam shaft bearing surfaces to be able to make a judgement. Were the same valves and seats used on the '86 heads? I don't know....yet.

I'd like to be able to tell you that I have taken the plugs out of my '84 V30and they are running rich. I'd like to think that the factory float setting can be set for leaner running that will allow the VF 500's to get 40+ mpg in town and 50+mpg on the highway. I have not had a reason to remove the plugs for the 1000+ miles that have been put on the bike since I rebuilt the carbs. For the sake of completness I just pulled the #1 and #3 cylinder plugs (the more easy plugs to get at) and they were running at what I would call a near perfect burn. the electrodes were Kackie (sp?) in color, clean and dry; the insulators were clean and dry and about the same color as the electrodes, or not :nerd:discolored at all. I run ARCO premium grade exclusivily. I reset the trip meter when I fill the tank. I always fill the tank to the lower lip of the filler hole. Sometimes I get a small amount of spillage when I close the filler cap. I have the mileage calculated by the person who gives me change after I fill up. I always use the same (cheapest) local ARCO station to fill up.

If I were rabid to get better mileage I would lean the V30 (500) carbs to an ash grey almost white burn. As it is, I would not recommend so radical a lean out as the one I have given the Magna VF 750. The VF45 Magna VD 51 carbs take a stock float setting of 0.28 inch. I set them to 0.33 inch. I erred on the lean side (up to 0.35 in) That is only 0.05+ inch leaner than stock. I was a little disappointed with the mileage of the '84 V30 so I went 0.05+ inch leaner on the V45 (750) because I expected it to be a bit of a pig on gas.

For the V30 (500) I would lean the present standard carb setting down to 0.30-0.31 inch and see what sort of burn I was getting. :flame: I'd be happy with a light tan to ash grey colored electrode while running at 2 to 3 hundreths of an inch leaner on the VD 57 float setting. I have run many car engines with lean float settings. The important thing is to lean the mixture out gradually until you get the right sort of burn on the plug electrode. Modern lean burn engines run with almost no residue on the plug electrodes and come out with little if any discoloration on the electrodes. I believe that these VF engines can be run leaner without harm to their pistons. This is in large part because they have such good ignition control. When cars and bikes had distributors and advance weights that could screw up the timing of the firing of the plug the danger of running the mixture too hot and burning up a piston was greater. I think the electronic ignition is the difference between lean burn in the 90's and into 2000. I believe that the Vf ignition is capable of being trusted with leaner burning AF mixtures. That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking with it. Gas is just too darn expensive to use more than is necessary, even in a motorcycle.

Once again, please forgive me if I lead anyone astray claiming that the 84 V30 was getting the mileage I described running lean. It was running right at factory float setting spec. I'll check write another thread about the result of setting the V45 to run lean when I have it sorted it out and put sufficient miles on the V45 to make a report. :embarassed:

 

I think you just scared to use all 12k rpms on your bike that is why your mileage is so good. Like i said stock and riding responsibly i averaged close to 60 mpg for a long time. Since im modified and ride the piss out of the bike when i do ride it my mileage plummets considerably. Doing almost 100 mph in 3rd gear does not equal good economy for most anything.

 

I don't know fellas, I ride my bikes about as hard as anyone. Sure, I don't exceed 9000rpm, but that doesn't mean I use anything except 100% throttle all of the way to that point.

Anything in the 40's or lower would indicate 1) a problem or 2) tuning that is out of whack. Being way rich could cause the poor mileage. I've found that a very rich mixture will still run pretty decent so often times folks don't even know how bad it is. I'm guilty of that myself.

 

My VF500F gets about 130 on a tank. My 1984 V65 Sabre gets about 125 on a tank IF I don't ride hard. My 1964 Cadillac gets 7 MPG IF I don't use the air conditioning. My work van for my mobile mechanic business, a 1985 Grumman Olson 26' box van, fully loaded with all the tools, air compressor, generator, shop press, etc...get 5 MPG.

Hmmmmm...wonder if I can outfit my 500 Interceptor for work?

Wayne
CenTex Mobile Mechanix
Austin, TX

 

Me? High Mileage???

