Fuel Mileage

Just got back from the first tour on my 03'. 2500 miles thru Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Was very pleased to average 46 mpg. ;D Had the bike loaded down with camping gear etc.

Coming out of a little rest area in White Sulphur Springs Montana I killed the motor while making a slow left hander onto the highway. Wasn't able to save it and had a zero mph tipover (embarrasing). Bent the clutch lever, scratched the upper and lower fairing. (UGH) :-[

Was wondering if anyone has switched to a smaller front sprocket to to gain low end throttle response? If so have you kept track of your gas mileage? ???

P.S.
I waited to straighten the clutch lever until I got home, afraid it would break. IT DID!! :-/

Was camped at the KOA in Red Lodge Montana and a guy walks over to talk about VFR's. Turns out it is "Diesel Drive", who is also a contributor to this site. Even though he has recently switched to a Yamaha, it was still fun to talk with someone I had known on-line.

I would appreciate a reply if you have any info on the sprocket change and its effect on gas mileage, or any other mods that might help.

 

what speed/rpm range were you traveling in? the most i have seen on any tank of gas was 42 mpg and i usually run way lower than that like 25-33. ouch. seems like everyone is getting way better mileage than me.

 

??? You've got a VFR & your concerned about mileage ???

 

vfr-xander
I traveled as fast as the conditions would allow. In Montana if you're not doing 80 or better you get run over! Those people are in a hurry. Was not trying for good mileage.

Jeepers
For sport riding mileage is not a consideration. On the road in unfamiliar territory, I like to have an idea how far I can go between gas stops.

Old-Codger

 

Glad to hear you made it home safely Old Codger. It was great to get to know someone from the site in person.

DieselDrive

 

I have an 03. I typically go at least 225 to 230 before the last bar starts to blink. I pushed it this weekend and went 247mi with a blinking bar. Filled up with 4.7 gallons. Now I'm not running 80+ I'm in the Carolinas with unlimited twisties but NOT 80+ droning.
I travel lite (well not me 180lb + a backpack with rains and stuff).

tbtapper

 

damn, that is 50 miles to the gallon~! wow.

yes, yes, i've heard that you shouldn't care - it's a sporty machine, but it's always good to know how your machine is performing.

 

I'm still in the break-in phase having just under 800 miles on my '02 model. I've been running about 50/50 highway vs. street miles, and I'm getting about 42 miles to the gallon on that ratio. Haven't pushed the bike hard at all yet. Very, very pleased with the mileage obviously.

 

Thought I'd update this since I did the math last night.

Just cleared 1,600 miles. Filled up last night and got 49 miles to the gallon on that last tank. That mileage was split about 50/50 city and highway.

A plastic surgeon couldn't remove the smile from my face on those numbers.

 

Are you poor? Perhaps you should take the bus. I ride for fun. If I had to worry about fuel economy I would sell the bike and take the bus.

 

Perhaps Malyn H should stay off this web site with comments like that. Don't worry Mark, we all know that you're excited that not only is the bike a ton of fun but it also gets great gas mileage to boot.

 

When I started this thread back in July I really didn't intend to get people upset. ??? :-/ :'( Still, nobody has answered my question about using a smaller front sprocket and how it might effect the number of miles you can travel on a tank of gas. If a smaller sprocket won't substantially reduce the number of miles I can travel, I want to give it a try.

P.S. Because you are dealing with such a small tank, small differences in the level of each fill up, and the minor differences in gas pump read outs, you are better off averaging several tankfuls when calculating MPG. Using a single tankful can be misleading.

 

I've been getting 35 or 36 mpg pretty consistently on my 02, but I'm about to go either one tooth smaller on the front, or two teeth taller on the rear, haven't quite decided yet.
One down on the front equates to about a 6% difference in gear ratio, while two up on the back is about a 4% change. When I do it and run a couple tanks through it I'll post the fuel economy again.
Peace to riders, young, old, and my age... Ride safe!
Rick 8)

 

Thanks rick looking forward to the info.

 

Just thinking out loud here...

Your 4,500 rpm cruising will now be at 4,800 rpm for the same speed, and you'll have to recalibrate the speedometer with an aftermarket part.

Changing sprockets will have more of an effect in the vibration department than in the mileage department.

Though not VTEC specific, a friend of mine, Phil Ross, has had several (many?) V65 Sabres. The Sabre has a 6-speed tranny, but 6th gear failed on one of his V65s (the Couch Rocket, IIRC). He had to run in 5th gear on the highway instead of in 6th. He got BETTER mileage in 5th by almost 2 mpg. It surprised everybody, including him. 65 mph is around 4,000 on the V65 in 6th and 4,400 in 5th.

Basically the point I'm trying to make is that fuel consumption does not compare to engine speed in a linear fashion. You may get as much as 2-3 mpg less or possibly even 1 mpg more. It all depends on what the ideal gear ratio is for the bike you are on at the speed you are going in the conditions that you are in. If you were to chart it out (like a dyno chart) each gear would have it's own curve, similar to a torqu curve, for fuel efficiency. Running the engine below the torque peak uses excess fuel, as does running it above the torque peak. There is a sweet spot right in the middle, or maybe several sweet spots. This changes for every gear, as travel rate and wind resistance have to be factored in.

A new sprocket will move the rpms up a bit, but I wouldn't be terribly concerned about this tanking your mileage. I'd be more concerned about the buzzing.

Better prevention for engine stalls is to bump up the idle a bit, not that I want to dissuade you from dropping to a 15t sprocket. It's going to be expensive, with the speedo box cost factored in.