Motorcycle fuel economy...

[mikeschn]

PS Too busy to go camping - have just come back from 250 mile shake-down ride on my bike in glorious sunny weather - but disappointed in 42mpg (US) cruising at 90mph.

Oh really? I thought you would have done much better than that. My record, in the Passat in mixed driving is 48.6 mpg at an average speed of 70 mph.

And especially when I see fuel economy numbers like these...
Bent over riders...
189 mpg
282 mpg
372 mpg
377 mpg
470 mpg

or these sitting up, two up riders...
124 mpg
139 mpg

I don't know Andrew, seems to me you've got a design flaw somewhere...

http://www.craigvetter.com/pages/470MPG ... 0Main.html

Mike...

[Arne]

Elsewhere I poked a bit of fun at 'tool accumulation' but have to confess I have a silver wing scooter. It gets 50 mpg and is used during warmer weather as my '2nd car' whenever possible.

But, it falls into the same category as people who spend 10k extra to get a lexus hybrid to 'save money on gas'.

The scooter is fun, and it does save me money on current expenses, but if I had to spread the initial cost (never mind insurance and taxes) over it use span, it ain't no bargin, but it is kind of fun.

It seems in the UK maxi-scooters tend to get ridden at what I think are high speeds, but they also have a general speeding problem. Going 60 would probably get you run down by a gray haired lady driving her Bentley to Harrods....

In London, they have some sort of 'city street use tax' to keep single drivers out of town... I suspect, like us, the pi$$ and moan, and pay it to keep driving as usual...... ah, human nature.

[AmyH]

Too bad they don't carry diesel motorcycles in America, take a look at this one that the U.S. military uses: http://www.f1engineering.com/diesel%20bike%20specs.html. Now if only Kawasaki would make a civilian version of this bike, or better yet....a cruiser version with the diesel engine. You could run it on biodiesel, and it gets well over 100 mpg!

Amy

[Shiro]

Motorcycle economy depends upon the size of the bike and the speed at which it is driven. The power to weight ratio on even a little bike is better than cars. A small bike (250 cc or ) will get really good mileage, but people consider them too small, and for freeway use, they probably are too small. The other factor is streamlining or the lack thereof. Bikes aren't particularly aerodynamic. Drag increases dramatically at speed.

I have several bikes. One has a sidecar. I don't ride any of them in a manner that will get me good mileage. On the sidecar rig, I usually only get about 30 mpg, but one time, riding with some slow Russian rigs at 40 to 45 mph, I got close to 60 mpg. A real eyeopener as to the effect of drag on mileage.

If you want to brag about fuel economy, get a little bike and ride slowly.

Amy, there are continuing rumors that the diesel bikes will be available someday in this country for the general public.

[AmyH]

I'll keep crossing my fingers Shiro. Those diesel Royal Enfields are pretty nice too, but like you mentioned, they don't go extraordinarily fast, they are really just meant for cruising on side roads. Really nice looking though!

Amy

[Arne]

Motorcycles are aerodynamically dirty. Things hanging out all over. The crotch rockets could get better mileage, but are tuned for power.

My scooter could get better mileage if I wasn't sitting up in the air stream. Put your hand out the window of your car and feel the pressure..... think about having your whole torso out there..... you think we have handle bars to steer? nah, they're there so we don't get blown off.....

[angib]

My scooter could get better mileage if I wasn't sitting up in the air stream.

Disappointingly, the lower riding position and tail fairing of my converted scooter (see avatar pic or ComforTmax) hasn't made much difference to its economy, because the front fairing is so poor - the airflow is not even attached over the windscreen! However an hour before writing this, I finished a 400 mile journey on it with no discomfort so it has some redeeming features! Incidentally we talk of speed in Yurp but the data for my journey shows the reality - cruising at an indicated 90mph (real 80?), it took 6 hours on the road to do the 400 miles, so you can see how much of the time is spent in traffic.

