What gas mileage?

I'm averaging around 35......two q's: should it get better economy as it gets 'broke in' (1600 miles now)? And, for better 'fuel economy', stay outta VTEC, yes?

I agree with Powderrecon...if the fuel mileage is there, great! But, even at 35 mpg, it still is double on my SUV....kinda split the difference I guess.

 

I think the best I ever got was 200 miles on a tank, before the gas light came on. However I was babying the throttle and shifting no higher than 4000, on mostly flat roads.

Next oil change will see Amsoil and next air filter change will see a K&N. Hey...it works for RVFR's bike....why not mine. Now I just need to ride like him also!

 

Oh no ....................or is it oh brother? yea we need to hook up, looks like it will be sometime in march Huh? Sheesh.

 

Wow, Intresting thread,can I play too? It seems that RG is getting significantly less fuel milage than the rest of us Guys. My 00 with a PC,cat removed, KN air filter and an aftermarket pipe,when just crusing around and not acting like a maniac gets about 43 MPG. We are looking at a big differance here,about 23%. Question for RG have you ever had the bike dynoed? I ask this because if its not in the mid to high 90's something is making your engine run inefficiently,you mentioned having a complete aftermarket exhaust system. Did you ever check to see if the header pipes were leaking at the cyl. head to pipe connection. What about engine temp,it should be about 190-210c. Are the spark plugs in good shape? I dont think running regular or hi-test fuel or a few pounds low in tire pressure will make very much difference. Anyway I know checking some of this might be a pain,but you really need to know if you have an engine capable of running efficiently.

 

I have only had the bike for a few weeks now and have not dynoed it. The temperature never gets that hot. It usually runs around 175-190F when I'm on the highway, twisties or sitting in traffic will let it get up higher. The highest I've seen so far is maybe 220F.
About the header pipes... I noticed yesterday that there was a lot of dirt on the frame under the triple clamp. I didn't think too much of it, but it did not look like normal road grime. I'll take a closer look at that. If it is coming from the exhaust, what is that indicative of and what can I do about it? Also, I think the exhaust is just a cat-back system as it still has what looks like the cat and both sensors in the pipe.
Thanks for the tip.

 

how the hell are you guys getting 50 miles to a gal a us gal to boot...(smaller than a imperial gal). i dont get much better than 35 maybe alittle higher on a longer hwy ride and thats a imp gal!

 

My mistake, the bike is clean top and bottom, I'll keep checking for a leak.

 

Ive thought about it alot myself, and would love to get 10mpg more....then I did some math.

In the state I live in, we pay around $3 / gallon for gas.

If I was getting 10mpg more, that means I would get approximately 20% better fuel economy.

Include into the mix, about 10,000 miles a year I would put on my bike. 20% more miles would be another 2,000 miles I could potentially get.

At $3 a gallon, or about $20 a tank, in the long run, its costing me $200 a year more in gas, based on a 10,000 mile year at my current gas consumption rate, and up to date gas prices..............I think.

 

I'm getting somewhere around 130 miles to the tank. So from the sound of it I should be getting something better than that.

I'm told by everyone that hears my bike that it seems there might be a lot of aftermarket product on it. Maybe that's the deal with you as well?

I plan on taking it in this week to the dealer to get maintenance done. I'll see if they can't poke around...

 

Got to be happy with that.

I did a 170 mile ride on Saturday, lots of back roads, with very few traffic lights, and I averaged 48. I was fairly excited about that. I went easy on purpose, and kept the revs around 4500 for the most part.

Yes....its all in the wrist.

 

On my '07, with only about 1200 miles on it, my mileage has varied from 35 to 47 mpg. The high is freeway miles at an average speed of about 75; the low is motorcycle appreciation riding.

RGonVFR, unless I missed it (entirely possible...), did you re-map your FI to stock? Assuming that you are riding semi-conservatively, the only thing that will affect your mileage so drastically is fuel injectors injecting too much fuel. If the stock fuel mapping is used, then something else in the FI system is telling the injectors to stay open too long at lower RPM.

Ignition timing that is severely retarded can also drive up fuel consumption, but power would be down and it would probably run hot. Long shot, anyway, on newer motors.

 

this is beginning to make me think theres something up with mine....i get around 27 city and 30 hwy....

 

35-40 is my best....or approx 220 miles per tank....tank size 5.3.
those claming over 44mpg must ride at 2000rpm, or don't really ride.
no way a vfr will get 50+ unless it's downhill for 245 miles.

 

The bad thing about trying to compare mileage is the huge number of variables that creep in. Riding style, rider size, location, winter gas, tire pressure, mods, and generation all come into play. As an example last summer I was working late nights so coming home there was no traffic and I rode easy because I was tired. I was averaging about 38 mpg. Last week I was working days and fighting traffic both ways. That combined with winter gas gave me about 30 mpg. That’s with the same bike, rider, and route so I can easily see how there is such a wide variance here on the web.

Action

 

Ain't it the truth...

 

Wow!!
You guys have been incredibly helpful on this topic. I guess it's something that affects us all. Ok, that was obvious. Anyway, before starting this thread, I had done nothing to the bike and did not know what, if anything was done.
Since the thread started, I reset the FI by disconnecting the battery. The next ride or two after that had some long stretches of highway, from the bay area into Napa and Calistoga. The mileage from those rides was up from the 33-36 range to 36, then 42. There were some long highway runs and some twisties in there. I noticed that the three tanks after resetting the FI were getting better each tank.
After the Napa trip on Wed. I put a K&N air filter in and reset the FI again. Just for the record, there is a difference, not huge, but noticeable from around 3000rpm. Back to the point, the next few tanks involved riding down 101 to King City, then some twisties through Hunter-Liggett and into SLO. Those tanks were 45 and 40 respectively. The one that shocked me was 46mpg from Cambria up the coast on 1.
So, going by what you guys have said, it looks like maybe resetting the FI was the big thing. I think after the Wolf exhaust was put on, nothing was done for the FI. Just so you guys know, the throttle is my friend and acceleration is my love. I guess my expectations in the mpg department were a little unrealistic, but at least it sounds like there's nothing wrong with the bike. Wish I could say the same about the rider.

 

Could not agree more. I only get high numbers, when I am out on back country roads, not to many gear changes, keeping the revs around 4k, with not much stopping and starting, and accelerating at about the pace of a car. I call that taking it very easy.

 

im wondering with my sorry miledge whether or not the fact that i have a stage 2 jet kit in my carbs is a good thing or not.

maybe somebody with some extensive motor knowledge can chime in and help me figure out if stage 2 jetting is overkill or not.

my current list of mods (affecting the motor at least) are:

stage 2 dynojet kit
k&n air filter
airbox snorkel removed
airbox lid drilled out
4-2-1 Laser exhaust
barnett clutch and springs
super unleaded gas used at all times (not a mod, but i know it matters)

my miledge is currently in the toilet, and id rather not go jacking with the carbs and jetting without at least consulting some other voice of experience before hand...