is it normal for a 83 venture to average less than a 150 mile on a tank of gas

[breezelasbre73]

my gas mileage sucks.whats the problem

[Condor]

my gas mileage sucks.whats the problem

 

How much are you taking when you refill?? And are you runing around town in 5th gear??

[breezelasbre73]

i get about 70 miles on a half of a tank

[tsigwing]

i get about 70 miles on a half of a tank

don't think you can measure the mileage that way. need to run it to reserve, fill it up and calculate the mileage that way.

[Pegasus1300]

It was all I could do to get 35 to 38mpg out of my 83 and my 86 was worse.There was nothing wrong with them I had them both balanced and the Exhaust Gas Analizer put on them and they were burning right.I have an 87 now and it gets 40,no more no less just stays right there. TheNumbers for the EGA were the same.The 2008 RSTD goes from 36 to 44 depending on whether I can keep my fist out of the throttle or not.So yes I would say that 140 to 150 is about right for an 83.

[Condor]

i get about 70 miles on a half of a tank

 

Forget the gauge. How much fuel did it take to top it off for miles traveled??? You need to get down to the basics and figure out exactely how many miles you are actually getting to the gallon. 'About's' don't count. My '83 will get 150 miles to the last bar. Top it off, and it only takes 3.0 to 3.4 gallons. It's a 5 gallon tank. Depending on riding milage can range from 38mpg on the slab at 75mph to 50mpg riding in the mountain twisties and never getting into 5th and very little 4th.

[Yammer Dan]

I have gotten in the high 40's on a 83 and broke 50 on a 85 and 86. I never got over 40 on my 84 but I ran it like I stole it.

[a1bummer]

I usually fill up at around 150 miles also. Don't use the gauge to measure your mileage. It takes 50 miles or so before my first bar goes out and the go very fast after that. I get about 38ish mpg when I'm running the back-roads where I can relax and cruise at about 55mph. Doesn't change much with a loaded trailer and two up. If I'm hitting the highways and doing 70is, I can expect to get about 33-35pmg. Just do as the other members have mentioned to figure your actual mileage. Fill her up, reset the trip meter, when the tank appears to be near empty fill her up again. Divide the gallons used by the mileage run to get your mpg. Keep track of your mpg as best you can for each tank for the season and find the average for best results.

 

After you do that, you'll know what you you should be getting mpg wise, and will know something is wrong when your mileage drops out of range. Or if you get bad gas somewhere. Even the gas from one station to the next can vary quite a bit. I hit the BP in the next town over for the best mileage. I hit one station last summer that got me less than 100 miles on that tank. I thought to myself that the gas smelled funny. But I though that was due to me just having surgery done on my sinuses. It also spit and sputtered a lot when it was cool too.

[a1bummer]

I never got over 40 on my 84 but I ran it like I stole it.

 

Ditto!

[FreezyRider]

I usually fill up at around 150 miles also. Don't use the gauge to measure your mileage. It takes 50 miles or so before my first bar goes out and the go very fast after that. I get about 38ish mpg when I'm running the back-roads where I can relax and cruise at about 55mph. Doesn't change much with a loaded trailer and two up. If I'm hitting the highways and doing 70is, I can expect to get about 33-35pmg. Just do as the other members have mentioned to figure your actual mileage. Fill her up, reset the trip meter, when the tank appears to be near empty fill her up again. Divide the gallons used by the mileage run to get your mpg. Keep track of your mpg as best you can for each tank for the season and find the average for best results.

 

After you do that, you'll know what you you should be getting mpg wise, and will know something is wrong when your mileage drops out of range. Or if you get bad gas somewhere. Even the gas from one station to the next can vary quite a bit. I hit the BP in the next town over for the best mileage. I hit one station last summer that got me less than 100 miles on that tank. I thought to myself that the gas smelled funny. But I though that was due to me just having surgery done on my sinuses. It also spit and sputtered a lot when it was cool too.

 

You really want to make him feel bad, don't you? If I divide 3 gals used by 150 miles I get .02......which is OK if he wants gallons per mile. But I think he wants it the other way....divide miles traveled by gallons used to get miles per gallon.

[CdnDave77]

My '83 wasn't the greatest on mileage when I first got it. It took new plugs, plug caps, and multiple carb synchs to get it consistently running on all 4 cylinders and up to 33 mpg - which is not good by any means. I also removed the YICS chamber (should be irrelevant to fuel mileage tho).

 

If you search on the "Needle shim Mod", you will find a few threads which talk about lower the needles in the sliders of your carbs. If your '83 is like mine, you're actually ahead of the game because the actual needle has adjustment slots - no shims or other parts required ! Just remove diaphram & slider as a unit, and remove the needle from the slider. Move the e-clip one rung (to start) UP (with needle hanging down) so that the needle will sit LOWER (further out of the slider, and therefore further into the carb main jet). Do this to all 4 carbs. It leans out the mixture once the main jets kick in, but these carbs seem to be set very rich from the factory.

 

My mileage jumped from 33 mpg to 42 instantly. Could I get more if I played with it ? Maybe, but I am good with averaging 42.. I sometimes get as high as 48.

 

If you need more info or can't find the previous threads, send me a PM. I have a spare set of carbs here and I can take some quick pics for you.

