This 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
lol 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....
Fuel 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.
I 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.
I 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.
My '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.
checked mione the other day...got 42 mpg. -1500
Mr. 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.
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.
Just 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.
I 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.
So 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.
Good 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.
Well 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 ;D
Well 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.
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........ ::) ;)
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.
Once 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.
Quote from: Bucko on September 24, 2015, 12:28:24 PM
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.
53 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.
Hmmm, I've never done better then 47mpg on my 1500.
I 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
I'm about 900 feet above sea level, so I guess it all makes sense.
Huh, so at sea level to maybe 700 feet above, where I ride mostly, I must be getting piss poor mileage :P
Your engine is carburated, so there is no BARO sensor to change the computer's programming based on air pressure. Jetting a carb for a specific altitude is a bit of an art. When I used to go out west into the Rockies with my H-Ds, I would carry spare smaller jets with me, if I was going to be at high altitude for a long time. Higher altitude=less oxygen=smaller carb jets for mixture correction..I'm pretty picky about that stuff.
This should be moved to general discussion as people are comparing a FI engine to a carb'ed engine and the answers are getting confusing.
Quote from: Troll on September 25, 2015, 18:31:42 PM
Your engine is carburated, so there is no BARO sensor to change the computer's programming based on air pressure. Jetting a carb for a specific altitude is a bit of an art. When I used to go out west into the Rockies with my H-Ds, I would carry spare smaller jets with me, if I was going to be at high altitude for a long time. Higher altitude=less oxygen=smaller carb jets for mixture correction..I'm pretty picky about that stuff.
You know now that I have my exhaust right, I should probably change the jets on my bike. Trouble is, I'm all thumbs when it comes to carburetor work – I just don't have the skill or patience. Maybe if I could watch somebody do it or a YouTube I'd have a little more confidence, but I'm afraid I'll make matters worse. But my bike still has a bit of hesitation when I accelerate from idle.
Well Tfrank59, I am not a carb guy either and was hung up on doing the Grampsizimng on my carb that I never did it, and so I am with you. That being said it might be the time to bite the bullet and find a carb guy, someone you can trust, and who will not need a down payment of your first born or a body appendage let alone be added to your will for doing a hour or so of work for you on the bike.
I have found a really good mechanic who I trust and he charges me $30.00 an hour, if he remembers to ask for his money, and he is willing to help with everything, but can only help me on Sundays so we have a schedule worked out, pehaps find someone for help on your carb.
Any chance your guy is willing to come out to Seattle-Tacoma and do a job? ;D
Hell, if the ticket is waiting for me at to the counter I would come myself.....lol......but any bike mechanic with carb experience would be able to help you out.
I ran Seafoam in my first 10 tanks of fuel to clean my carbs. Now, every third tank gets a treatment.
No more hesitation.
Quote from: LarryInSeattle on September 28, 2015, 08:10:44 AM
I ran Seafoam in my first 10 tanks of fuel to clean my carbs. Now, every third tank gets a treatment.
No more hesitation.
Hey, thanks for the tip. I think my bike has sat for a lot of months, even years, so it probably needs that same cleaning – I guess I'll buy some seafoam or??? I read on other forums where there might be some better fuel treatments than seafoam (I thought this was more of a fuel stabilizer like for winter)--anybody have an opinion on that?
Quote from: CDNRatMan on September 26, 2015, 03:24:35 AM
Well Tfrank59, I am not a carb guy either and was hung up on doing the Grampsizimng on my carb that I never did it, and so I am with you. That being said it might be the time to bite the bullet and find a carb guy, someone you can trust, and who will not need a down payment of your first born or a body appendage let alone be added to your will for doing a hour or so of work for you on the bike.
I have found a really good mechanic who I trust and he charges me $30.00 an hour, if he remembers to ask for his money, and he is willing to help with everything, but can only help me on Sundays so we have a schedule worked out, pehaps find someone for help on your carb.
It might be fun to do a basic carb tutorial. The carb on the 800 is pretty simple to remove and service. The worst of it is just getting stuff out of the way to get to it. I removed mine to gain access to the pilot jet screw. Once I drilled out the cover and fattened it up a bit, the off idle condition improved. I think I am going to go back in and put a washer under the needle to see if the improves things a bit more.
When I get a chance to do this, I should get out the phone and do some photos and short movies.
Quote from: kfoster on September 28, 2015, 08:25:59 AM
It might be fun to do a basic carb tutorial. The carb on the 800 is pretty simple to remove and service. The worst of it is just getting stuff out of the way to get to it. I removed mine to gain access to the pilot jet screw. Once I drilled out the cover and fattened it up a bit, the off idle condition improved. I think I am going to go back in and put a washer under the needle to see if the improves things a bit more.
When I get a chance to do this, I should get out the phone and do some photos and short movies.
Yeah, I was thinking when I cleaned my air filter that just getting to the carb is a pain and probably 20 minutes work. If you would do a video or two, for ex. the carb pilot jet thing, that would be great for me and any others who need "carb adjustments for dummies" ;D
My 01 had 5500 miles on it when I bought it 3 years ago. It sat more than it ran. When I first got it, it would hesitate on initial throttle response after a shift and sometimes it would even pop or even a small back fire and then it would go. It steadily improved with each tank of seafoam I ran through the tank. I ran it as prescribed on the bottle for the first 10 tanks.
Now, I have 11,000 miles on the bike. It starts easy, runs great and I run seafoam in the tank once the season winds down and the time between tanks increases.
Even when the weather is horrible for long periods of time, I do start the bike and bring it up to temperature to flush out the carbs. I also get better performance using 91 octane, non ethanol fuels. I wish I lived closer to a steady supply of non ethanol fuel.
I know the goldwing and the valk uses 87 and I always used 87 in my Honda Goldwing and Silverwing, however, in the winter months, I put in 91 as it is reported to be more of a stable fuel.
Larry, is that one still the stock jetting??
Mine has improved a lot with the fatter jetting - starts easier cold, etc.
I wish there were more alcohol-free fuel available around here. If a brand would start promoting "all of our premium grade is now alcohol free", I would go out of my way to search them out, but it's hit and miss at best.
However, I recently did find a fuel additive that is supposed to mix the alcohol better, eliminating some of the inherent problems with it. I plan to at least put some in for storage, if not periodically during riding season.
Stock setting.
I try to leave motorcycles stock as much as I can. I like to buy stock low mileage motorcycles and after a few years of use, I sell them for the same price or perhaps even a little more than I paid. It has been a practice that has put over 30 different motorcycles in my garage though out the years. It is fun having something different to ride too.
However, the Drifter 800 is so pleasant to ride I might just keep this longer than the typical 2-3 year cycle of ownership.
Quote from: LarryInSeattle on October 06, 2015, 01:13:39 AM
Stock setting.
I try to leave motorcycles stock as much as I can. I like to buy stock low mileage motorcycles and after a few years of use, I sell them for the same price or perhaps even a little more than I paid. It has been a practice that has put over 30 different motorcycles in my garage though out the years. It is fun having something different to ride too.
However, the Drifter 800 is so pleasant to ride I might just keep this longer than the typical 2-3 year cycle of ownership.
The last H-D I sold I had for 32 years...I think I'm going to keep the Drifter a bit longer ;D