crap fuel economy

[Brent Duncan]

that chugging/knocking i only get in 1st gear with really slow speeds like leaving stalls in parking lots or entering apartment parking lots etc where the bike is super slow almost walking speeds.
maybe driving style might be an issue but i do do allot of stop and go city.
I'm going to just do a good look over and cleaning of everything, running some sea foam through the system and doing full fluid changes etc. we will see how things go.

[jmbo]

23 - 24 MPG Holy Crap! That's really low. I'd have to have gas running out of the tail pipe to burn that much.  I'm running mine fully dressed with wind screen, bags, and my lard ass and I'm getting a solid 40 MPG night, day, city, country, cheap gas, mid-grade, or premium, putting along or running like a bat. Best I can do and the worse I can do. I agree, if your bike has a cat, check it.  My PO did a Dutch bypass on my bike with the stock pipes.  I have since put o a set of Roadhouse two in ones.  No difference in how she runs.  Does make a purrrdy sweet sound though.

[John Hopkins]

I did an Iron Butt run in July and had a chance to see how my bike did at reasonably fast speeds..First my bike is a 99 model which has a smaller tank than yours..and second I gauged my mileage up to the point the reserve light came on, which leaves 4 litres in the tank..At 60 to 70 mph I could get 100 miles or 160 kilometres to the tank full..but at the top speed of 107 mph with no headwind or 90 mph with a strong gusty wind I could only get 70 miles or 112 kilometres to the tank full..

The knocky sound you are getting at slow speeds may be what we call lugging which is caused by being in too high a gear at slow speeds..this is not good for the engine and will not help with fuel consumption..also being caught in traffic jams will use a lot of fuel..

It is possible that it is your riding style is more to blame than anything else.

John.

[CDNRatMan]

  Silverback, I know mine is a 800 and you are running a 1500, but I did find a huge difference when using Pertrocan fuel, I got much better distance from a tank, I have for most of this summer been running middle grade fuel when filling up and have gotten good results.

[Troll]

Alcohol crap is everywhere. The local gas cartel has "premium" fuel marked no alcohol...recreational gas...boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc. 91 octane...is that really worth $.20 more a gallon? I've been running mine for the last 4 years/41,000 miles on 89 octane w/alcohol. Seems to run just fine, and 91 octane really isn't premium, just priced like it is....

[greenbarn]

I don't know about your gas, but it's hard to find alcohol-"Free" around here.

[Brent Duncan]

OK talked to a guy i worked with and I'm curious about this being true or not . he told me to stop using petrocanada premium as it has ethanol in it and that could be part of the problem. not if that's the case how do i find non ethanol gas not since ethanol blends seem to be the new trend??

[Brent Duncan]

no idle is cool beans, im going to check to see if the odometer is reading correctly and do a quick hiway run. 

[nhtrikes]

That throttle adjustment that hangs down between cylinders is standard on the 1500's. Does you bike idle high even after it's warmed up? That is just idle adjustment so won't affect gas mileage while driving. Chugging/knocking could just be too low rpm. Will happen in any gear if you let the rpm's drop too low. Make sure when you fill the tank you fill it to the same level (base of filler cage) each time. You said you were down to just 1/4 tank with only 102km (63mi) on the odometer, not good! Odometer reading correctly?

[Brent Duncan]

idles good, accelerates fine, rolles well, exhaust isnt gassy or plugs arent fouled.
the one thing i do notice is under slow acceleration in first it seems pretty knocky, maybe its just me and the engine under load at low rpm chucging allong.
other than that nothing seems off, no lag or sputtering or bogging under acceleration. no smoke of any kind at any time. im going to take the covers off the throttle body cause i do have a ide adjustment knob under the chrome cover, i dont think this is stock i haven heard anyone with this. its a black plastic knob with a hex nut in the center that i can turn to adjust the ide speed on the right side of the bike. or maybe this is stock lol. but cant find it in any break downs online. so maybe more is fiddles with in the throttle body from the previous owner.

[DC]

There's something very disturbing-looking about those goat bladders.   

[nhtrikes]

Weird thing is if it was running that rich wouldn't it show up on the plugs and how it runs? Does it seem to be running ok? Good acceleration? Does the bike roll easily on flat surface without feeling any resistance? Have you always had this terrible gas mileage or did this occur after the tuneup? Could be those gremlins, siphoning gas overnight when you're sleeping!    Do you have a bell???

