fuel mileage

[roadhamr]

i am pretty sure i am in need of a valve adjustment or at least a check and a carb sync as my fuel mileage has dropped from bad to attrocious. what kind of kms per tank are folks getting? i spoke with a guy on the weekend who says he gets 400 plus kms to a tank with his interstate. i am getting a little over 300 on a good day. what gives?

[Hoser]

Don't know kms, but I usually get 35-40  mpg.     Hoser

[designer]

I get between 30-35mpg

[Momz]

A good running Valk can get near 45 MPG if you can keep your speeds under 70 MPH.

Check that your air filter is clean and  proper tire pressures. Spark plugs seem to last, but when were they changed last? When was the last carb sync done?

There may be other issues, but check the obvious things first.

[Valkpilot]

i am pretty sure i am in need of a valve adjustment or at least a check and a carb sync as my fuel mileage has dropped from bad to attrocious. what kind of kms per tank are folks getting? i spoke with a guy on the weekend who says he gets 400 plus kms to a tank with his interstate. i am getting a little over 300 on a good day. what gives?

Your collegue's mileage is about 55 km/(US)gal or 34 MPG which is definitely in the ball park.  Yours is about 41 km/(US)gal or about 25 MPG, which is low if that's what you're getting all the time. (It's not unusual to get that low on an occasional tank spent riding against the wind and/or at sustained high speeds.)

Valves out-of-adjustment are rarely a problem on these bikes and are an unlikely cause of poor mileage

Check

• for proper tire pressure (should be 40 to 42 psi front and rear if on MC tires)
• for vacuum leaks at all carb hoses and caps
• that the air cleaner is not dirty or blocked and that the air box tubes are properly seated
• that all the bands holding the air box tubes and holding the intake tubes to the carb are tight (9 per side)
• that the petcock is funtioning correctly (vacuum leak test)
• carburator sync
• carb pilot screw adjustment

This isn't an exhaustive list, but they're the usual suspects and pretty easy to check.

[ricoman]

+1 on what Valkpilot had to say.
Contrary to some claims you'll hear, 30-40 mpg is the norm.
Lower because of right wrist issues, a great deal higher and your driving like a grandma. Way way higher claims because some people think others will believe anything they hear.
Enjoy the ride after you get those things checked.
No shame in an honest 30-40 mpg.

[highcountry]

The main thing is that your mileage is getting worse and something needs to be fixed.  Good suggestions above.

I only got 25-30 mpg on the '98 that I just sold, but it had Cobra pipes which are notorious for degrading MPG.  My '97 gets 35-41 mpg and is stock.

[eric in md]

hmmm i just got 135 miles to a tank on a i/s tank to tank really . .. we was rolling 80 to 90 whole time. 

[Willow]

It depends somewhat on how you measure your tank.  If you're saying that you hit reserve at 300 km then you're just about right.  If you're saying you run it dry and only get 300 km then that's not very good. 

[The Anvil]

i am pretty sure i am in need of a valve adjustment or at least a check and a carb sync as my fuel mileage has dropped from bad to attrocious. what kind of kms per tank are folks getting? i spoke with a guy on the weekend who says he gets 400 plus kms to a tank with his interstate. i am getting a little over 300 on a good day. what gives?

You're in America son. Speak 'mercan! 

Seriously though, the mileage you get can vary pretty wildly depending on how you ride. I usually get 32 to 35 mpg under most conditions. But on a couple of occasions I managed to get about 25-27 because I was really beating on it. More recently I went on a ride that spent some time on the dreaded interstate and I actually kept the speed down and got close to 40. But when I tell people I typically give them the 32-35 because that's the most common number I see.

[Cliff]

i am pretty sure i am in need of a valve adjustment or at least a check and a carb sync as my fuel mileage has dropped from bad to attrocious. what kind of kms per tank are folks getting? i spoke with a guy on the weekend who says he gets 400 plus kms to a tank with his interstate. i am getting a little over 300 on a good day. what gives?

.........You're in America son. Speak 'mercan!  ..................

His profile lists his location a Canada........   

[The Anvil]

Yeah but this here forum is like an embassy. 

[Hef]

I have a 2000 Standard that runs perfectly and I have never got 45 miles to the gallon. I am not saying no one hasn't, I'm just saying mine wont. Mine pretty well goes like many others here have reported. On the two lane doing about 60mph I can get 36-40. On the interstate routes doing about 70-75 I get about 25-28.

[Cliff]

Yeah but this here forum is like an embassy. 

A Forum Embassy    

[bscrive]

On average I get about 350 kms to a tank on my IS before I have to switch to reserve.  Sometimes better sometimes less.  Like the guys say, it depends on how you drive it.

[Jabba]

I get 28-30 on the standard and 30-34 on the IS. 

I ride 'em though.  No grandma here.

Jabba

[BIG--T]

The mileage on my 98 Standard stinks! I put it to the test shifting below 3k and running 45-55 and mostly 55 on a 2 lane country road 2 up and 35 mpg was it. I always kept it a steady speed. On the concrete slab I was running 75-80 steadly and got 29. I think somethings wrong.

[musclehead]

I got 6.9 mpg last tankful, oh you mean on my valk 

[alph]

i rearly ever get more then over 320km per tank.  that's the same as 200 miles so i don't think you're that far off from normal, also, anyone that bought the valkyrie for fuel economy needs a lesson on economics! 

[ricoman]

The mileage on my 98 Standard stinks! I put it to the test shifting below 3k and running 45-55 and mostly 55 on a 2 lane country road 2 up and 35 mpg was it. I always kept it a steady speed. On the concrete slab I was running 75-80 steadly and got 29. I think somethings wrong.

nothing wrong at all.

[BIG--T]

The mileage on my 98 Standard stinks! I put it to the test shifting below 3k and running 45-55 and mostly 55 on a 2 lane country road 2 up and 35 mpg was it. I always kept it a steady speed. On the concrete slab I was running 75-80 steadly and got 29. I think somethings wrong.

nothing wrong at all.

Ricoman that's good to know. It sure would be nice to have a 6th gear bc I can be running 55 and still trying to find that 6th gear! But I guess if we had the 6th gear we wouldn't have that 35 mph 5th gear WOT and a lot more downshifting.

[MrArn]

Lets see, the Harley still books after five years of hard riding 12,800.

So is that 12,800 miles per year for the last five years or 12,800 miles over five years?

[czuch]

400kms,,,,,,,,,whats that, like 80 miles? Ya need to do somethin bout that.
I get 30-36 miles per gallon. Maybe ya need to switch to miles.
I'll be here for consultation all day.

[bscrive]

400 kms = @ 248 miles.

[Chiefy]

I get 55 mpg, but that's 2-up.


 

I get 25-34 with E-10.  28-36 with pure gas.

[Willow]

The mileage on my 98 Standard stinks! I put it to the test shifting below 3k and running 45-55 and mostly 55 on a 2 lane country road 2 up and 35 mpg was it. I always kept it a steady speed. On the concrete slab I was running 75-80 steadly and got 29. I think somethings wrong.

nothing wrong at all.

Ricoman that's good to know. It sure would be nice to have a 6th gear bc I can be running 55 and still trying to find that 6th gear! But I guess if we had the 6th gear we wouldn't have that 35 mph 5th gear WOT and a lot more downshifting.

Don't feel too good too quickly, Big--T.  I agree with your original assessment.  Something isn't right.