Well it finally happen!

[hillrider]

To get rid of buffeting, I went from a cut down stock shield (4 inches shorter) to a XXL Clearview.

 

Didn't realize I would loose 6 MPG. Went from 42 to 36.

[DesertRider]

The fuel economics of motorcycling is one other enjoyment we get out of our scooters. Mine is pretty consistent with my driving habits - 40 to 44 mpg in town driving. On the highway, the slower I go the better mileage I get, the faster I go the more gas it burns. If I'm on an old back road or highway where I can cruise for long periods at 55 to 60 miles per hour, it's not unusual to get 50 mpg, I've done that several times. Driving 60 to 70 miles per hour, it drops off to the low to mid 40's mpg. Over 70 miles per hour and it drops even faster. At 75 to 85 miles per hour on the interstate I get about 34 - 35 mpg which I still don't consider too bad. I'm not sure how you would average all that out or if mine is typical or not.

 

I have heard one or two 1st gen owners say that they consistently get 50+ mpg out of theirs no matter how they ride. Mine won't do that good, it burns more gas at higher speeds, but I'm still happy with what it does.

[Seaking]

My buddy and I just got back from a fun road trip, in the wildest weather conditions.. (never go on a road trip the day after a hurricane lol)

 

Highway speeds in nose on 40 mph (gusting 60) netted me barely 90 miles to a full tank, traveling at 70 mph.. do the math, that's a lot of wind resistance on the fairing.. I made mental note of how much the 'wide windshield' was flexing at the tips near the fairing.. wow

 

We were traveling along the St Laurence's south shore (Matane to Drummondville Quebec) and what a wild ride that was lol... Could not get the bike up to 5th gear at those speeds, and 4th gear was working very hard.. I'm sure that people heading east, downwind, were having one heck of a fuel efficiency day!

 

Later in the day where the highway turned more away from shore, sheltering us from the winds from the St Laurence, our mileage returns to a little more normal..

 

Yesterday, we had to beat feet home in front of another big weather system and enjoyed a substantial tail wind this time, following most of the same route, and getting several 160 to 200 miles per tank in these wind conditions.. and that's traveling at 80 mph.. truly impressive.

 

I'm going to be looking at perhaps trimming some windshield down on the sides, and a few other aspects that face the winds.. I do a lot of slab riding and hate the winds holding me back lol.. dang, now that was a windy ride yesterday!!

[Jerry W]

I have gotten anywhere from 30 mpg to 42 mpg, depending on where I was riding. I think the floats are set too high in the carbs, but I don't have the skill sets to fix that. I have a carbtune and try to keep the carbs in sync. I plan to buy a colortune and learn to use that. Maybe, one of these days I will make a maiintenance day where they are setting floats and watch that done and decide if I want to attempt it.

 

However, on the road I don't really worry about mileage on the bike. I just enjoy the ride.

[Seaking]

I have gotten anywhere from 30 mpg to 42 mpg, depending on where I was riding. I think the floats are set too high in the carbs, but I don't have the skill sets to fix that. I have a carbtune and try to keep the carbs in sync. I plan to buy a colortune and learn to use that. Maybe, one of these days I will make a maiintenance day where they are setting floats and watch that done and decide if I want to attempt it.

However, on the road I don't really worry about mileage on the bike. I just enjoy the ride.

 

Nice, same bike as mine.. yes, I don't worry much on the mileage, I just ride the darn thing with a smile on my face and keep an eye out for gas stations when I get to the 4 bars mark

 

I was out visiting Goose in Dallas this past spring and he showed me how to pull the carbs, clean them out and set the floats.. Oh it's VERY easy to do.. at least watching HIM do it.. lol.. I don't think I would have had the guts to do it on my own so I know where you're coming from. I couldn't honestly see much improvement in the fuel economy after resetting the floats, but the engine certainly responds better, if only ever so slightly.. Enough of an improvement to the over all system to be worth the while. Re-shimming the valves also did wonders for the over all smoothness of the engine.

 

I wouldn't bother with the colour tune though, from all I have heard from people who have them is that the colour of the spark is so hard to see change in it when you make adjustments, its so imprecise for the lay person to use. Carb syncing is good though, I do mine often.

 

Prior to doing all that, I had a good estimation of my fuel mileage compared to other RSV. My ride buddy has an 08 RSV and we ride together on long trips so I know how well or poorly my mileage is compared to his bike.. And the biggest mitigating factor that affects our fuel economy is how much head winds we're hitting.. And, if he's riding in my pocket he gets much better fuel economy than I do as he's essentially drafting in my turbulence.. But if he's riding a good pace behind me, our fuel burn rate is very similar since he's hitting the same air as I.

 

Bottom line is, ride it like ya stole it.. more fun that way

[N3FOL]

I have verified this many times on my bike...and just as what was mentioned before, the faster I go the more gas I burn. Majority of my rides are done via the interstate with the Min speed of 65 mph. Traffic would flow between 75 to 80 mph on my speedo...so realistically I am travelling between 70 to 75 mph ... mostly 75 mph to be honest. As a result, my mileage would be somewhere around 36 to 39 mpg. I would take the side roads time to time, if I only know that the interstate is backed up due to high volume or an accident. It trully believe that if I only go as fast as 45 to 50 mph, I probably will get a high 40 on mpg.

 

Enjoy your rides.

[craigatcsi]

Isn't this why they dropped the speed limit to 55mph in the 70s?

[Seaking]

Isn't this why they dropped the speed limit to 55mph in the 70s?

 

No it was due to stupid drivers not being able to handle their vehicles properly on the highways.. go figure. Because of the lower speed limits, more stupid drivers were permitted to survive their stupid driving habits and pass on their stupid driving genes off to their offspring, whereas in the older days, stupid people crashed and the stupid driver genes never got passed on..

 

Same thing applies to why all the safety rules, regs and legislation spawned out more stupid in today's society.. There is no more natural selection of culling the herd of stupid people.. they are now allowed to survive their stupidity and pass on their stupid genes to another generation..

 

Serious, thems old enough to remember the olden days, is this not true, are there not more stupid people out there today than there was say 20 - 30 years ago?

 

See? its true..

[scooter45]

We put about 600 miles on last weekend and got 45mpg riding two up with a bag on top of the trunk.

[DBOB]

Isn't this why they dropped the speed limit to 55mph in the 70s?

 

 

Yes, that was in response to the first oil embargo. I rmember sitting in line at a gas station to get my "ration."

Don

[dacheedah]

In Illinois our gas is at least E10, most cheaper stations have E10 signs but run higher ethanol. Ethanol trashes your rubber and does not burn as efficiently as gas. I just had to put all new hoses on my boat with a lined gas line to deal with the ethanol. When I drive to my brothers in Tennesee my gas mileage always goes up. You can find kits to check your gas formulations, station to station will be different. Saving a few cents per gallon doesn't always save you in the long run.

[footsie]

My 04 had dropped to 35 to 38 mpg, but I replaced the plugs and it came back up into the 40 - 47 range, the only time I have gotten 50 mpg was running 55 mph on the 2 lanes.

 

My 00 however was excellent on gas it would do 50 mph, but it was the laziest bike I have ever owned, removing the AIS help it some but it just did not have any power.

was smooth as silk, great millage but Bobbies 07 electra glide would stay right with it.

 

 

 

Gregg

[Semi-retired]

 

Would love to know where to order a couple of these things. Any sources......anyone....???

 

Thanks,

Mike