lets go back to gas milage

[Mr. Gadget]

Just finished a 1009 mile ride on Saturday and got an overall average of 23.92 mpg on my 2000 I/S.

Worst leg was 105 miles from Fort Stockton, TX to Ozona, TX (17.31 mpg) when I got 21.02 mpg getting from Ozona to Fort Stockton.  I was surprised to see the fuel gauge dropping and had to switch to reserve at just under 100 miles.

MPG was in the low 20s on the stretch of I-10 where the speed limit was 80 with plenty of inclines and high twenties when it flattened out and the speed limit dropped to 70.

[Karmacursed]

This kind of reminds me of what I personally thought a few years ago.

I had a 1999 1100 shadow sabre and it got decent milage. around 44-46 mpg. I sold it and bought a 2000 1100 shadow sabre, exact same bike, but it got around 37-40 MPG and it had to have a lot of throttle when I was pulling out of first gear, and it accelerated faster. What I boiled it down to was that the first bike I had was bought and ridden by a more conservative type of rider when it was being broken in. The second bike, I bought from a buddy of mine (who is a cop) rode it hard and drag raced it after he bought it and broke the engine in a different way. I just thought the engine had been more used to running at higher RPM and that boils it down to it using more fuel. The person who first had that I/S when it was new might have broken the engine in differently, where it has gotten used to running at higher RPM than the others Vaylks you've had. My Valk is my first and it usually gets around 32-36 MPG, which I'm cool with because I like riding a BFB!

Maybe that's just my crazy way of explaining it to myself.

[alph]

has anyone tried a different oil and found a change in fuel milage??  i use amsoil 20w50, it's the type specially formulated for cycle engines (suposably) and a good buddy (NITRO) has the same cycle but he gets at least 5mpg better then i, and i'm pretty sure he doesn't use amsoil.  we ride together on many trips, twist the throttle equally when we ride and he consistantly gets better milage.  the cycles are the same, so it's got to be something with additional drag. 

oh yeah, he's got a CT and it's silver/blue, so you would think that would affect his milage a little but it doesn't.

[Ferris Leets]

The lighter the bike the better mpg.  A white one always will do better than a black one.  White and black will be somewhere in the middle depending on the paint job.

[Momz]

Anything over 70mph in high gear will seriously effect your milage.
My Rat Rod consistantly gets 42+ mpg.
My I/S has gotten as low as 20 mpg at 70+ mph.

The lighter the bike, the better the mpg. The ECT Mod is in my opinion a better option than a TW.

I am planning a MILEAGE CHALLENGE at this years INZANE XI. Come and see how well you can do!

[X Ring]

This kind of reminds me of what I personally thought a few years ago.

I had a 1999 1100 shadow sabre and it got decent milage. around 44-46 mpg. I sold it and bought a 2000 1100 shadow sabre, exact same bike, but it got around 37-40 MPG and it had to have a lot of throttle when I was pulling out of first gear, and it accelerated faster. What I boiled it down to was that the first bike I had was bought and ridden by a more conservative type of rider when it was being broken in. The second bike, I bought from a buddy of mine (who is a cop) rode it hard and drag raced it after he bought it and broke the engine in a different way. I just thought the engine had been more used to running at higher RPM and that boils it down to it using more fuel. The person who first had that I/S when it was new might have broken the engine in differently, where it has gotten used to running at higher RPM than the others Vaylks you've had. My Valk is my first and it usually gets around 32-36 MPG, which I'm cool with because I like riding a BFB!

Maybe that's just my crazy way of explaining it to myself.

Possible the 2nd Sabre had been rejetted for better accelleration?

Marty

[Cliff]

Just finished a 1009 mile ride on Saturday and got an overall average of 23.92 mpg on my 2000 I/S.

Worst leg was 105 miles from Fort Stockton, TX to Ozona, TX (17.31 mpg) when I got 21.02 mpg getting from Ozona to Fort Stockton.  I was surprised to see the fuel gauge dropping and had to switch to reserve at just under 100 miles.

MPG was in the low 20s on the stretch of I-10 where the speed limit was 80 with plenty of inclines and high twenties when it flattened out and the speed limit dropped to 70.

Dang!! That'll teach me to be concerned when my 2000 I/S gets 32 mpg on the highway  doing 65mph.

[Hoser]

Just finished a 1009 mile ride on Saturday and got an overall average of 23.92 mpg on my 2000 I/S.

Worst leg was 105 miles from Fort Stockton, TX to Ozona, TX (17.31 mpg) when I got 21.02 mpg getting from Ozona to Fort Stockton.  I was surprised to see the fuel gauge dropping and had to switch to reserve at just under 100 miles.

