VF500 fuel mileage

I've heard "hard riding" mentioned a couple of times in this thread. I've find this to make a very minimal impact in fuel mileage. We are talking maybe 2-3mpg at most. To be clear: I'm comparing to average driving. The 500's get mid 50's normally, low 50's if ridden hard (which I do pretty much every time my butt hits the seat) and upper 50's on the highway.

As noted, I ride my bikes as hard as anyone I know. This is not an excuse for fuel mileage in the 30's!

 

I will be full cleaning/inspecting my carbs this winter and see if I get an improvement come spring.

 

Seeing as the riding season is widing down here in the rust belt, I'm planning to do a LOTof work to both bikes while their down. Going through the carbs again on the VF500 is a pretty big priority, along with possibly a complete engine rebuild. We'll see how things shake out next spring. Until then, I'm just gonna ride any chance I get!

 

What is happening to Matt1986vfr500f re gas mileage?

I have been hard at getting my rust removal report together. It should be done this weekend.

I have run the '84 Magna through a couple of tanks: 1.) with the tires fully inflated and mostly in town driving I got around 38.3 mpg; 2) the second tank was 50/50 town and highway driving ( I took two medium long trips to nearby cities,20 & 30 miles round trip respectivily) and the rest in town, filled up at 93 miles. I got 40.5 miles per gallon. I rode the highway's at around 80to 90 mph. Remember that I drive a Magna without a windshield. I am a big guy and I create alot of drag running on the highway.

I have almost gone through a third tank of exclusivily in town driving while trying to stay off the throttle and killing the engine at stop lights. I'll get back to you on the results.

We have had a spot of rain here over the past two days, not enough to keep me or a lot of bikes off the road. It made me get my leather jacket's out and I have taken them in to my local tailor for minor repairs prior to the coming of winter. It will be in the 80's tomorrrow and in the 90's the day after and over the coming weekend. I'm sorry for you Ohio drivers and the whole mid west set of cycle riders for that matter. That's not to say that California is a paradise where every day is a day to ride your cycle. Like the song says "it doesn't rain in Southern California, it pours", especially when the 'El Nino' is cooking like it seems it might this year, after many years of drought.

So Matt, I hope you are able to get in at least a couple of tanks of fuel before the dead of winter makes driving an impossibility in the "Johnstown Flood" area. I am waiting to hear how the '86 does with those Keitin 31's cleaned up and set up perfectly. Happy Halloween.

DKC

 

Hey DKC, I think it's funny how you are so concerned about Matt's mileage on a bike that he hasn't owned that long (a couple of years) but I've been riding VF500F's for over 15 years now and you won't believe me!

My data comes from more than one bike, by the way, in case you were wondering.

 

My real curosity is over the Keitin 31's?

They are definitly smaller carburetors, with smaller jets, smaller float bowls, smaller venturies and I assume smaller main and needle. Air volume is related to area as a function of the venturi radius squared ( Area of circle = 'pi' times 'r' squared). So that means that the Keitin 31's are going to be operating with less volume as a squared function related to venturi radius if air speed is held constant. If a carburetor is a fuel mixing device and the desired mixture is 15 to 1 then for the Keitin 31's to expend the same amount of fuel as say a Keitin 58 or 59, such as the ones on my '84 Magna, then it would appear necessary to run higher air velocity through the Keitin 31's. This would possibly result in better mixing of the atomized fuel in the higher velocity smaller Keitin 31/32 carburetor. This could result in a more efficient burn with less wasted fuel being puked out the tailpipe of a motor sporting Keitin 31/32's.

I'm not nay saying that you got 50+ mpg. But no one else is claiming to get that mileage. I rebuilt my Keitin 59's with new float needles and gaskets to the factory float setting and set the idle to the factory idle speed. And I have to drive considerable highway miles on a tank of premium gas to get low 40's mpg range. The bike idles perfectly, starts on the first lick of the starter solenoid, has no flat spots that I can discern on hard acceleration, gets out to 100 mph on command with no balking, even with a 265 lb load on it (I've lost a few lbs). Its a great bike, every thing my heart desires in a bike except it does not get good enough gas mileage. Would a set of Keitin 31/32s do me any good? I wonder. I may have to find out for myself in the end. But I am still curious if Matt can get 40+ mpg or better riding the way he describes his habits to be, that might confirm the fact that I need to try the Keitin 31's for myself.

 

49 mpg driving in town? Nothing wrong with your bike!

If you get that kind of mileage you have a very healthy Vf 500, even if you got it driving all freeway miles. What are you complaining about? Everyone else on this thread is pissed that they are getting less than 40 mpg in town. Don't take that motor apart. Don't even take the head apart. Your bike does better than every other guys on this thread but Jamies.

 

Ok, ok. Two wheelie storie in the past couple days! First was on the little 250 Ninja. I never would have DREAMED it, but shifting HARD from first to second, the front wheel came off a few inches! I'm sure it did, because I was turning slightly, and could feel it as it dropped back down (1/2 sec maybe?)

The second was on the VF500F. Full throttle, third or fourth gear (forget which) really close to time to shift, pop the top of a hill, and I know I got a good bit of air under the front tire. That bike has more power than I thought! I'm not about to try to make it do it on purpose though. It actually scared me wuite a bit. I let off slightly to set it back down, then twisted back on the throttle, as I was following someone! (Definitely riding harder than I should have been, even on a back road that I travel many times a day....)

