Saving Gas- Riding in 6th at 40 mph?

[jfz6]

I have read a lot of posts where people are getting 200 miles(320k) out of a tank of gas. Recently I decided to try and see how far I could go.

So I rode around in town mostly in 5th or 6th gear in the 30-40 mph(48-64kph) range. On the highway I tried to keep it under 80mph(128kph).

I ended up getting 175 miles out of my tank only going about 9 miles(14k) in F-Trip. The next week I tried the same thing and got 76 miles(122k). This week I have made it 90+ miles(144k) but only 3 bars are left and they seem to go quick. I have been using Shell Premium or Mid Grade gas and this week I decided to try Exxon- I think I will go back to Shell.

Now I am a big guy. I am about 6 ft.(182cm.) and 270 pounds or 19 stone and I have a pretty big chest(and gut) that blocks the wind. I only usually carry about 10 pounds (4.5kg) in a backpack.

I am pretty sure that my weight and chest wind resistance doesn't help me to get any closer to that 200 mile mark.

Is my cruising in 6th at slow speeds saving me gas? I don't mind it but I will say that today I had a car that almost ran me off the road....I can never find the damn horn button when I need it....and if I had been in a lower gear I could have shot ahead of them.

Instead I just got closer to them as my bike kinda shuttered and slowly tried to get speed. It was the closest I have come to actually getting hit. If I had braked I would have been hit from behind as I was on a two lane road with lots of traffic going about 40(64) and the person behind me was not biker friendly- just riding my tail even though there was no where to go.

It made me rethink my whole gas saving plan even if it is working.


I am wondering if any of you out there have any suggestions to help me save gas. Is my cruising in 6th at slow speeds saving me gas?

 

[Avalon786]

I'm also curious about this i never really got over 160miles on a tank, more around 130miles, mainly city or fast paced (80-100mph) For the first time i did all freeway at 80mph and got 180miles and still not on the fuel reserve trip! But whats the most efficient gear to speed ratio for best mpg?

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Be careful when you are lugging the engine like that. Part of safe riding is to make sure you are in the correct powerband so that you can accelerate or decelerate as necessary. It's part of your arsenal in how to survive in traffic. The old saying, "when it doubt, throttle out" it ain't goin to happen going 40mph in 6th gear.

 

[Avalon786]

Be careful when you are lugging the engine like that. Part of safe riding is to make sure you are in the correct powerband so that you can accelerate or decelerate as necessary. It's part of your arsenal in how to survive in traffic. The old saying, "when it doubt, throttle out" it ain't goin to happen going 40mph in 6th gear.

+1 I never ride in 6th going 40mph, lol. Thats abit too extreme. It puts you in danger and gaining a few mpg's is not worth your life or a body part!

 

[lonesoldier84]

ya when u hear the big air horn of a semi truck behind you...you'll be stomping on your gear pedal trying to find the right gear....and u dont want to waste even a fraction of a second in that scenario. i always ride so that im in the 8k-12k rpm range so i can GUN it if i have to or drop off throttle to get some easy decelleration.

 

[wrightme43]

Yes we had a big discussion on this a while back.

Keep the bike where you can accelerate. Its a tool in your bag of tricks to stay alive.

 

[mastakilla]

I ended up getting 175 miles out of my tank only going about 9 miles(14k) in F-Trip.

check your manual on the size of the tank, and look how much gas you put in when you think it's almost empty.

You can do at least more than 20 miles on F-trip, so you'd be getting pretty close to 190 miles, perhaps even to 200 miles.

In any case, I bought my bike for the fun of riding, I don't use it to commute and stuff. I might switch to a higher gear to save some fuel while riding on the highway, but otherwise it's above 8k rpm :Sport:

 

[bluenova]

I think while lugging it you would use more fuel too as RPM does not equate to how much fuel is used, but rather how far you twist your wrist. I'm no engineer, but experience tells me that my bike is most economical when ridden between 4-5k RPM this is also the start of the power band giving you some power if needed, and if you need real power you only need to drop down a gear.

 

[Stumbles06]

I mainly use my bike for commuting to work, (55 Km round trip). I normally get 310 Km from a tank, generally hit F-Trip at around 300 Km. Always seem to get cops on my runs to work and back too, so most of it is at legal speed limits.

I too sit in 6th gear, but half of the roads get to 90Kmh limits, when sitting in 60 limits, I am normally in 5th.

