decline in MPG'S

[yamihoe]

Ill keep it shor-tish:
idles consistent, has appropriate power and response
I use the same station to fill up almost every time.
My riding habits have not changed.
Tires are properly inflated and chain cleaned, adjusted and lubed.
My brakes arent dragging (that I know) I just pulled apart the front calipers and cleaned the pistons and flushed the system with no change in mpg.
I am used to getting around 50 mpg's but over this summer a decline to 46-47mpg and now I am barely squeaking 40mpg.

TB sync? TB dirty? a clog somewhere?

 

[erburtt]

When's the last time you checked/cleaned/replaced your air filter?

 

[SweaterDude]

Run a tank of ethanol free if you can find it, with Techron® additive.

-fill half way up
-add Techron
-fill rest of the way

this will insure clean injectors and TB

 

[yamihoe]

When's the last time you checked/cleaned/replaced your air filter?

Cleaning the air filter is on my list to do this weekend!

I checked it in march right before my Florida trip so it is certainly due to be cleaned/checked.

and I have run seafoam thru it recently but hadnt noticed any difference.

 

[MattR302]

I noticed that once I put my Givi Sidecases on, my mileage dropped about 4 mpg's... you been riding with any saddlebags?

 

[FIZZER6]

Winter blend fuel and cold weather will significantly reduce fuel economy. I notice a 5-7 mpg decline in the fuel economy on my cages in the winter here in VA.

 

[yamihoe]

last winter my mpg's were still around ~46.
even in the summer I noticed something was up but it is much more pronounced of late.

 

[FZ09Bandit]

Air filter, plugs, the gas station is getting a run of crap gas, you changed something about your riding habits, and any other that's been posted above.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Besides all the above suggustions, have you EVER REPLACED the brake caliber seals? I know you've cleaned the outside but its NOT THE same.. If original, their going on 8+ years old

As noted in previous posts, Yamaha recommends replacement every TWO years.

In real life, I've found 4-5 years is the max you can get out of them (from my FJR and FZ-same ft caliper).

The rubber seals loose their ability to flex in and out (pulling the pistons back in) and you'll get dragging brakes, lower MPG's, extra wear and tear on the pads / rotors.

In your S1, you only have two pistons in each of the front calipers, so its not terribly difficult to do.

Just like the rear brake (not as likely to stick), ALL your calipers (if stock) center themselves on the mount bolts/pin's if properly maintained.

Over time, the BRAKE SPECIFIC grease will stick and the calipers don't center themselves. Uneven brake pad wear will confirm this.

At the very least, pull those pins, clean and re-grease with BRAKE SPECIFIC GREASE. If the seals are original, IMHO, I'd replace them as they are WAY OVERDUE...


Below is a link to your front brake assemblies:

My Yamaha Prompt - Parts Catalog)


Good luck.

BTW, I get about 48-49 MPG's beating around town (rarely above posted speed limits of 60 MPH). Highway MPG's, don't know...

 

[FIZZER6]

Below is a link to your front brake assemblies:

My Yamaha Prompt - Parts Catalog)


Good luck.

BTW, I get about 48-49 MPG's beating around town (rarely above posted speed limits of 60 MPH). Highway MPG's, don't know...

Have you actually purchased parts through that link? I'm not going to rebuild my calipers until I replace the front brake pads but I do want to replace the piston seals at the same time.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Funny, I have noticed the exact same squawk on my bike. I thought that it was due to me putting some cleaning additives that I bought from Yamaha that I put in my tank on every fill up to help my bike from sputtering, but have since stopped using it this winter. Noticed a significant mileage drop during that time, but it seems it's the same without using it. If anything, I thought it would increase my mileage.

TownsendsFJR1300 mentioning about the brake caliber seals was interesting, and might be the source of the problem. My bike is an 06 and the seals have never been replaced. Will need to address this issue.

 

[scidork]

This would work better in warmer months but try braking with just one brake, then before they have a chance to cool, check the rotor which you didn't brake with. If warm, it's dragging. Might be more apparent than spinning the wheel.

 

[FinalImpact]

In these parts the crap gas is 365. There is no "Winter Blend" per say. Its meth impregnated 365...

Yami - what oil you run and when is the last time it was recycled?


This is off topic but still helpful I hope. On faceplant the local speed shop posted a video of an R6 with ceramic ball bearings and a ceramic coated chain. Bike is a race bike and no doubt has synthetic oil, but the guy spun the rear tire by hand and omg - it was like frictionless! It may have made 15 to 20 revolutions.

Point - a clean well lubed chain matters. I think most of get at least 4 to 5 rev's from a hand spun rear tire.

What are temps where your at? In my cage I see the temps taking about 4mpgs off as its running richer. Add the drag of the fluids and its not unreasonable but I'm talking temps in the teens (F). In the 50's shouldn't matter.

