Best fuel mileage EVER!

[Fastfar]

My average fuel mileage is 40-42 unless I am feeling my oats, then it drops to 37-38. I just completed a 1600 mile tour with a couple from New York. They were on rented HD's, and since I was being paid to guide them around NorCal, I adjusted my pace down to theirs...kept it in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range mostly, and damn! Shazaam! and Holy Gas Mileage...50 to 55 mpg all week, on the coast, in the Cascades, in the Sierras...at least a thousand miles of twisties (SR-1/SR-36/SR-3/SR-89/SR-4/SR-108/SR-120) a bit of slab, and some cruiser sections as well...

Now I know how all of the FJR riders who get this kind of gas mileage do it...they ride it like it's a Harley... :lol:

...and their tires pobably last 10,000 miles too...

 

[rickcorwn]

On the way home from CFR crossing Montana I had a 20-30 mph tailwind. On one tank I got 270 miles and 50.9 mpg at 75-80 mph. That wasn't entirly planned, I was looking for gas and each town that came up was gasless. :dribble: Towards the end I had been on reserve, flashing bar, for 48 miles. For about the last 20 or so miles I had the windshied down and was laying on the tank with one mirror pulled in hoping I wouldn't have to walk. :blink:

 

[Leskid]

My average fuel mileage is 40-42 unless I am feeling my oats, then it drops to 37-38. I just completed a 1600 mile tour with a couple from New York. They were on rented HD's, and since I was being paid to guide them around NorCal, I adjusted my pace down to theirs...kept it in the 3500 to 4000 rpm range mostly, and damn! Shazaam! and Holy Gas Mileage...50 to 55 mpg all week, on the coast, in the Cascades, in the Sierras...at least a thousand miles of twisties (SR-1/SR-36/SR-3/SR-89/SR-4/SR-108/SR-120) a bit of slab, and some cruiser sections as well...
Now I know how all of the FJR riders who get this kind of gas mileage do it...they ride it like it's a Harley... :lol:

...and their tires pobably last 10,000 miles too...

yeah, I'm a little curious as to my '03 odometer's accuracy, to be honest

Every car/bike/snowmobile I've ever bought gets ran through a tank once, all without mashing the gas, to assess gas mileage and gas-gauge accuracy.

Since I bought my FJR 2 weeks ago, I spent a day up north last weekend, all under 5000 rpm with my little 5-litre gas can in the saddlebag to see where the FJR finally dies. 536kms / 333 miles??!?!?

That's 60.5 mpg canadian or 50.45 mpg US. (Canadian gallon is 4.55 litres, compared to your little American 3.8 litre gallon)

I was off-throttle but I still rode the bike hard in the curves all day and up & down the Laurentians. Are FJR odometers perhaps a tad optimistic?

 

[SkooterG]

On the way home from CFR crossing Montana I had a 20-30 mph tailwind. On one tank I got 270 miles and 50.9 mpg at 75-80 mph. That wasn't entirly planned, I was looking for gas and each town that came up was gasless. :dribble: Towards the end I had been on reserve, flashing bar, for 48 miles. For about the last 20 or so miles I had the windshied down and was laying on the tank with one mirror pulled in hoping I wouldn't have to walk. :blink:

Weird that your reserve started flashing so early. If you were getting 51mpg, you had 330+mile range on that tank.

For whatever reason (heat, summer blend gas, slower riding) I have been getting relatively high fuel mileage even on my PCIII equipped FJR. High 40s, and one tank just over 50. On several of those tanks, I did over 300 miles. On one I did 316. That's not normal for my FJR.

Yours must have started blinking due to braking, or some other non-steady riding which will make it blink 'early'.

 

[Leskid]

BTW: remember that I apparently got 333 miles on a tank but I intentionally rode it til it died. The manual says the reserve odometer starts counting-up from 0 when you have 1.1 gallons left. It died on me when that counter was at 94KMs. (IE, just under 60 miles)

 

[SkooterG]

yeah, I'm a little curious as to my '03 odometer's accuracy, to be honestEvery car/bike/snowmobile I've ever bought gets ran through a tank once, all without mashing the gas, to assess gas mileage and gas-gauge accuracy.

Are FJR odometers perhaps a tad optimistic?

Almost all vehicles on the road have optimistic odometers and speedometers. That being said, Gen I FJRs have relatively accurate speedometers and odometers. I have mine checked relatively frequently (odometer accuracy checks for rallies and against my gps) and it's consistently 1.8% optimistic. I consider that pretty low.

 

[rickcorwn]

On the way home from CFR crossing Montana I had a 20-30 mph tailwind. On one tank I got 270 miles and 50.9 mpg at 75-80 mph. That wasn't entirly planned, I was looking for gas and each town that came up was gasless. :dribble: Towards the end I had been on reserve, flashing bar, for 48 miles. For about the last 20 or so miles I had the windshied down and was laying on the tank with one mirror pulled in hoping I wouldn't have to walk. :blink:

Weird that your reserve started flashing so early. If you were getting 51mpg, you had 330+mile range on that tank.

For whatever reason (heat, summer blend gas, slower riding) I have been getting relatively high fuel mileage even on my PCIII equipped FJR. High 40s, and one tank just over 50. On several of those tanks, I did over 300 miles. On one I did 316. That's not normal for my FJR.

