[DanKearney]

I guess I'll have to apologize in advance.  I did a search and there are literally dozens of pages returned when I search on "gas mileage" and there's no way to sort them (That I can see) by date.  So, sorry for the repetitious query.

Brought home a brand new 2012 Classic the other day.  I discovered as I gassed it up for the first time yesterday that there is no trip odometer!  This is the first bike I've ever seen that doesn't have one.  So I guess that just adds to the RE uniqueness quotient.

Since the new FI bike have no reserve setting for the fuel tank, it's critical taht I figure out how much I can get on a gallon of gas.  This is especially true as my weak eyes cannot see the fuel indicator light on the dashboard at all when out riding in sunshine.

I'd appreciate if some folks could chime in and give me an idea of what they're getting for mpg.  I live at 9,200' and commute to 6,000' every day.

Cheers,

Dan K.

[Ducati Scotty]

I'm on the low end of what most people get and I average around 55mpg.  Many people get more.  If you tend not to notice the indicator light just carry a Shaprie marker with you and write the mileage across the crome handlebar clamp when you fill up.  Depending on your bike, you should be able to safely go 120-150 from there before needing more fuel.

Scott

[mattsz]

Hey Dan-

Two things.  First of all, I learned on this very forum that you'll get noticeably better fuel economy at higher altitudes, which means you can expect to do better at 9000 feet than I do at 90! 

The second thing, and I know you're not gonna like it, is that it's pretty easy to change your low fuel indicator light (and the other "dashboard" lights) to brighter LED's.

Personally, I like the grease pencil / sharpie method (even though I haven't yet used it!) - just write some numbers on the handlebar bracket.  Add 150 miles, or whatever you decide is your refuel mileage limit, to your odometer reading and write it down.  You won't even have to do any math on the fly; when your odo catches up to the number you wrote, it's time for fuel.  I imagine a grease pencil wipes of readily; I'm guessing a sharpie would do the same (especially using a paper towel with perhaps just a drop of gas to help, although that may not even be necessary).  Beats a trip odo, if you ask me! 

[Royalista]

Great, I can't even remember ever having had a trip odometer on one of my bikes. 

The official Euro test gives 28 kpl (66 mpg) which is fairly adequate.
Mine's consumption ranges from 26 kpl (62 mpg) to 32 kpl (75 mpg).
With a range of 338 - 416 km, I start looking for fuel at 300 km (roughly 187 miles) from last fill up.

[Rich Mintz]

I'm also on the low end, because I'm always riding either in heavy city traffic, or at high highway speed. I get MPG in the mid-50s.

[Arizoni]

Dan:  I started using the Sharpie method after my fuel level guage quit working and it's worked great for over 2 years.

During the 2 year period my fuel mileage ranges from 66 to 100 mpg (US gallons) with the average at around 74 mpg.  This is doing stop/go and some freeway riding.

If I use the 150 mile distance rule it takes about 2 gallons to fill it up.  That leaves over 1 1/2 gallons to keep the fuel pump cool and to cover any distance I need to ride to find a filling station.

[no bs]

2011 g5- low of 54(ridden hard) high of 68(just puttin'. now at 6900 miles.

[DanKearney]

Thanks all for sharing the knowledge.  I like the sharpie/grease pencil idea.

Cheers,

Dan K.

[High On Octane]

Two things.  First of all, I learned on this very forum that you'll get noticeably better fuel economy at higher altitudes, which means you can expect to do better at 9000 feet than I do at 90! 

This is true in theory Matt, EXCEPT DanK lives IN the mountains.  There are some very steep grades for him to go up to get home from work.  As we all know, these little 20 hp motors do struggle a bit to make it up big hills.

Dan - I would anticipate the low to mid 60's for your MPG.  But, do as others have stated and only run it for a 150 miles at a time until you can give yourself a definitive answer to what YOU will get in your travels.

Scottie

[Arizoni]

20 hp motors? 

Oh!  You must be thinking about the Iron barrel engine.

The fuel injected UCE's produce 27.2 horsepower. 

[mattsz]

Scottie - that would be true, IF Dan K. wasn't careful.  A little advance planning should allow him to take the downhill route both ways...     

[High On Octane]

Ooops!      My Bad!  You're right, I was thinking about the iron barrels.  STILL, I know the area where Dan lives and works and it's a 6% grade for 15-20 miles straight up/down no matter which way you take, there's only 2 highways into Black Hawk, CO (aside from a few riddled dirt roads).  Going into work he'll probably get 80-90mpg, but coming back home he's going to be chuggin' pretty good.  No matter what, the gas pump will tell what he's averaging.

