200 miles one tank

[reiobard]

Two things here, an engine will get better fuel economy under the same road and ride conditions after it has broken in. The engines are typically tight for the first 2,000 miles and it has been my experience they will generally cut loose after this. In my case this wasn't true as the FZ6 has been in the 45 to 55mpg range from after about 300 miles but I don't break mine in like the book says at all.

Now, as to this SV650 that gets 68mpg on a regular basis, I want to know who is pushing that bike or is it rolling down hill with the engine off? From anything I have read from their owners or even the Suzuki tests, the SV650 averages between 43 city and 54 hwy but this is corrected; meaning the odometer error has been eliminated. Somebody is pushing that bike or towing it with a strap....he he he he...

the SV confuses the hell out of me too, she can go about 200 miles and only need about 3 gallons on a typical commuting schedule. She babies the bike and does not weigh much at all. She also does not take it on short trips, she will only typically ride it if she is going over 20 miles away. There are many factors that we try to attribute it to but the bottom line is that when we pull over when riding together because i need gas (230ish miles on my old bike) and she only needs a little over 3 gallons.

 

[HavBlue]

the SV confuses the hell out of me too, she can go about 200 miles and only need about 3 gallons on a typical commuting schedule. She babies the bike and does not weigh much at all. She also does not take it on short trips, she will only typically ride it if she is going over 20 miles away. There are many factors that we try to attribute it to but the bottom line is that when we pull over when riding together because i need gas (230ish miles on my old bike) and she only needs a little over 3 gallons.

Let me tell you something about fuel mileage on bikes in general. If you are off the mark by as little as 12 fluid ounces this will either add or subtract up to 3mpg. At 24 fluid ounces, that's 2 tenths of a gallon, you could either be adding or subtracting up to 6mpg and we're talking less than a quart by 25%. This is why it is so critical when doing a fuel run to actually have the fuel at the exact same mark as it was when the run was started. The other factor is knowing just how far off the deviation in the odometer is. If you make a 20 ounce mistake in fueling and do not figure for the odometer deviation the data you come up with can be off by a huge margin. Ten miles per gallon would be nothing.

Based on what you have said and factoring in your misses weight I think we can see why the bike is roughly 20 to 25 percent better than Suzuki or other owners have experienced. I know if I don't factor in the odometer error on the FZ6 my fuel mileage is going to be happy by roughly 6% and if I short tank it by 1 or 2 tenths this will kick it up another 6mpg making the overall advantage roughly 16%. It would be nice if that were true but the nice thing about math is its purity.....

 

[VEGASRIDER]

FYI: I have gone 254 miles on mine and still had fuel left as I put in like 4.7 gallons.

I'm sure your reserve light was blinking by then, right?

 

[HavBlue]

I'm sure your reserve light was blinking by then, right?

Yeah, it had been on for around 20 miles.

 

[stink]

hi new to this forum, i was just reading about all the amazing fuel mileages
you guys were gettting, over 50mpg. Ive never gotten better than 43mpg US thats riding as gently as i can. I live here in australia and got the 07 naked version. Is there anyone else whos got the naked version getting the same fuel economy? or is there just something wrong with my bike???

 

[HavBlue]

hi new to this forum, i was just reading about all the amazing fuel mileages
you guys were gettting, over 50mpg. Ive never gotten better than 43mpg US thats riding as gently as i can. I live here in australia and got the 07 naked version. Is there anyone else whos got the naked version getting the same fuel economy? or is there just something wrong with my bike???

Hey welcome to the forum Stink....


I can only speak of my own experiences with my 2004 faired version but the one thing I have found is it loves RPM and if I ride it like an old lady going to market it will actually use more fuel. Cruising at 5-7K in terms of RPM seems to be the mark as it does well there and it will bounce the 50 mark with regularity....

 

[Red Wazp]

+1 to HavBlue, keep the rpm's up. What is really amazing is how good the mpg is when you ride it hard. I get 43+ when spending time between 8-13k rpm in the mountains.

I hear those naked versions really like to ridden like it's stolen!

 

[thatguyx]

i'm getting roughly 36-38mpg I went -1 tooth in the front though. Anything else I can do to get my mileage up? (besides ease off the throttle and check tire pressures? Tire pressure is always +/- .5psi easy to check and maintain. Easing off the throttle is a bit harder heh.)

