Fuel Mileage

[sage1965]

We had a nice day here in Tn. Sat. so we took a 200 mi. leisurely ride. I was surprised when I fueled up. I was only getting 45 mpg. and I usually avg. about 53 mpg. Bike seemed to be running right and I haven't made any mods. I used regular gas no Ethanol. Has me puzzled...

[ErnieC]

wow big drop! Love to see what you find

[Bear2123]

I suspect that with a cold weather lay off that you might have been exercising the right wrist a bit more than your usual. It happens to the best of us.

[MINI NSX]

Could be the winter blend gasoline. We had a thread on here about this a while back. Most see a drop in mileage in the winter.

[Chas63]

That relatively small variance could be due to a lot of things. Different volatility of the gasoline. Imprecise measurement of "full" from one fill-up to the next. Riding faster. Riding into the wind. Riding more aggressively. Riding double vs single. And several other things.

Personally, I never bother to check my gas mileage unless maybe when I first get the bike just out of curiosity. Other than that, I just don't care as long as the bike is running good.

[Luciferiad]

+1 on winter blend fuel. They mix it strong enough here than you can expect to lose 4-5 mpg in a car. Worth it for not having a frozen fuel line, tho.

[leonardgray]

I'm hoping it's the winter blend fuel. Seen my mileage in the crapper for a couple of months, and really haven't changed my riding style any.

[rick]

My milage always drops off in the winter. A year ago last memorial day, a friend and I rode to Ohio for the weekend. On the way up, our mileage gradually dropped off, and then we picked it back up coming back. Me on my 800, mileage went from around 48 down to about 33. Cory on his Sportster dropped even more from 54 down to 30. We figure it was the winter blending of the gas.

[MINI NSX]

Originally Posted by leonardgray

I'm hoping it's the winter blend fuel. Seen my mileage in the crapper for a couple of months, and really haven't changed my riding style any.

They add butane in the winter and take it out the summer. Butane helps the gasoline light off easier in the cold weather.

[bosco]

Originally Posted by Chas63

Personally, I never bother to check my gas mileage unless maybe when I first get the bike just out of curiosity. Other than that, I just don't care as long as the bike is running good.

+1 Can't remember when I last checked mine. The bike is running so well now I just enjoy it no matter what the mileage may tell me. But, I seem to put the same amount of fuel in at about the same mileage mark. So I know it hasn't changed.