 

Good luck !

[Venturous Randy]

My '83 wasn't the greatest on mileage when I first got it. It took new plugs, plug caps, and multiple carb synchs to get it consistently running on all 4 cylinders and up to 33 mpg - which is not good by any means. I also removed the YICS chamber (should be irrelevant to fuel mileage tho).

 

If you search on the "Needle shim Mod", you will find a few threads which talk about lower the needles in the sliders of your carbs. If your '83 is like mine, you're actually ahead of the game because the actual needle has adjustment slots - no shims or other parts required ! Just remove diaphram & slider as a unit, and remove the needle from the slider. Move the e-clip one rung (to start) UP (with needle hanging down) so that the needle will sit LOWER (further out of the slider, and therefore further into the carb main jet). Do this to all 4 carbs. It leans out the mixture once the main jets kick in, but these carbs seem to be set very rich from the factory.

 

My mileage jumped from 33 mpg to 42 instantly. Could I get more if I played with it ? Maybe, but I am good with averaging 42.. I sometimes get as high as 48.

 

If you need more info or can't find the previous threads, send me a PM. I have a spare set of carbs here and I can take some quick pics for you.

 

Good luck !

 

Ditto on everything here, good job Dave. The only thing I want to add is making sure your diaphragms are in good shape. If there are holes in them, it kind of acts like a choke with them not opening the sliders good and it causes more vacuum in the needle/jet area. With new diaphragms and the needle shim mod, I went from 38 to 42 mpg up to as high as 49mpg on 45 to 55mph rides, even two up.

RandyA

[stashnet]

I have gotten in the high 40's on a 83 and broke 50 on a 85 and 86. I never got over 40 on my 84 but I ran it like I stole it.

 

Oops. Was I not supposed to do that? The power is so intoxicating, I can't help it.

[a1bummer]

You really want to make him feel bad, don't you? If I divide 3 gals used by 150 miles I get .02......which is OK if he wants gallons per mile. But I think he wants it the other way....divide miles traveled by gallons used to get miles per gallon.

 

Oops! My bad LOL!

 

Dang ADHD!

[breezelasbre73]

do you run regularor premium gas in your bike?i will caculate the mileage tomorrow.i will fill the bike up.i would like a pic of the carbs so i can see if i can do it.i wanna check the diaphrams.,needles.send me a pic of it if thats possible

[Midicat]

Hey everybody. Go here...http://www.milesgallon.com/. This is a great place for mileage calculation. I use it all the time for my Honda. (Civic, that is.) It's good for north or south of the 49th. (metric or U.S.)

 

Thomas

[barend]

Ditto on all the above, ran about 100 miles down the interstate @ 80mph with the sidecar, started with a almost full tank and still have two bars left so I should be able to get another 40 (theoretical) Normally I fill up around 120 130 miles depending on where I drive. I do believe I get better mileage with straight gas, it's just hard to come by!

[CrazyHorse]

I can do about 200 miles on a tank. Ive pushed it lately running with no bars putting in about 4.7/ 4.8 gallons. Getting about 41 mpg. Mostly highway driving. I use the 1983 needles and lowered them. Still has nice power at full throttle. The 1983 needles have a more aggressive taper to them at the point compared to my original 1990 needles. So I figure I have the best of both worlds. I also run 93 octane the 87 gave me a hint of pinging. I also have noticed different gas stations give me better or worse mileage. Marathon seems the best in my area. Noticed difference between states also. Missouri gas gives me an improvement over Illinois gas also. Whats sad is my 1997 Honda Civic HX manual trans go to work in winter car can pull off the same mileage.

Edited May 12, 2010 by CrazyHorse

[RedRider]

Whats sad is my 1997 Honda Civic HX manual trans go to work in winter car can pull off the same mileage.

 

However, it cannot match the SMILES per gallon of the Venture.

 

RR

[Guest seuadr]

i just got a venture last year after riding season and i had the same "problem" till i started tracking my mileage and realized i'm getting 40-45 mpgs.. that fuel gauge is off by quite a bit. I start looking for a gas station around 170'ish miles now.

[CdnDave77]

Okay, since I am still unemployed, I gota be good for something so I took a few quick pictures which hopefully will help you.

 

The slider & needle assembly shown is WITHOUT the diaphram... no need to remove your diaphram if it is in good condition (ie: no holes). Just undo the center holding screw and remove the needle, spring and washer.

 

If your '83 is the same as mine, your needles should have adjustable slots in them so you can remove the little e-clip and reinstall in in a higher (away from the sharp tip of the needle). This will allow the needle to sit LOWER in the main jet, and lean it out slightly. This dramatically improved my mileage, as well as quite a few others on here.

 

Again, good luck.. & let us know how you make out.

[timgray]

A 1st gen venture will get WORSE gas mileage if you run anything but low grade gas in it. Midgrade and premium make it run worse and actually use more gas. They are set from the factory to run the 87 Octane. Any higher will not burn right with the timing and simply waste fuel and money.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

Unless you are running a High compression performance engine or a Turbocharged, or supercharged engine, running anything but th 87 octane is a waste of money and gas. If you want the super special "techron" additive then buy a bottle of it (techron fuel system cleaner) and add 2oz at every fill up.