Andrew

[Arne]

Andrew, that seat looks so appealing.... I know with my utopia back rest, when I hit a bump, when the rear wheel goes over it, the utopia gives me a shove in the back, so I often lean forward off it when I see something coming..

So you get the same feeling? You do have a much bigger back rest footprint than I do, so it may not affect you as much.. also, the utopia has very little padding, so there is no give to speak of.

[Chip]

Back during my younger years,, mind and body,,, a shovel head harley would get about 50 miles per gal loaded for the weekend or solo,, it just didnt seem to matter how you rode it or if it was light or heavy,, the milage just varied a couple mpg one way or the other,, now on a small cc bike it sure made a difference,,, seems them cubic inches are hungry no matter how ya run em,,, If ya drop back to a taller gear ya get a bit more milage by dropping the rpm's but torque tends to suffer in the process,

chipper

[toypusher]

Chip,

Are you sure that wasn't "PFPM" vs MPG????

Kerry

[Sarge]

It's my opinion that most people don't buy a motorcycle to save money. The gas milage as mentioned is good, but it isn't any better than a hybrid or a diesel.

Then there are the things that need to be replaced:

Tires! Yes, you only have two, but they don't last long. If I might be willing to ride on balding tires on my car, I'm asking for BIG TIME problems riding on balding bike tires.

Brakes. Cheaper than a car, but replaced more often.

Tune-ups. Most cars are fuel injected, but most bikes are still carbs. and the more carbs the sooner they get out of alignment.

I really don't think most people buy bikes to save money...there is usually another motive. FUN!

-Sarge

[Proud2BCDN]

I ride for the fun of it and can attest that commuting on a multi-cylinder bike can be more expensive than a car...the maintenance far outweighs the gas savings...but the sanity gained from riding far outweighs the maintenance costs Having said that my KLR650 gets about 60mpg and runs on regular which aint hard to take...and the engine is simple enough that I can do all of the maintenance myself

[angib]

Andrew, that seat looks so appealing....

Being a two-wheeler, you do get a 'punch' from each bump, but because you're sitting lower, the effect is less and with the large seatback, it's not uncomfortable, just annoying.

The seatback is from a Volvo (a small one, that you guys didn't get) and the knob visible on the side is a lumbar support - this is ideal, as on long journeys you wind it pretty far off so you sink into the backrest and when you get to town you wind it on so that it's very easy to lean forward off the backrest for extra mobility.

The backrest isn't primarily for comfort, it's for control. Leaning into the backrest holds the rider still - it's having the rider fluttering like a flag from the steering control that really upsets the stability of 'coventionals'. Also having the backrest behind your shoulders means that you can push directly on the bars to steer, so the steering becomes much quicker - on 'conventionals', you have to pass that force all the way from where you're attached to the bike, somewhere around your thighs, to the handlebars. So it's not surprising that a FF (Feet Forward) is less work to ride, and it does the impossible by combining greater stability and qicker steering!

Can you tell that I'm a bit of a FF believer? You can go to the FF Web to see more nutters like me.

Andrew

[Arne]

Speaking of scooter & backrests, I swapped out my Givi screen last night for my former, now current, Clearview.... the Clearview gives better protection.....



I've been a fan of FF's since I saw the first one.. some things just seem right, and that is one of them...

I visited a local vespa dealer recently, and saw another 'roofed' scooter (not a vespa, but another 150cc). I could actually see a roof as practical in rain and hot sun. With a helmet on, I can't see much in the up direction anyway....

[Joanne]

I ride for the fun of it and can attest that commuting on a multi-cylinder bike can be more expensive than a car...the maintenance far outweighs the gas savings...but the sanity gained from riding far outweighs the maintenance costs Having said that my KLR650 gets about 60mpg and runs on regular which aint hard to take...and the engine is simple enough that I can do all of the maintenance myself

The KLR650s are fun bikes! I bought one to ride around out in the desert and really enjoy it. I almost sold it after dumping it a couple of times out in the dirt but my riding has improved some and I like riding it. I should ride it more but I usually ride my Road King.

Joanne