New Bike, Poor Mileage

[greisinb]

I filled up my new bike (5 days old) with gas for the first time today. When I got home I ran the numbers through a calculator and it told me I was getting 36 miles to the gallon. This seems very low to me, I ride the bike pretty conservatively because I'm still very much in the break in period. Is the seeming poor mileage something I should be concerned about or is it like this across the board? Thanks for any input.

 

[nimzotech]

Just curious, how many many miles do you show on the odometer? My bike's MPG increased after the 600 mile service. I now have over 2000 miles and feel as if the mileage still improves...

 

[reiobard]

the mileage tends to be crazy low for the first 1000 miles or so and then it starts improving. Not sure why, but that is how new bikes seem to work...

 

[Hellgate]

It'll get better with miles, fear not. I have 1,600 and I'm at about 45, when it was new I was in the 30's too. The pistons and cylinders just need to seat a bit and the motor will loosen up.

 

[dako81]

Like with any new engine, it will burn more fuel until it loosens up a little bit after the break-in. Then it will run smoother and you will notice the MPG will go up. Congrats on the new bike!

 

[keira]

Like with any new engine, it will burn more fuel until it loosens up a little bit after the break-in. Then it will run smoother and you will notice the MPG will go up. Congrats on the new bike!

That is what I noticed. When I got my SV, the fist 600 miles gave me about 35mpg, during the next 500 or so I was getting about 45mpg. Now it is a rare fillup that I get less than 60mpg. The FZ will probably be similar.

 

[greisinb]

The bike only had 140 miles on the clock when the fuel trip odometer turned on. I suspected that the poor mileage was due to the break in period but just wanted to be sure. Thanks for all the input and allaying my fears!

 

[HavBlue]

For what it's worth:

If you are checking fuel mileage on a bike there are some things you should consider. The bike has a roughly 5.0 gallon tank (US) so lets say you topped it off and went for a 100 mile ride. Now say you used 2.0 gallons during that ride so you got 50mpg. Now, lets say you missed filling it to approximately the same place you started by as little as 2 tenths of a gallon short (25.6 ounces of fuel). So now you figure that same 100 miles by 1.8 gallons because you short tanked it. The gas mileage now figures to be 55.5mpg because you only put in 1.8 gallons. The same holds true if you stuffed in 2.2 gallons which is 25.6 ounces more than you started with. The same 100 miles now figures out to be 45.4mpg. Checking fuel mileage on a bike can be a real tricky affair and it can swing widely simply because of missing the mark by a very small margin.

It has been my experience the FZ6 that I own has changed very little since the day I purchased it and at present it has had an overall average of 44.6mpg in 14,500 miles and 3 years 8 months of riding. When you check fuel mileage give the bike an honest test and be sure it's a 2 way run on the same road. Go out 50 miles and come back 50 miles then fuel it up to as close to the same spot as possible or you could be off 5 to 7mpg in a heartbeat..

Good luck,
Charlie

 

[VEGASRIDER]

This was a popular subject a while back, here's the thread. Some of the replies there might shed some more light.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-technical/346-200-miles-one-tank.html

 

[greisinb]

For what it's worth:

Checking fuel mileage on a bike can be a real tricky affair and it can swing widely simply because of missing the mark by a very small margin.

Excellent point that I didn't consider, the dealer filled it up but I don't know exactly how much they put in. I'll have to average several tanks and see what I get.
On a corollary, I live in Wisconsin, where as you may have guessed it is still freezing cold. I imagine that mass air flow sensor sees very cold (and therefore very dense) air coming in to the engine and puts in extra fuel to adjust to the larger oxygen content per unit air.
I imagine that this would cause MPG to be a little less then average, though theoretically the bike shold be more powerful too!

 

[reiobard]

For what it's worth:

If you are checking fuel mileage on a bike there are some things you should consider. The bike has a roughly 5.0 gallon tank (US) so lets say you topped it off and went for a 100 mile ride. Now say you used 2.0 gallons during that ride so you got 50mpg. Now, lets say you missed filling it to approximately the same place you started by as little as 2 tenths of a gallon short (25.6 ounces of fuel). So now you figure that same 100 miles by 1.8 gallons because you short tanked it. The gas mileage now figures to be 55.5mpg because you only put in 1.8 gallons. The same holds true if you stuffed in 2.2 gallons which is 25.6 ounces more than you started with. The same 100 miles now figures out to be 45.4mpg. Checking fuel mileage on a bike can be a real tricky affair and it can swing widely simply because of missing the mark by a very small margin.

It has been my experience the FZ6 that I own has changed very little since the day I purchased it and at present it has had an overall average of 44.6mpg in 14,500 miles and 3 years 8 months of riding. When you check fuel mileage give the bike an honest test and be sure it's a 2 way run on the same road. Go out 50 miles and come back 50 miles then fuel it up to as close to the same spot as possible or you could be off 5 to 7mpg in a heartbeat..

Good luck,
Charlie

All of this is very true, and if you "Do the math" you will notice this phenomenon and think "wow i got really good mileage on that tank" and you will also have some tanks that you think "I only got XX MPG for that tank". The best thing to do is average it all together and that it really the best idea as to what you are getting.

Just KNOW that you are probably getting more MPG than your car, and you are having a lot more fun while doing it and you will be alright.

 

[OneTrack]

I found that installing Scorpions and a PCIII really does help one to stop worrying about 'high' fuel consumption...
Of course, I'm also cranking the throttle wider and running the rpm's higher (it just sounds so GOOD), so higher fuel consumption will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[HavBlue]

Excellent point that I didn't consider, the dealer filled it up but I don't know exactly how much they put in. I'll have to average several tanks and see what I get.
On a corollary, I live in Wisconsin, where as you may have guessed it is still freezing cold. I imagine that mass air flow sensor sees very cold (and therefore very dense) air coming in to the engine and puts in extra fuel to adjust to the larger oxygen content per unit air.
I imagine that this would cause MPG to be a little less then average, though theoretically the bike should be more powerful too!

I don't notice much difference from say 35 degrees to say 90 degrees. On my Sporty, which is carbed, there is a huge difference in that same range. The FI bikes with an ECU are designed to maintain 14.7:1 from sea level to roughly 10,000 feet in elevation. In contrast, I would have to re-jet to run anywhere near that altitude on the carbed bike. I will however say the XL1200 will get better fuel mileage over the same run and at the same speed than the FZ6.