Just Sharing

[2RDLX]

Hi everyone,

Well I've been reading alot of articles here about fuel mileage,and I can't seem to beat 35.7. Now my wife has told me many times I am to heavy on the throttle and I do agree...most of the time she is right. So I have tried very hard to be easier on the throttle as of late,...gentle starts, no speeding, all that responsible riding stuff. OK I do admitt it did get better 38.2, still not what most are claiming(40-45). So Saturday being very windy I desided to sync the carbs. I sat down read all the steps involve in this procedure not to make any mistakes, then proceeded. I was shocked to find they weren't out of sync. Ok not really. The scoot has always run great, from the time I got it ,and now only having 4500mi on it, nothing done to it other than servicing. I guess I will just keep enjoying my ride.

Well it was in the garage Sat. I decided to do another little project. I had seen a few others here had put lights on their scoots....and I really liked the way they looked. So I thought since I had some laying around I would try putting some on my scoot. Let me know what you think.

[Dano]

Can't help on the carbs and mileage, but the lights look good! Question, though. Do they run straight off the switch or are you also running thru the accessories circuit with a relay so that they go off when you turn the bike off? That way you don't forget to turn them off. Makes life a lot easier!!

 

Dan

[Geezrr]

I like the lights!

 

I ride the Venture, '05. I ride 1 up most of the time, but just rode to NM and back for work. Will be heading back down there, (from MT), in a week or so. I load the back seat up pretty heavy with clothes and gear, over 100 lbs for sure.

 

Well, I find that with gentle starts and keeping the speed down under 75 I get 42 - 44 mpg. Well, that is difficult to do all the time because my bike's "sweet spots" are 85 and 100 mph. When riding 1000 plus miles in a day I usually do keep the speed down, but there are times when I can't help but roll the throttle!! Like on July 4th when I crossed the ID / MT line coming home...... I was at 104 mph and kept it up near 100 mph until about 12 miles south of Dillon, MT. Road goes into a canyon and slowed down to below posted limit and around first corner there was a Smoky.... lucked out....

 

But what I wanted to say is at 100 mph for 60 plus miles I got 36.5 mpg.

 

Also, I am pleased that riding my bike to my job, (over 1200 miles one way), I am getting 30.5 cents a mile. I pay my gas out of that, but not to bad. Hopefully the IRS will raise the motorcycle rate soon, as they have raised the "cage" rate twice in the past month to 58.5 cents a mile now.

 

Geezrr

[BuddyRich]

I get the same mileage as you. Think I got close to 40 once and that was due to slow traffic and nobody was going over 55 for like 3 hours.

[Maritimer]

Lately I have done pretty close to 40 mpg but that is riding solo at 60 to 65 mph and no rabbit start/stop. I also started using acetone in my gas. That seemed to improve my mileage some.

 

Next I will use some sea foam and see if that helps any.

[2RDLX]

Thanks to all,

For now the lights are powered thru a 30 amp relay all the time. Couldn't find my tester...think the boys were in the garage again ,not positive ...I am getting older.

[Dragonslayer]

Can't help on the carbs and mileage, but the lights look good! Question, though. Do they run straight off the switch or are you also running thru the accessories circuit with a relay so that they go off when you turn the bike off? That way you don't forget to turn them off. Makes life a lot easier!!

 

Dan

Dan,

I'm about to add some running lights to mine can you send me some details on connecting points.

Bob

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[Guest tx2sturgis]

Just a reminder.

 

Although its tempting to compare fuel mileage with others that are posting on the web, its not all that meaningful. Its one thing to compare mpg with someone who rides in your area, same bike maybe, same roads, same weather, same altitude, mostly the same gas from the same suppiiers..etc.

 

But comparing fuel mileage with someone who lives 1500 or 3000 miles away can be confusing.

 

In different areas of the country, the refiners provide different fuel blends. Varying altitudes, different types of roads, odometer error, etc will all have a positive or negative effect on mileage. When I ride out here in the flats where I live, I get around 32-35 mpg, ( on the Venture) cruising for a hundred miles or more at 70+ mph. A lot of that time I'm fighting headwinds, or brisk sidewinds. When I ride up to higher altitudes, in the mountains, my average speeds are much lower, winds are much less of a problem, and the gas I normally find is a higher octane. So, I begin to see my fuel mileage climb into the low to mid 40's.

 

Might be helpful when comparing mpg, to also include a note about what altitude you are doing most of your riding, the type of roads, and maybe even the fuel you use most, whether its an ethanol blend..riding style, tall windshield, stock or modified carb jetting, passenger, that sort of thing.

 

The only true and practical way to actually compare fuel mileage is to take a trip of say, 100 miles or more, running together, same speeds, same gas, same roads, all that. THEN you can actually see what the true difference in mileage might be. And even then, you need to use the miles reported on one bike or the other, not both!

 

 

 

[a1bummer]

I just put a pair of those same lights on my 1st gen. I got them at Wally World for $16. I used a couple foot peg brackets to mount them to the engine guards. Haven't gotten around to taking any pics yet.