Scottie

[MrMike]

The Sharpie idea is great.  Will start using it.  Anyone have any idea how much a sidecar drags the MPG down?  Having so much fun with mine, don't think I'll ever take the car off. 

[DanKearney]

   How does 83mpg sound?

I filled the tank for the first time on Sunday last.  It had 98 miles on the odo at the time.  I thought I was pushing my luck this morning when I arrived at work and the odo read 281.  On the way home from work this afternoon I tanked up at 282 mi. and put in 2.224 gallons.

I think I gassed up on Sunday while the bike was on the center stand, and today I gassed up on the side stand, so I guess I could have put a bit more in the tank.

Either way, I'm quite happy with that. 

Cheers,

Dan K.

[High On Octane]

Holy Crap!  That's epic!  I thought for sure going back up the hill was going to kill the mileage.  What are you doing?  Killing the bike and coasting down the mountain?!     That is definitely the best mileage I've seen posted so far.  Congrats!

Scottie

[Norm]

20 hp motors? 

Oh!  You must be thinking about the Iron barrel engine.  The fuel injected UCE's produce 27.2 horsepower. 

Maybe at the crankshaft.  I saw a dyno printout for a UCE which topped out at 20.5HP at the wheel.

[Arizoni]

Sounds about right.

All of the companies that I've heard of that list horsepower ratings are speaking of the horsepower at the crankshaft.

There's a lot of loss between the crankshaft and the rear wheel on any vehicle, what with all the chains and gears and oil and tires using up some of it so a loss of 5-7 horsepower should be expected.

[Ducati Scotty]

I took my bike up a local ski mountain, about 6000 ft elevation at the peak.  The last section of road was a little steep as it switchbacks up to the lodge.  I could not go more than 45mph on that stretch.  The bike ran beautifully, but there's not much muscle left as the elevation gets higher.

Scott

[hortoncode3]

I bought a very nice Harley D cell phone holder that magnet mounts to the tank and placed a cheap dollar store spiral pad in it. Easy and cheap. My 2009 G5 gets a low of 60 and has got a high of 80 mpg. The higher mileage is a result of cruising consistently at 30-50 mph, a typical Vermont secondary  road jaunt.
I generally fuel up when the guys I ride with do. It's a good habit to get into, fueling when the opportunity presents itself. They all have V- twins so their mileage sucks.!

[crush02342002]

got my first tank of fuel today (low fuel light just starting to flicker on), dealership said they filled it (ill have to take their word for it), I calculated 73mpg. Im at or below sea level (Houston, Tx  USA)

[High On Octane]

got my first tank of fuel today (low fuel light just starting to flicker on), dealership said they filled it (ill have to take their word for it), I calculated 73mpg. Im at or below sea level (Houston, Tx  USA)

That's the going average rate on these bikes.  Some get better, some worst, but most report around 75mpg.

Scottie

[crush02342002]

sounds good, its better than 41mpg I get with my Duc

[meilaushi]

I took my bike up a local ski mountain, about 6000 ft elevation at the peak.  The last section of road was a little steep as it switchbacks up to the lodge.  I could not go more than 45mph on that stretch.  The bike ran beautifully, but there's not much muscle left as the elevation gets higher.

Scott

Only steam engines get more powerful as the altitude goes up as I understand.  Any direct hot air operated engine gets less powerful as the air becomes thinner (lower pressure).  But that's OK...as I understand the new UCEs' fuel injection systems' mapping is set up to handle air pressures from sea level to around 18,000 feet (Himalayas) as that's about how high the Indian Army takes them on border patrol.  They do lose power but at least one doesn't have to re-jet 'em if one is going to head into the mountains.  Another nice aspect of REs besides beauty and all that other good stuff.

[ace.cafe]

Yes, altitude makes a difference.
The EFI bikes can adjust the mixture for the altitude, so that's a nice feature of the EFI equipped bikes.
However, compression and breathing still are affected.
With the Iron Barrel engines, we make compression corrections for those people who live in high elevations and won't be likely to ride down to sea level much.
We have some users at 7000' elevation who are using over 9.5:1 compression, and have about the same cranking compression psi as users at sea level with 8.25:1 compression. So, they get about the same power output as the guys at sea level, but need some corrections to be able to do it. And if they come down to lower altitudes, they'd need octane booster to stave off the ping.
But it works.
We are very well-versed in correcting for altitude, and we do it for every Fireball owner as part of their build support.