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Posted by Tfrank59
- September 25, 2015, 16:57:20 PMHuh, so at sea level to maybe 700 feet above, where I ride mostly, I must be getting piss poor mileage 
Posted by pcarrell
- September 25, 2015, 13:52:45 PMI'm about 900 feet above sea level, so I guess it all makes sense.
Posted by Troll
- September 25, 2015, 13:15:38 PMI made some interesting discoveries in the last 62,000 miles about mpg on a 1500. One that really surprised me was that altitude above sea level has an ENORMOUS effect. On a trip out to Wyoming in 2011, I was getting about 37 to 40 @ 65 mph on the level land, and as I climbed into the mountains, my mpg went up. At about 5,000' I was getting 45 @ 70 mph. This was with a completely stock intake system, and the Cobra Peace Pipe, running solo. I've tweaked it about 16 different ways, and now I get 45 all the time at sea level and as much as 52 in the mountains...all at 70 mph
Posted by pcarrell
- September 25, 2015, 11:06:51 AMHmmm, I've never done better then 47mpg on my 1500.
Posted by Tfrank59
- September 24, 2015, 18:28:25 PMQuote from: Bucko on September 24, 2015, 12:28:24 PM53 mpg on the highway sounds about right for a 1500 – that's about what I'd expect, actually better than what I'd expect, on my 1500 Valkyrie. And I'm guessing if I did all highway riding with my drifter 800, I'd get about 50 to 53 mpg too.The only time I ever calculated the MPG on my 1500 was a few months ago and I averaged 64MPG over 3 tanks of gas but that's using the larger CDN gallon. It's about 53 in USMPG and that was entirely highway driving.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 24, 2015, 13:00:22 PMOnce again there is a huge difference or should be in mpg between a 800 and 1500. Like comparing apples and oranges. The one time were you can not compare the bikes and see what the difference is.
Posted by Bucko
- September 24, 2015, 12:28:24 PMThe only time I ever calculated the MPG on my 1500 was a few months ago and I averaged 64MPG over 3 tanks of gas but that's using the larger CDN gallon. It's about 53 in USMPG and that was entirely highway driving.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- September 24, 2015, 05:38:31 AM Well good for you, I looked at your gallery pictures, and a hint......I'll wage you get at least a couple more mpg if you switched to WWW on them rims, and it would look super cool........ 
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.