[greenbarn]

"Air intake sensor, intake air temp sensor...same same..the Drifter has AIT, MAP and BARO, but no O2 sensor. Coolant temp and TPS are also there, but the map is the map. I found, with mine, that the BARO sensor has a HUGE effect on which cell of the fuel map the computer uses. At sea level, running 70 mph and about 70 deg. with stock everything, I was getting 39-41, at 5,000 feet, running (same trip) 75 mph, I was getting a steady 45. Running in the Georgia mountains at Drift-In I was getting over 50, with my home brew air box."  - From another string -

Troll, could it be one or several of these sensors that are causing such poor mileage???

Could be any of those - it's just like a car, the ECM takes all those inputs, and makes a decision on how much fuel to add.  If it think's it's -20F outside, it dumps a whole lot more fuel than 60F. 

[Brent Duncan]

there is 27000km on the bike. im going to check to see if all the plugs are sparking properly in the next day or so as well.

[nhtrikes]

"Air intake sensor, intake air temp sensor...same same..the Drifter has AIT, MAP and BARO, but no O2 sensor. Coolant temp and TPS are also there, but the map is the map. I found, with mine, that the BARO sensor has a HUGE effect on which cell of the fuel map the computer uses. At sea level, running 70 mph and about 70 deg. with stock everything, I was getting 39-41, at 5,000 feet, running (same trip) 75 mph, I was getting a steady 45. Running in the Georgia mountains at Drift-In I was getting over 50, with my home brew air box."  - From another string -

Troll, could it be one or several of these sensors that are causing such poor mileage???

[nhtrikes]

Troll, were you getting as bad mpg as Silverback with your '01 as stock? Even with stock air filter and exhuast, mileage shouldn't be as bad as he is getting with all stock equipment. How many miles on your bike Silverback? Could it be the ECM causing the terrible fuel economy, Troll???

[Troll]

It's actually more like an expansion chamber/collector. Increases exhaust volume (size) without increasing volume (noise). Putting the stock system on my '01, replacing the Peace pipe, actually improved overall fuel economy, not by much, but I keep very accurate records.

[49Reo]

That description of the goat bladder insides sound more like a resonator than a converter? Don't really see the sense in them

[Troll]

OOOOps... I knew that...My mistook. I'll bet it still has no converter...Pull the muffler off, and shine a light into the goat bladder.

[CDNRatMan]

  Troll buddy.....Edmonton is in Canada......not in the land of OZ.......

Silverback did you buy an Aussie bike?

[Troll]

Maybe the Australian version of this bike has a converter, but mine doesn't. I have looked into my goat bladder, and there is NOTHING in there that even looks like a converter. Just 2 perforated tubes leading into the can with one big outlet. I was getting less than acceptable fuel mileage from my '01, and all I really needed to do was open up the intake to let the engine breathe. I have a stock exhaust and my own design air box...I AVERAGED 46 mpg on my trip to Drift-In, over 2,500 miles in 8 days...

[1SG CAV]

Have you checked to see if the goat Bladder (catalytic convertor) is partially plugged. This would cause your fuel consumption to drop. You would notice this by several ways rough idle, poor acceleration, and of course fuel economy, Not sure how you would check it or if you can even find a replacement. Just one of the things I would check though.

Ride with Pride

[Brent Duncan]

well this tank is 94 octane, and i filled it with 13 liters it wasn't on E>
no accessories on the bike.
I'm down to 1/4 tank right now with only 102 km on the display.
no gas smell around the bike, not that i notice.

[nhtrikes]

Not sure what the reason(s) could be but that definitely sounds way too low for our bikes. Any smell of gasoline at all around the bike? Leaking? When you say you're only getting 170-190 km (105-118 mi) per tank, is you tank totally empty? How many liters (.264gal) of gas are you putting in when you fill it?  I have an '02 1500 and get 46.5 mpg city to 48.5 mpg highway consistently. I have no add-ons, ie. windshield, bags, things that might cause extra drag. But even that wouldn't account for such poor fuel mileage. What grade (oct. rating) of fuel are you using?

[Brent Duncan]

wondering if anyone can point me in directions to inspect and possably consider that would effect fuel economy.
here is what I'm experiencing.
2001 drifter 1500
everything stock except punched baffles out of stock exhaust.
changed plugs 2 weeks ago, old plugs looked fine a smidgen white but hardly.
not experiencing any popping or backfiring, just did once on heavy acceleration and fast throttle release.
running ngk dpr7ea-9 spark plugs same as removed.
now my concern is my fuel economy with just city driving is crap.
averaging about 170-190 km per tank, 11km/LT OR about 23-24 miles a gallon.
this to me seems really bad, but maybe its OK for city i don't know.
but if its bellow average can anyone help me as to what i can look into and where i might check for possable things that maybe effecting my fuel economy.