MPG was in the low 20s on the stretch of I-10 where the speed limit was 80 with plenty of inclines and high twenties when it flattened out and the speed limit dropped to 70.

That is horrible mileage unless you were in triple digits.  Nearly seven gallons of gas in 100 miles?  Wow, my wife's Lincoln does better than that!     Hoser 

[Mr. Gadget]

That is horrible mileage unless you were in triple digits.  Nearly seven gallons of gas in 100 miles?  Wow, my wife's Lincoln does better than that!     Hoser 

Mileage was better at the beginning and the end of that ride, so I'll chalk that one leg up to the hills and the wind and the 80 mph speed limit.  Three strikes and you're almost out of gas, lol.

[Jess Tolbirt]

the run from ozona to ft stocton is a steady climb,, back in the 70's i had a dodge dart and had a quarter tank of gas to go 40 miles,,,no problem,,or so i thought,,,ran out of gas 10 miles out of town and had to walk the whole distance back with 2 gals. of gas,,,boy was i upset,,,,

[3fan4life]

has anyone tried a different oil and found a change in fuel milage??  i use amsoil 20w50, it's the type specially formulated for cycle engines (suposably) and a good buddy (NITRO) has the same cycle but he gets at least 5mpg better then i, and i'm pretty sure he doesn't use amsoil.  we ride together on many trips, twist the throttle equally when we ride and he consistantly gets better milage.  the cycles are the same, so it's got to be something with additional drag. 

oh yeah, he's got a CT and it's silver/blue, so you would think that would affect his milage a little but it doesn't.

It could be the 20w50.  I too use Amsoil, my rule of thumb is 10w40 in my bikes that are water cooled and 20w50 in the ones that are air cooled.

The 20w50 synthetic won't hurt anything but it is much heavier than necessary.

[Bob E.]

has anyone tried a different oil and found a change in fuel milage??

Yes...I ran the honda oil when I first got it.  I'm pretty sure it was 10-40.  Then, after reading this board, bought the Mobile 1 20-50.  Mileage dropped 5-10 miles to reserve.  Then I switched to the Rotella 5-40 and it went right back up.

[BigAl]

The worst mileage I ever got on a motorcycle was on a 2004 Vulcan Classic Carbuerated Model. That was about 125,000 miles ago.

And that was 7 new bikes ago and 3 used ones. Still have 4.

4.5 Gallon tank with a .7 gallon reserve.

At 100 miles you better be hunting a filling station.

26.3 miles per gallon for a 1458cc bike.

At about 750lbs, and a V-Twin.

Rejetted it and it stayed the same.

Would run fairly good though. But sucked the gas, A buuddy of mine had the same color model and year, it sucked the gas too.

Never really figured out why and sold it for 5400$ and only paid 8200 for it. Bought it new. Had about 25,000 miles on it when I sold it.  With two

 free helmets. Still have the

 helmets.

Cost me about 115$ per month to own and ride the heck out of it plus gas and insurance for 2 years. Or 8.9 cents per mile.

Not too bad.

[Tropic traveler]

1997 Tourer- shimmed needles, glasspack exhaust, I/S springs, K&N with prefilter. 30-32mpg  consistently & I twist the throttle more than I should. Worst of about 27 mpg into a headwind at 70 mph. Best of 41 mpg flat ground through the Everglades at 50 mph. Load seems not to matter, RPM does.

1998 Tourer- stock with baffled Cobras, Kim's bike. 34-38 mpg consistently. Hits 40 mpg every now & then, but not very often. I attribute the better mpg to Kim's conservative riding style & the Cobra's leaning out of the mixture.

1999 Standard converted to Tourer w/ stock Honda w/s & NC hardbags. 34-36 mpg consistently, haven't had it long enough to take any trips with it yet. Has the Cobras with some weird baffles that don't sound as good as the pipes on Kim's Valk.  ???

The '97 will kick the crap out of the other 2 Valks in a drag race. I'm sure the Cobras are killing the power on the other two. Bad flat spot with the '98 & '99, the '97 pulls strong all the way through the RPM range. All are de-smogged, 10% alky in the gas here.
No mountains  or high altitude here in Florida just sea level, flat, & hot! Just the way I like it.

[PhredValk]

I get 100 miles or so on 3/4 tank in the city. 99 I/S. 31 mpg average at 75 MPH on my trip East last summer. I'll try to keep it to 60 for a tank or two this summer to see what I get. The only time I went to  reserve was at 165 miles coming thru Saskatchewan (type that 5 times fast).
Fred.