In saying that though, since installing the Leo Vince pipes, I seem to sit one gear down now. It seems to hit a neutral noise zone around 4K revs, so drop it a gear to hear those lovely sounds from Leo...lol

:thumbup:

 

[brad81987]

Running premium when your motor doesn't require it can also lead to decreased mileage. The higher the octane rating, essentially the higher the resistance to pre-detonation. This also makes it harder to burn. Unless the motor was designed for it, you'll probably get better mileage on regular. Also consider that, especially these days, premium is going to sit in gas stations' storage tanks a lot longer than regular. Regular will probably be a lot fresher, which is also good for your motor. Engines like stale gas as much as people like sour milk. Also- if you can, find stations that don't mix in ethanol. It's becoming harder and harder to do so around here, but I don't know about other parts of the country. Ethanol has substantially less kick than octane (gasoline) so while mixing it in does cause it to burn cleaner, it reduces power and mileage.

 

[kvanderploeg]

I'll regularly ride at ~40mph in 6th gear, and when I roll on it's not a rocket, but it does accelerate quite well with no lugging. I'm a big guy too, 6'4" and 280lb. Last tank was 168 to reserve with a bit of playing around that would have used a bit more gas. Oh, and I carry a laptop bag that probably weighs 15+ pounds.

Make sure you're filling the tank when on the center stand. This will allow for more gas in the tank.

Kent

 

[reiobard]

how many miles total are on the bike? I was only getting 130 miles per tank when new, but now i am consistently over 200 before the f-trip comes on. I also use the low grade gas at any gas station and tend to get better fuel economy out of it and the bike runs no different (I have tried the high grade).

I also won't bog the engine like you described, i always just make sure that if i twist the throttle i have more get up and go than an average car but not really ever in the high power band...

 

[grommit]

Couple of ideas for you...

Make sure your tyre pressures are correct. You'd be surprised how much energy under inflated tyres use up, not withstanding any handling issues.

Plan ahead; try and time your junctions so you do not have to come to a full stop, unless required to.

Be smooth, lots of wild throttle movements can use the fuel up.

 

[multiplicity]

This whole topic really confuses me. Some people say that you must stay in the 8ooo rpm+ power band, but if I were to do this, with my commute never leaving the 30mph limit, I would always be in 1st gear reving the arse out of it!!! This just can't be right?!?! I tried getting up to 5th, maybe even 6th gear on my commute, but had the same problem as some of the guys here- ie could'nt get instant acceleration which I need sometimes commuting in central London !!! I now don't get above third, but I get only about 120 miles to the tank !!! Just how the hell do you guys get more than this?? (I'm going to check for a hole in the tank tonight LOL)

 

[reiobard]

A lot of it will have to do with how you are riding, if you are in constant stop and go traffic with top speed of 30 then you will get less than me who has an average commuting speed of 50mph and travel 45 miles each way and only see maybe 5 stoplights for the trip.

 

[staticghost]

Hi All,

Yeah that is a bit strange. Make sure you fill up on your center stand. I get and average 168-189MPG in between city and Highway and about 19-23MPG on the F trip. Also make sure you shifting is as smooth as possible and to gun to often.
And this is all with two brothers exhaust and power commaner USB III, 2005 FZ6 with 12520 Miles.

Have fun riding all.:Sport:

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

The one time that I tried to gauge the consumption, I got 250 miles a tank. This was highway miles at 70+. I am 5'7" and 155lbs. I usually don't worry about milage, but thought I should have some idea what the consumption was soon as to figure fuel stops. The gas gauge usually does it for me, but thought I should know anyway.

 

[dereknjenny04]

I just got my 2008 and I got 218 miles on 4 gallons on my last tank.

I think it is supposed like 5+ gallon tank, so probably could have gotten around 270.

I am5'9" 195lbs.

I ride around 4-5k rpm generally.

 

[travisj37]

Of course, the manual lists the following for shift points. Apparently, you must ALWAYS follow the shift points table.

I guess, according to this, 40mph in 6th is a bit slow..

 

[Se7enLC]

"Miles Per Tank" isn't really a useful measure. Nobody is really running their bike down to bone-dry empty, and how much gas is in a full tank really depends on how much you top it off when filling it.

Instead, figure out your gas mileage by filling up after a long trip and dividing the trip meter by the actual gallons required to refill the tank.

Once you have your MPG, you can then figure that you have a 5 gallon tank and see what your real range would be if you pushed it. Over 200 highway miles I used up almost exactly 4 gallons, so that's 50mpg. That means that I can technically get ~300miles before the tank is bone dry. I think the F-Trip starts when you have a little less than a gallon left, so figure you can get at LEAST another 40 miles or so before it conks out. There's no way I'll actually ride 300 miles on a tank unless I can't find a gas station, though.