You make an excellent point, Wayne ( geetarzan63). Your weighed down work van gets the worst gas mileage of all your vehicles. I’m a fat old man who weighs in at around 270 lbs. I’d expect to get worse gas mileage than my son who weighs less than 150 lbs. I am :sad: that he did not ride the V30 to northern CA. He claimed he got 70 on the ninja 250 but I'd guess he got 75or 80 mpg carrying his light weight. You might recall when gas hit the mid $4range the government and media were telling people to “get the junk out of their trunks”, check the inflation of their tires, and avoid rapid acceleration. I’d have to get back down to 200 lbs or less to start seeing high mileage.

As for rapid acceleration, I’m probably no different than Jamie Daughherty, I like to use everything to 9K or 10K revs, up to what my local street cops will entertain as not being “exhibition of speed”. :vtr2: But the V30 will get me to 50 in first, if I wring the bike out, and second will get me to 75 wrung out. Hell, I’m already running too fast than is safe on any city street. I have to let you know that two weeks ago some hot shot rider on the feeder street I drive on next to home ran into a lady backing a pickup out of her driveway. I heard one long “rinnnnnnnnggggg” as the guy wound his crotch rocket up in first from the stoplight about two blocks away from my house on the feeder street. Then I heard a short “Bang”. I thought , "Hey, where is second gear". The guy was dead some place in the air after he hit the palm tree and the mailbox stem that cut his arm off in front of the lady's house . He ended up a crumpled bloody mess half a block up the road at the entrance to the Mormon Church. That was the result of racing on a city street about one diagonal block from my house.

On hot days or when I’m trailing a particularly cautious driver I will make my way to the front of the line at a stop light and leave the cars in my exhaust in order to put distance between us after I have offended them by squirting myself and the bike by them at the light. I like to punch the bike up to 100 mph from time to time on the highway, especially at an entrance when the traffic is light, but I don’t enjoy eating 90 to 100 degrees F. air at those speeds and usually back down pretty quickly. I don't like to overdrive my headlight at night either, so that keeps me from running 100 mph at night as well as the fact that the airchill is cold at 100mph and the wind is just as bad as is in the day. So I don’t see myself as being a particularly “namby pamby” rider as MAGNAVMX5 describes me. However, I don’t want to end up a sacrifice to some truck bed I was just too stupid to be on the look out for on a city street either. So , yea, I don’t go all the way in first or second on city streets. And I am glad that the V30 engine is flexible enough to drive in 6th (OD) gear at 45mph. 8 to 9 K rev is usually enough to blow off any car at a stoplight, even if I weigh 270. If the dude next to me wants to race because I dared to squeeze up to the front of the line, well I’m glad to let the fool get the traffic ticket while I tuck in behind him (but still ahead of the namby pamby local traffic).

I want to know the consequences of riding hard, or riding mostly highways, or turning off the bike while waiting at over long stop lights, of keeping the acceleration to a minimum, and how it affects my wallet. I bought the V30 from a girl who had hit a car that didn't see her coming and just drove through a stop sign in the LA morning fog. She was in the right but she severly damaged her wrist when she flew over the hood and landed on the other side of the car. :nono: The ’84 V30 went for $200 as a non running project bike that would result in my being able to get out of my car and get double the mileage while running around doing errands in Riverside. So I built the bike for saving on gas costs and not for racing. That’s why I check the mileage every time I fill it up. I like getting change back from a ten every time I fill the bike, rather than having to reach deeper than a twenty every time I fill the car. I know the people at the counter and they know I’m going to ask them to use the calculator they have sitting beside the register. I only have to memorize the miles on the trip meter and the gallons on the gas pump and I have my answer. I don’t even have to do long division. I hope that XTRAVBX will try out this mileage check method on his '86 Interceptor. :smile: I would like to know what kind of mileage he gets with VD 32 Keitins. I think that SLOBIRD (he started this thread) also has an '86 interceptor?

Would I run my floats 0.02 to 0.04 inch leaner to get better mileage? Yes, I will. I'd even go to 0.06-0.08 inch if I could get away without damage to the pistons. And with any luck I’ll loose about 70 lbs of junk :kaboom: that I carry in my trunk and see if that helps reduce mpg too. :biggrin:

DKC

ps. one of these days I'll get around to taking pictures of all 5 of the VF bikes I own. I'll take pictures of the three 500 Interceptors that were my son's project bikes as well.

 

To a tank I get about 120 Miles before I hit reserve.

If I keep going the farthest I've gone is 150 Miles.

Again...that was with the 44 rear Sprocket (Which I'm dropping to a 42) and Carbs in need of a Synch BADLY!