+1 one on the rotor temperature test. Mine are always cool.
You might pull the plugs and check them or close in the gap. If the spark is weak it will burn better with a smaller gap.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Have you actually purchased parts through that link? I'm not going to rebuild my calipers until I replace the front brake pads but I do want to replace the piston seals at the same time.

No, I have not. I posted that link to show the set up, general parts, prices.

I ordered all the front seals on 8-16-12, $80.60 exactly delivered to my front door. Now that's for an S2 (4 pistons per pot, NOT 2 like the S1 model),. The S1 should be a little cheaper and easier to replace as well..

Partzilla (Used to be Powersports): Partzilla.com - OEM Powersports Parts from Honda, Kawasaki Polaris, Suzuki and Yamaha at discounts up to 80% off MSRP .

It was considerably cheaper than the local shop.

Re checking the calipers for dragging as posted above, yes that will give you a very good idea how the seals are. Go for a ride, maybe 50 mph for a bit, then stop ONLY WITH THE REAR BRAKE. Then carefully touch the ft rotors, they should be cold or very cool to the touch. If not, their dragging.

You can also get a general idea of their condition just by raising the front wheel and giving it a good "free spin" as hard as you can. Before I rebuilt mine, I got 1/2 to 3/4 a turn. To this date, about 1.5 years later, I get about 4 full rotations. I have to put some masking tape on the rim to count the rotations it spins so many times..

And yes, it is fully bled out and with the SS lines, will fully lock the ft wheel with apporx 3/4-1" pull...

With that said, I do, probably monthly, blow a spritz of air from the air compressor and blow out a bunch of brake dust (which would also help keep gunk from building up)

Simply, the rubber hardens up over time and doesn't retract the pistons, thus the pads drag.


BTW, when putting my new seals next to the old ones, I could NOT see or feel any difference on the bench. On the bike, compleatly different story..

 

[yamihoe]

I have R6 calipers with HEL lines on the front, before taking the pistons out and polishing them and greasing the seals I would get just over 3 rotations out of the front tire and now I am getting roughly 3-1/2 so they weren't dragging that bad.
I have touched each rotor after a my commute home (13miles and 1 turn) when using only the rear brake and they were both pretty cool, the pads are fairly even on both sides of the caliper and between calipers.

My air filter was needing cleaned, but it was not horrible.

I cleaned the tb's and added some fuel injector stuff (lucas)

lubed the chain and checked tire pressures again.

filled up and headed home (51.8 miles) and as I was backing into my space the fuel gauge just went down 1 bar from full. I rode pretty normal on the highway at about 77ish until a corvette came up, then I rolled with him for the last 15 miles deep into the 90mph range and my parking spot is on a decline so **knock on wood*** this tank seems to be a lot better than recently.

Edit: Temps here have been between 30-48 F. Last night I believe it was 41F when I got home.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I have R6 calipers with HEL lines on the front, before taking the pistons out and polishing them and greasing the seals I would get just over 3 rotations out of the front tire and now I am getting roughly 3-1/2 so they weren't dragging that bad.
I have touched each rotor after a my commute home (13miles and 1 turn) when using only the rear brake and they were both pretty cool, the pads are fairly even on both sides of the caliper and between calipers.

My air filter was needing cleaned, but it was not horrible.

I cleaned the tb's and added some fuel injector stuff (lucas)

lubed the chain and checked tire pressures again.

filled up and headed home (51.8 miles) and as I was backing into my space the fuel gauge just went down 1 bar from full. I rode pretty normal on the highway at about 77ish until a corvette came up, then I rolled with him for the last 15 miles deep into the 90mph range and my parking spot is on a decline so **knock on wood*** this tank seems to be a lot better than recently.

Edit: Temps here have been between 30-48 F. Last night I believe it was 41F when I got home.

I don't commute but my fuel gauge, at about 50 miles on the odometer, will drop one hash mark, the same as yours. :thumbup:

And that's with getting about 48 MPG and change around town, semi-normal riding..

BTW, if you were getting 3 rotations on the front wheel, I wouldn't have broken them down(maybe a quick cleaning). When it won't spin half a turn when spun hard, you have issues....

 

[yamihoe]

eh, it wasnt that hard and all it cost me was 30 min and a pint of DOT4

also, I forget who asked but I use Rotella T6 with a dash of the rotella 15w-40 because pure T6 gave me some funny feelings within the gearbox so I thicken it up a tad

Im pretty sure I have a psychological 10hp gain lol...it does seem a tad more responsive tho.

 

[yamihoe]

Still terrible, went 171 miles on 4.008 gallons.
thats 42.7mpg.
I am out of ideas, air filter has been cleaned, fuel injector cleaner, plugs are good, it has plenty of power, as much as it always has. I have nothing, at this point I am riding the R1 FOR the gas mileage and not just for the power.

 

[Bill]

Have you sync'd your throttle bodies?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[iSteve]

Did you do anything to your bike before the fuel mileage change. Maybe a sprocket change or something.

I don't think 43mpg is all that bad. Yamaha FZ6 MPG Reports | Fuelly