Saving Gas- Riding in 6th at 40 mph?

[bcityroller]

In addition to the safety aspect of not being in the power band for acceleration when/if needed, I do believe that too low rpm for speed is in fact hurting your mileage. There is a best efficiency point for the engine depending on load and that point is not necessarily the lowest rpm. No real science behind this next statement, but I would guess for an FZ6 that best efficiency rpm is somewhere in the 4-6k rpm band. I assume that because that rpm range lines up with both the first plateau in the torque curve (attached dyno chart from motorcycle consumer news) and with the rpm turning when at legal cruising speeds in 6th gear.

My personal experience is ranges of ~175 miles (~40-45 mpg) with mostly city driving below 40 mph (I only live 5 miles from work) and approaching ~225 miles (~50-55 mpg) when I'm riding backroads fun with speeds averaging in the 60 mph range. I haven't pushed the F-trip miles yet because I haven't needed to. I ride around 5k rpm usually b/c like someone else said that's where the bike feels happy and my exhaust sounds good (to me anyway). I use regular gas - started with premium out of habit (all the cars use it) and switched down the grades. I haven't noticed an effect of the lower grade as expected since the manual says it's ok.

I'm also a big (but shrinking) guy in your range and carry lunch, shoes, a laptop, etc during commutes so probably similar luggage weight. I do pay frequent attention to my tire pressure as others recommended. I made a little chart for quick reference for myself - attached. The weight listed is for everything going on the bike (me, gear, luggage, etc)

 

[looshfoo]

jeeze. i'm a tiny fellow. i'm only 17 but i love riding dirt bikes. soon to be an owner of a spankin' new fz6. my starter bike. i've been a secret admirer for a while. i can't wait to see what mileage i manage to get out of it. i'm 5"9.5 @ 116lbs. :Flip:

 

[Caladin]

I sometime use 6th gear for in town riding. I don't really see any problem with power or moving out of the way when needed.

I have been working very hard the past few months at breaking my habit of speeding. II have finally managed to go a few tanks of gas without speeding. My fuel economy has just sky rocketed lately because of this. The past 3 tanks of gas I have had over 51mpg. This is with my hard side cases on the bike and with a good amount of gear in each one. That's with about 90% being highway riding. I should be able to reach over 410km (255miles) a tank if I run it all the way down.

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

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..

Shift points? We don't need no stinkin' shift points!

 

[pottie]

I m 5 11 and 230lbs...used my FZ6 everyday for commute to work 16miles/day and cant ride more then 50mph in local...cheap commute...
My understanding with route like that I would waste more gas cz stop and go most of the times...I found my FZ would go 170miles and fuel reserve start working then go fill up gas and took me bout 3.5-3.8GL so average 45ml/gl
I m running bout 5000 rpm most of the time and when I m running fwy well close to 48ml/gl...
I think it all depend on how you ride it...I wont complain as long I m hitting well above 40ml/gl with the gas price like this crazy........

 

[timbo]

Umm, I've noticed some folks discounting the effect of driver weight on milage. I'm guessing that our 116 pound new rider is going to get pretty good milage (assuming he drives the same as some 280lb riders). I'm 145lb with a 100lb girlfriend. My mileage DEFINITELY changes when she's on the back despite very little change in wind resistance. My guess is that driver weight/vehicle weight is the important factor. At 200lbs your body is adding an additional 50% weight of the bike. Now if I'm rolling along in some 5000lb hummer (not that I would) and my girlfriend jumps in, that 2% change in weight is probably not noticeable.
One big recommendation for cagers who want to save gas is to remove the junk from their trunk (literally and I suppose figuratively too...)
But in the end as far as the FZ6 goes, the fuel savings probably don't warrant me worrying about mileage...

 

[knave]

I'm pretty new to my FZ6. So I'm still getting used to where I want to keep the throttle.

My last fillup I rode 197 miles. When I did the math it came to 47 MPG.
This was around town keeping the RPM's at around 4000-5000 unless accelerating, which I tend to do as fast as possible until I realize that I'm speeding and slow down. I'm pretty sure If I backed off the gas a bit after a stop I'd get a few more pips. I would be pretty surprised if I didn't get well over 50 MPG with more freeway riding.

I do short shift quite a bit but less now than when I first got the bike. I try to stay in 3rd or 4th in town. I find that this still puts me right in the 4000-5000 range.

My 2¢.

Edit: FYI I'm about 190 lbs with often 10 lbs cargo.

 

[Rattail]

I live in Boise, not sure if its the air but I get 190-210 every tank:rockon: Maybe I'm a lucky one:Sport:

 

[Tailgate]

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.

It's everybody's prerogative to ride however you want to amp RPM's. Myself, whether in my van or on bike, I'll run lowest RPM's to take it easy on the engine, increase gas mileage. I don't ride as If I'm being challenged on the circuit. To cruise 65-70 mph in the 8k--12K range on an freeway/highway seems excessive to me. In fact, it sounds scrazy. The FZ6 already has great roll-on acceleration while in 6th doing 65-70 MPH. Oh well, "different strokes for different people."

 

[Nelly]

jeeze. i'm a tiny fellow. i'm only 17 but i love riding dirt bikes. soon to be an owner of a spankin' new fz6. my starter bike. i've been a secret admirer for a while. i can't wait to see what mileage i manage to get out of it. i'm 5"9.5 @ 116lbs. :Flip:

I reckon you will only have to fill it up once LOL. Good luck with it.

Nelly

 

[AgentW]

I usually go around 6,500 revs on the open road (motorway). I actually don't use all the powerband properly, except occasionally. i think this is because my bike is restricted. I seem to get about 140 + reserve miles out of a tank, on average.