 

Wake Up!!!

I'm restarting this thread with the news that this weekend I drove the '84 Vf500c to the Pomona Classic and Antique car swap meet (no longer recommended as it costs $9 to park even a bike and $8 to get in) and I got 45 mpg in mixed but primarily (@75 miles) highway driving, averaging I'd guess around 83-84 mph with spurts to 100 mph and back on the highway. The total miles on the fuel used before filling up was 106 miles. The number of gallons to fill was 2.34 gal. to fill to the low side of the rim of the filler neck as usual.

This coming weekend (Sunday, Sunday! See the incredible wide ass H-D seat contest. Sunday, Sunday! See the stunt bike circus. Sunday,Sunday? Children under 12 enter free. Sundaaaay, .....) I am driving the '84 Vf 500c to Long Beach (over 50 miles one way) to attend the "So-Cal Cycle Swap meet" at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Motorcycle parking is free and Cycle riders get in for $9. Should be a beautiful day and therefore a very good (read 'packed with sellers') swap meet. Doors open for buyers at 7am. doors close at 1pm, but these things are usually over by 10 or 11 am.

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

As I will effectively be driving the approximate cruising range of the Vf500c in going to Long Beach via the 91 Frwy and returning to Riverside by the same route, I should have an even better, more definitive mileage report to make next week.:tongue: I'll be checking pressures and filling tires. Checking/replacing the air filter, oiling the chain, pressurizing the front forks and loosing personal weigth, in my bid to have 'ol babs' get 50 mpg on this round trip to Long Beach. I will entertain any and all suggestions regarding further steps that can be taken to enhance the likelyhood of acheiving the 50 mpg milestone. Once ensconced at the venue I will continue my relentless hunt for the illusive 3-way stand alone fuel shut off valve.:biggrin:

DKC

 

Actually, 49mpg is still not very good. Something around 55mpg should be considered normal. Keep in mind that I'm basing that not on just one bike, but the four that I've owned plus a fifth that a close friend owned. These bikes were all owned for a good period of time so I'm pulling data from many, many tanks of fuel.

Man, I've got to tell you that none of my 500's have ever wanted to wheelie in first, let alone power wheelie in third. Some super hard clutch and throttle action and a touch of finesse in first will net you about a 6-8" gap under the front tire...... in first..... for just a split second....

I'm not saying that it didn't happen to you, just that it's never even been a remote possibility for me. Ever. And I've tried!

 

Jamie drop/slip the clutch around at about 6k rpms and keep in it you will be facing the sky man. I still maintain you just dont use all these lil bikes have to offer. Jporter i'm glad you see abit of what i have been talking about man.

I mean these bikes are no where near as fast as a new 600 or a new liter bike. My buddy on his 2004 gsxr1000 showed me that on the way home one night when he just straight hit the throttle and pulled wheel at 80 mph and left me smelling exhaust, that is when it donned on me holly shit that is fast. And i need to buy a faster bike cause i knew i wouldnt be satisfied until i could do that as well.

 

Dude, I've tried it all. It's not that I don't know how to - I wheelie about every stinking day on my newer bikes. None of my 500's have been close to pointing to the front wheel to the sky. The hit of the clutch being dropped will pop the wheel up just a couple of inches but the 500 doesn't have nearly enough power to lift it from there. If you are talking about the V45 Magna, that's a different wheelbase/cg/etc story.

Third gear? Not a chance. My 1098, which is the same weight as the VF500F with over twice the hp, won't do that without quite a bit of clutch action.... and lots of throttle. Never by accident.

 

lol im almost tempted to buy a camera and post it lol. Its ok jamie i wont bug you anymore

 

:crazy: please do post it up here all of us would love to see this sky high wheelie that you say the vf500's can do

 

That's more like it!!!

 

49 MPG driving to and from Long Beach @ 80 mph

Today was the first time I have driven the '84 Vf 500 over 50 miles at any one sit. Today I did 112 miles round trip to Long Beach to a Motorcycle Swap meet there. There was some street driving, maybe 8-10 miles. The rest was LA freeway. Most if not all was at 80 mph or better, never under 75mph. That's the way they drive on Sunday around here. One stop for gas that used to be the cheapest for miles around. They were more expensive than my local Riverside Arco. I justed cruised through and got back on the highway (91 freeway). Getting back on I had a great long cloverleaf return where I got to lean the bike into the bank and come out onto the ramp onto the freeway at 45 degrees or less. Accelerated to 100mph in 4th and entered freeway at 100mph with quicky receeding reaction space between myself and the slow lane cars, cruised into the carpool lane and fought a 25-40 mph (called a Santa Anna around here) head wind for the next 30 miles going over 80mph the whole way (265lbs plus backpack). I ride like a cruiser, upright in the saddle with my arms extended forward and down. Got a lot of buffeting from the wind and the slip streams of the cars and trucks in the crowded sections. Still, the Magna managed to score 49 miles per gallon. She's not doing badly. If I were not blasted from the heat and wind that I faced on the way home I'd jump back on the bike and try out riding to Banning or as far as Palm Springs this pm. The wind dies when the sun goes down and I still have a side on tail wind heading east. Wind would have died by the time I was ready to turn around. If I kept myself off the throttle and below 75 mph I think I might get over 50mpg.

 

just filled up my bike today i am not going to rided it any different then the way i do and we shall see what she gets