Yours must have started blinking due to braking, or some other non-steady riding which will make it blink 'early'.

Two things, Gen IIs start blinking with 1.5 or 1.6 gal left and I didn't run it dry IIRC I had a solid 1/2 gal left to go. Another thing is the accuracy of the FJR mpg or even the pump I filled at.

 

[lnewlf]

Not good to run the pump dry!!$$

 

[wfooshee]

My gas guage sender is horribly inaccurate at the bottom end. During the week, just riding around town to work and stuff, I should get 25 miles per guage bar (8 bars on Gen-I) and show reserve flashing at about 200. It started flashing last night on a ride with 162 miles showing on the tank. I've never seen it start flashing that early unless the bike was parked weird, some kind of slope making the sender lie to me. Anyway, pulled in, it took just over 4 gallons, which I would have expected from the mileage but not from the guage. Top half of the guage is spot on, though.

But consistently in the 40's is something I can't even dream of. I've only been low 40s a couple of times, and I got high 40's on the one "Harley" ride I went on, the escort of the Wall that Heals Vietnam memorial in late April, Marianna to Apalachicola: the 97-mile route was no higher than 55 mph, and I got phenominal mileage, nearly 45 for the whole round trip, including the quicker ride from here to Marianna and Apalachicola to here.

2003 bikes are geared shorter, and I need front caliper seals as my brakes drag pretty bad. Also running Wally Smoothness on the Power Commander, which is not fuel-efficient.

 

[High Desert Rat]

I did a quick 500 mile trip on Wednesday from Palmdale to San Luis via the 138/5/166/58 and returning on the 166/33/126/150/14. I started the trip at 6:00am and pulled into my garage a few minutes before 4:00pm. This included a one hour lunch and gas stop in Nipomo and a gas stop in Taft. I put on my cooling vest in Taft which save me from frying my bacon. On the outgoing leg running at high speeds I got an indicated 43.5 mpg. On the returning leg which was at slower speeds due to LEOs and traffic I hit an indicated 48.8 mpg. On one occassion going to Indio via 18 I got an indicated 51.2 mpg but tailwinds were so strong I could smell my own farts for an extended period of time (next trip there, no Taco Bell).

 

[beacher]

Last weekend, I rode from Tacoma, over to the Tri-Cities and back, almost 500 miles, at a pretty consistent 78-80 mph (right in with the rest of the traffic!), and also came up with a little over 50 mpg, which was almost as good as my ol' 750 Seca. Can't tell you how pleased I was! However, I'm thinking about another seat, as this one is not as comfy as the Seca was, and I can't believe that in 28 yrs., that Yamaha took a step backwards in comfort! Far as I'm concerned, there's just no excuse for that, even if the bike does haul ass, and is way more stable than the old Seca; especially considering that it's classed as a "sport tourer"!

 

[Hudson]

Up to CFR, I got a steady 44mpg, which dropped to 41 after more spirited riding, and dropped to 38 when I tried to follow Fairlainer's group from the ferry back to Nakusp.

 

[slowrider]

Best I've seen was back country roads, solo with loaded bags but keeping it at 3,500-3,900 range. Averaged about 49. Two up with loaded luggage, running 65mph on similar roads we averaged 46. Solo and hammering it, not so good but lots of fun.

As for the gauge, when I get down to 2 bars remaining I've never put more than 4.5 gallons in the tank.

 

[scubatech]

I always get mileage in the 48-52 mpg range. I think the altitude helps somewhat.

 

[Niehart]

Just spent a week with Jeff Ashe. That will ruin your mileage average and your right wrist.

 

[Sagebrush]

Best I've seen was back country roads, solo with loaded bags but keeping it at 3,500-3,900 range. Averaged about 49. Two up with loaded luggage, running 65mph on similar roads we averaged 46. Solo and hammering it, not so good but lots of fun.As for the gauge, when I get down to 2 bars remaining I've never put more than 4.5 gallons in the tank.

Same here, with one bar showing I only get in around 4.9 to 4.7 gallons. I did 220 miles and put in like 5.2 gallons with no reserve light. Mine starts flashing around 200 miles most of the time. Once I put in 5.9 gallons with 48 miles on the reserve OD. I think I was around 250 miles on that tank. My bike says its getting 46 mpg but its closer to 42 mpg while traveling per my figures over the last 11K. Around town I can drop it to 32 mpg without trying hard ...

 

[Timbo2015]

I have noticed a marked improvement in mpg with elevation. My last tour in Colorado I got a consistent 50-54 mpg when riding at 5000+ ft.

 

[SacramentoMike]

When I first got my FJR (the first one) I was watching mileage pretty closely, kind of comparing the number of bars to the mileage shown on the trip meter. So one day I realized I was well up over 300 on the trip meter but still had several gas bars showing. I was almost ecstatic. Had I found the "secret" for getting better mileage? And if so, what was the secret? What had I been doing different?

It was about then I found out you could switch from miles to kilometers on the readout. Oh well.

 

[sportsguy]

I cracked 60 mpg on a run this evening!

For real, too - here' show - pretty simple and completely usable int the real world, too...

1 - find a back road that's empty

2 - get into 5th gear around 55 mph

3 - get pointed down a slight incline in the road

4 - let off the gas and watch the mpg reading jump over 60!!!

See, completely usable in real world riding... right?