I weight about 145-150lbs....and I try and keep my tires at around 40 PSI.

 

Let's put this into perspective - my VTR1000F was hit hard by the magazines when it first came out because it gets horrible fuel economy, some of the worst they had ever seen. It gets 36-37mpg... a whole 4mpg better than you guys are claiming!!!

A VF500F getting anything less than 50mpg means something is wrong. I've noticed that when something is bad in the carbs the fuel economy drops off quickly. That's what I think you guys are observing. Most likely there is some garbage in the float needle inlet screens or some passages that are plugged. I think you'll be amazed at what a little maintenance does for your mileage!

 

You are describing the stock rear mains (102) and stock front mains (105) on an 84 Interceptor (both Cal and 49 states). You should have those jets in Kaitin VD 56A or 57A carburetors. My 84 Magna has VD 59A carbs running 108mains. I doubt if there is any physical difference between the VD 56-57's and the VD 58-59's. I'd guess that the number difference has to do with jet selection at the factory. The V30 engine is essentially but not exactly, symetrical about its vertical centerline, therefore there is no need to adjust the jets for vertical position fore to aft on the motor. That Honda chose to tweak the Interceptor carbs with the refinement of 102/105 mains might mean that it runs a tad leaner and that the little bit that the vertical symmetry is out is accounted for by the small jet size difference fore and aft. I'd like to switch out my 108's for a set of 102's front and rear. I doubt it would jeapordize the integrity of the Magna V30 piston crowns and I might save on gas.

This, however is not the case for the early V45 and V65 motors in the Magna and Sabre models. The front carbs are down draft and the rear carbs are side draft. (take a look at the early Vf motors used on the 750/1100 Interceptor) The jetting and springs are tailored to each carbs placement although the carb bodies are the same front and rear.

So your jets are right. The float levels are, however, crutial to fuel mileage See previous reply re float adjustment). The carbs using #90 jets come from the Kaitin 31a and 32a carbs used on the one year only 86 Vf500f. This is the basis of the question regarding "Matts1986vf500f" that he has rebuilt with help from Jamie and Squirrelman. There were a set of carbs numbered VD 85B on the 49 state '85 Interceptor 500's. That does not mean that they had #85 mains. In fact they use the 105 jets on both the front and rear carbs.

The change in jet size is significant between the early 500's and the last year 500s. As stated elsewhere, the carb bodies are significantly different (VD 31A-32A is smaller) as well. Does this make for a significant change in mileage when using the smaller jetted VD 31 or 32 carbs? We are waiting to hear from Matt1986vf500f. There was another guy, xtravbx, with a 1986 who was going to check mileage too. :smile:

 

Hey magnavmx5,

I made some claims about speed in gear in an earlier reply that were wrong. The Magna V30 is geared to red line in 1st @ around 45 mph (stock sprocket setup). Second gets to @ 65 or 70 mph at redline. The Magna will easily run over the red line in 1st, so I probably have managed to hit about 50 mph in 1st. I try to keep it down now to avoid damage to the engine.

I finally got it together to inflate my V30 tires to the max @40 psi. I immediately noticed that the ride was harsh and I was getting a lot of feed back that I did not feel before. But, first full tank of gas I got better than 40 in town driving (41). I left the choke on for one 10 mile jaunt.

I'm waiting for MAtt86Vf500f to make his mileage report on the rebuilt Kaitin 31's. Hope he checks tire inflation.

 

Pulling wheel on a 500 at 80 mph as you come out of 3rd hurts your mileage imo. But good i love this bike. Biggest little bike ever made.

 

Wha? ^^^

Pulling wheel?

 

You are telling me your vf500 will not do wheelies when you power shift not even a little? Granted its not like what it does in first gear if i slip the clutch but the front wheel does leave the ground abit.

 

The most I've ever gotten my VF to do was, while powering through a corner, it felt like the front wheel was getting a bit light.

 

No reason to try! The bike is not THAT powerful! If it would pull the front wheel easily, I still wouldn't do it, but would understand someone trying it.

 

My bike can not do power wheelies.

I think that's normal.

 

I checked my mileage - 40mpg.

35psi front and back

 

Going through the logs my GasCubby app on my IPhone....I see that my best mileage was during the part of my road-trip where I was cruising around the Adirondacks with no stops doing 70-90km/h in 6th gear.

That 1st day of my trip I was doing about 44-50mpg.