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Posted by Tfrank59
- September 23, 2015, 22:30:13 PMWell after finally getting my exhaust back pressure right, and running a couple tankfuls of ethanol free gas through her, not to mention just figuring out how she wants to be ridden, I managed to get 45 MPG in a mix of city and highway riding. I think I'm good with that.
Posted by Tfrank59
- September 16, 2015, 17:25:23 PMWell I appreciate all the feedback. I don't think my bike is running quite right, but I did go 120 miles on 3 gallons, mix of around town and out on secondary roads. But 40 miles per gallon is not totally screwed – at least that's what I'm finding out from you guys. Once I get my exhaust tweaked like it should be, and then if I have to dial-in the carb I'll do it, and then I should reach peak performance. One factor to consider is that Washington state is a very hilly state, not flat like Texas or apparently Maryland, and yeah I have a tendency to accelerate hard out of turns also 
Posted by kw-retrorider
- September 16, 2015, 16:27:35 PMGood info all around guys...
Ratman: It's not an exact science. I just fill the tank (so in this case "size" doesn't matter), then run until I have to go on reserve....(the 800 makes a noticeable stumble compared to my W650), then I just fill the tank again at the first gas station. Always use regular. I usually go about 150 miles and usually putting 3 gallons in the tank when I fill after just going on reserve (+/-) on both numbers, but that is the average).
Like I've said before on this topic...I'm in Maryland riding one up, saddlebags and windscreen...very flat by comparison to where most of you are. That is what I attribute my higher MPG to....and deciding not to screw with the existing engineering, since the performance is fine for me....and perhaps driving conservatively. Under 70 MPH.
All good and look forward to your results.
Posted by gdrudd13
- September 16, 2015, 08:10:39 AMSo I've been keeping detailed records of gas mileage for my bike and have entered it into a spreadsheet (i'm an engineer, so it should be no surprise). I have missed some fillups, and don't count any tanks that have been skewed one way or the other, so out of almost 10k miles (i've only been riding 2 years) I've kept track of over 9k miles worth of fuel. Here's what I can tell you:
Average: 43 MPG
High: 58.6 MPG
Low: 31.2 MPG
It's a pretty broud range, but I also keep notes about it. The lowest value is a result of riding 70+ MPH into a headwind trying to get through Nebraska with the bike fully loaded for a trip.
The High was riding through the mountains on twisty scenic roads, so a good chunk was downhill, basically coasting, and the speeds were low.
Those tend to be the outliers. There is normally a variation of +/- 3 mpg which is due to load on the bike, how I'm riding, city vs. highway, and wind.
Wind and riding style (do you like to hear pipes) seem to play the biggest factors in determining MPG.
Posted by LarryInSeattle
- September 15, 2015, 22:39:43 PMI use a pretty simple system to calculate mpg. I target 100 miles per gallon to refuel. Most of the time, I am there within a mile or two of 100 miles, based on the odometer trip setting. If I put in 2.5 gallons of gas, that equals 40 mpg. If I put in 3 gallons it is 33.3 miles per gallon.
I usually put in somewhere between 2.5 and 3.
Now I have had the opportunity to run some non ethanol premium 92 octane. When I do fill up with that, I get 45 miles per gallon.
When I tote my trailer, I get less. I am going on a run with the Alky Angels this weekend and will check my mileage running in a group, toting a trailer. I hope I get 25. They have a tendency to run fast and when coming out of a curve, they accelerate hard.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 15, 2015, 18:43:03 PMJust did some looking into a few things and I am not sure so Troll perhaps or one of the mechanic guys =can better answer this part of the question.
TFrank59 was asking about the mpg for an 800 and there is a difference between the 800 and 1500 in that one is carb'ed and the other is Fuel injected, so would that not effect the mpg issue to make the waters a bit ore murky, comparing what the 1500 gets vice the 800.
KW-retrorider, I also learned that I have been misguided since I bought my bike, I was told I had a 5 gal tank or for me 18L and I could never get 18L into the bike......
