Fuel Economy

[hammersfan]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Running higher RPM will burn much more gas. That was the jist of the Motor Trend article, and it stands to reason. Conversely, bogging the motor is just about as bad.

I watched a car show one time where they had a competition for gas milage, the guy that won said he bogged the engine big time, changed gears at the absolute earliest time possible but of course that is not good for ther engione but it won him the competition
I would think that with carefull but reasonable driving you could get a 10% increase in milage.

[drgibson]

Hmm this is interesting tank #2 had a 5.5mpg over tank #1 so an over all increase of 7.2. I wasn't as careful this time?! Hmm now what caused this? Maybe the fact it was colder had something to do with it, or maybe it was because the traffic was lighter, or maybe the moons gravitational pull altered something.

[inspiron]

Unless your bike has an intercooler, you should get better milage when it's cold. Cold air is denser than warm air, so cold air should result in a slightly leaner mixture, or better performance from the same mixture (meaning you need less throttle to get up to speed).

It also depends alot if you were riding in higher altitudes - higher up (a couple of thousand feet) means thinner air = richer mixture.

[Tim in TN]

I went on a 150 mile ride last Sunday, and was pleasantly suprised at my mileage. I got 47 MPG and did a bit of break in by rolling the throttle to keep the revs changing. I`m looking at options also on pipes, but am against anything loud. Vance and Hines offer Big Shots for the 04 Marauder but I have not heard them but once on a Mean Streak indoors/showroom. They did sound good. I now have 622 miles, did my first oil change. Valvoline 10w-40 motorcycle oil. NAPA Gold filter. 3.5 quarts was too much, had to drain off some, will do better next time. Shifting smoothed after oil change big time.

[drgibson]

I decided to get the Cobra Speedster Slashdowns mostly because they have a crossover that the Vance Hines didn't have and with Fuel Injection I felt it was needed. I have no idea what they are going to sound like.

[bajaraider]

you found an aftermarket with a true crossover? Thats great! DO they have anything for the 50, or is it just for the 95?

[drgibson]

Dunno you can find out at their web site.

[Pinhy]

Originally Posted by intimid8er

Don, I tried this a couple of months ago. I don't have hard data. I just use my Trip Odo #2 as a gas gauge. The results were negligible.

I just chalked it up to the traffic conditions I have to ride in on the way to work.

not that you ride it very often, any day i go by there at lunch (which i admit isnt all that often), the beast is out there...saw the bike once

.

[Pinhy]

oh btw: did a 195 mile day sunday...got 60.5 mpg on the one full tank i used....my friend on her C50 got 59.8 on that same run

.

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by Pinhy

not that you ride it very often, any day i go by there at lunch (which i admit isnt all that often), the beast is out there...saw the bike once

.

Yer not lookin' hard enough Danny Boy!

[drgibson]

Originally Posted by Pinhy

oh btw: did a 195 mile day sunday...got 60.5 mpg on the one full tank i used....my friend on her C50 got 59.8 on that same run

.

Imagine getting better fuel mileage at sea level with no altitude changes, going in a straight line with no traffic. Wow why didn't I think of that?

[bajaraider]

Originally Posted by drgibson

Dunno you can find out at their web site.

the only reason I asked was because there was another set of pipes (not sure which) that claimed to have a crossover, but after a few called and checked it turned out that it did not have one. I will see what I can find.

[Tim in TN]

drgibson, what is Vance & Hines "Power Chamber" technology?? I visited their website and claim crossover system on the Big Shots.

[drgibson]

Looks like your right. They must be new.

[C50dreamin]

Originally Posted by drgibson

Imagine getting better fuel mileage at sea level with no altitude changes, going in a straight line with no traffic. Wow why didn't I think of that?

{edited by Rowdy} I ALWAYS GET 40 or under and I'm as on the water as you can get w/o riding down into the freakin' bay !!! Been taking the bike as much this last week as possible and I've been averaging 35-37 all week long, 132 miles round trip running 75-80 on the way in and 70-75 on the way home. I even try to use the Vista cruise to TRY and keep my speed maintained. Doesn't seem to matter and I've given up trying to get a low to mid 40 out of it. Brother on his VTX 1300 running 80-85 gets better mileage out of his and he's ALWAYS heavy on the throttle. But on a lighter note I did something that kinda surprized me and made me think and chuckle to myself going in this morning : I overtook a sportbike on the way in and thought to myself and laughed "Well...you don't see that everyday, hehehe...." Then reality must of hit him about 3 miles later down the road or he must of awakened from his nap as he came flying by at well over a hundred and I just waved as I saw him coming up in my mirror...

[blackie1491]

Maybe if you shift out of second you will improve your mileage.

Over the last 2,500 miles, I have averaged 45.9 miles per US gal.
I am running a K&N air cleaner with a Techclusion FI.
Thats a combination of city and secondary highway, no freeway.
So nothing over 60 mph, although a little heavy on the throttle.

My bike is scheduled for it's 7,500 mile service Tuesday.

I would have the bike serviced as your milage seems on the low side for a C50.

[TechJD]

milage will vary a lot with speed
on my old bike I get about 65 mpg if I keep it under 50 and shift at or below 4000rpm
but if I take it up to 5500 or 6000 then shift and run 55 to 60 mph I drop to 55 mpg, have heard repots than if it's ran at 75mph at approx 6800 to 7000rpm simluar bikes get 45 to 47 mpg

[C50dreamin]

Yeah on the way home I short shifted alot, almost everytime, so I'll see what that'll get me in return...

[drgibson]

Ok Tank #3 was somewhere in between. So my new fuel average for the last three tanks is... 44.2 mpg. That isn't a bad improvement. I believe that the best fuel saving comes from short shifting (3,000 rpms) and just not hammering the crap out of the throttle when passing although I had to do it twice on the tank with the best mileage.

Now when all my new parts come in I'll see what improvements can be made.

[C50dreamin]

Well, I've been getting about 40 so almost no change. I think it's the damn wind here on the coast because at the same throttle settting if I turn down wind I pick up 7 MPH without touching the grip...