Well lo and behold the tank size on a 1500 depending on the year is either a 4.23 (16L) or a 5 gal (19L) from the Drifter site, and the 800 is a 3.96 gal tank and they call it a 4 gal tank and that is 15L. So no wonder a person with a 5 gal tank can run that much father then we can on our 800's.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 15, 2015, 18:27:04 PM Ok this is a hard one to sort through. I never did the grampsizing, because I found my issue with the backfiring and it was a simple fix, the pipes had just gotten lose.
I was going to keep track of my fuel use to and from Drift In but it became a huge pain with having to pay before you pump, and then converting from gal to liters and then km/L so I just gave it up.
This spring when I ride out to P.E.I. I'll do it again. Once I know the km/L then I can do the conversion and see what that equates out to in miles per gallon.at 105.6 miles I am on reserve for sure. I am also going to have to track my fuel in the tank to see as t what the actual size of the fuel tank is.
Posted by kw-retrorider
- September 15, 2015, 16:15:36 PMMr. Ratman: 95 miles?....seems low. At what speed was that?
I was curious about your mileage because of the gearing change in your machine, and thought perhaps you had kept track of kilos per gallon during your run to Drift In....did you?...and do you have anything to report?
Previous posts indicate you were closer to 110. I know you also Grampsized....so what happened here...more power, higher gearing and lower gas mileage? Just want to understand.
Posted by Pilgrim
- September 15, 2015, 14:03:48 PMchecked mione the other day...got 42 mpg. -1500
Posted by jmbo
- September 14, 2015, 20:52:52 PMMy '99er 1500 gets a solid 40mpg on combo city and back road riding. That gets me about 120 miles to the light which is about the right time to get off and stretch my bones a bit. It dropped to 35 earlier in the season until I found out the front exhaust seal was loose and it was sucking air. Tightened it and back up to 40. I'll get 45 MPG on a steady expressway cruise but who the hell wants to ride the expressways when there are back roads.
Posted by kw-retrorider
- September 13, 2015, 04:51:16 AMI average 50mpg with my 800....nothing less than 45mpg when I do a lot of around town short driving and get on it. Easy to do over 50 on full tanks on the highway at 60mph. Stock carb with roadhouse baffled up; stock gearing.
Posted by LarryInSeattle
- September 13, 2015, 03:37:00 AMI feel lucky when I get 40 mpg on my 800. Most of my riding is in town. I gas up every 100 miles. I wish they would have put a bigger tank on the 800, but I live with it.
I carry a small 2 quart container of stabilized fuel when traveling in case I need a stretch.
Posted by Troll
- September 12, 2015, 21:28:07 PMFuel mileage is such a delicate thing...When I first got my 1500, it was getting 37-40 mpg. Totally unacceptable. My 1980 TourGlide with 200,000 miles on it was getting 50...I played with inputs to the computer, air intake restriction and exhaust. I now get 45 all the time and as much as 52 at higher altitudes. I normally fill my 5 gallon tank at about 180 miles. My W-650 actually gets better MPG, but the tank is a gallon smaller, so 160 is about the extent of a tank full. A rejet with a DynoJet kit and a fix to the restrictive air intake actually netted better mileage, as well as improved drivability.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 12, 2015, 20:58:50 PMlol here we go again.....lol.....
About every 95 miles I start to look for a gas station, I have run it till the reserve was reached on a couple occasions, then had a real bitch of a time getting the bike to start and run properly but once it did it was fine. My next long trip next srping will be to P.E.I. and I'll do my calculations then once more....
Posted by Tfrank59
- September 12, 2015, 18:00:37 PMThis doesn't matter a whole lot to me, but so far I'm getting about 40 MPG (city), and this guy on craigslist claims 55 miles per gallon consistently on the 800 drifter he's selling. What are y'all gettin for mileage? Again it's not that important -- my Valkyrie only gets 25 ~ 30 MPG -- but I just wonder if my 800's not running right if I'm only getting 40 MPG in the city. Thanks for your feedback.
Tom