 

[Denver_FZ6]

Runnin back and forth to work i'm getting 53 MPG during the summer warm weather. this winter i was only getting 47 MPG. It threw me for a loop. i coundn't figure why it dropped so much and even took it to the shop for calibration, was told it wasn't that far out. spring came along and the milage started increasing. Go figure !

Sam

This is normal, winter gas is blended to reduce emissions, can't recall the change in ingredient. Once removed/reduced in summer, economy goes up. Dig the summers!

I'm only getting about 170 per tank, but it's only 3.5 gallons. Just haven't been willing to let it get down to 1/2 gallon to really stretch out the distance between refills.

 

[moo cow]

i'm on my third tank after buying a used 05 with 5k miles on it. my first tank was 44mpg and that was riding super chill always under 7k. i couldn't figure out what else i could do to better it. i mean, i didn't buy it to go under 7k!! but i'm not living in the 10-11k range all the time either.
so my second tank i twisted the grip alot more and found that i got 44.4 mpg.
my conclusion after only two tanks....wring it's neck a little bit, get better mileage and have ALOT MORE FUN DOING IT!!!!

 

[stink]

Hey welcome to the forum Stink....


I can only speak of my own experiences with my 2004 faired version but the one thing I have found is it loves RPM and if I ride it like an old lady going to market it will actually use more fuel. Cruising at 5-7K in terms of RPM seems to be the mark as it does well there and it will bounce the 50 mark with regularity....

thanks for the input , i usually ride between 4-5k rpm. Just topped it up this morning so i see how riding it abit harder goes. Just off topic but ive just ordered the the new puig screen so that might help too. Going to be a 5 week though but i'l just experiment until then.

 

[goose2580]

Umm bringing up an old thread here but. I am about to make a trip to vegas from portland and back(best friend is getting married) I plan on doing some hard riding all the way there in one day (sunday) and then back on teusday.. been a couple of years since i've made such a long run but it should be fun. any ways i figured this would be a great opertunity to figure out fuel milage on my 07 fz.. will post results when i get back.

 

[damnpoor]

On long freeway trips I can usually get 215 out of it.

 

[thealiasofMarc]

Wow, I'm really surprised to see so many of you getting 50-something miles to a gallon. I don't think I've ever gotten better than about 40 mpg (87 gas). I tend to shift around 5500-6000 rpm during normal riding, is that too high? Most of my mileage is just around town for short distances (here in Tallahassee everything is like 5-10 min away) ..when I do jump on the highway it's usually from one exit to the next (about 3 miles). I guess that doesn't help; by time the bike warms up I'm half way to where I'm going. :/ My gas light starts flashing at around 120 miles.

How do I get 50 mpg??

 

[billm]

I'm with you sportsrider, I average around 42.......must be the heat.

Can't be cause I'm at the same temp as you, however, I'm at 2700' elevation & L.V. is somewhat lower. Don't think that's enough to change the mileage diff. we have..............btw I usually get 200+ miles on one tank & always use right at 4 gals. to fill up. That's 50mpg generally, but I've gotten up to 55mpg once.
Actually I'm thinking it's mainly because you're almost entirely stop-n-go in traffic & where I'm at there's a lot of runs where there's no stops at all. For instance; when I go to the gym I travel on a 2-laner where there's BLM land on 2 sides for a mile then on one side for another mile before I turn onto another 2-laner w/the typical 1.25 acre parcels w/1 hse, and I go on that for another 2 miles before there's any stops. Then about 2 more stops till I'm on Hwy 160 for a mile, 1 turn & I'm there.
Anywhere you go to get out of here is a hwy. to get away so I'm sure there's the diff.

 

[Jadon01]

My wife and I just did a ride this weekend (2-up)...I was surprised but we calculated at 51 mpg..:Flash:

 

[Oscar54]

I usually average 52mpg, temps don't seem to affect my bike. Fill-up before last, I averaged 56mpg. I'm not sure what to attribute the increase to.

I changed the oil last week and went back to 10W-30. 20W-40 caused to much vibration. Lighter oil may help with fuel economy as well.

I have read where the reason automobiles have gone to 5w30 and 5w20 oils is because of increase EPA mileage in raising CAFE standards.

 

[Oscar54]

Wow, I'm really surprised to see so many of you getting 50-something miles to a gallon. I don't think I've ever gotten better than about 40 mpg (87 gas). I tend to shift around 5500-6000 rpm during normal riding, is that too high? Most of my mileage is just around town for short distances (here in Tallahassee everything is like 5-10 min away) ..when I do jump on the highway it's usually from one exit to the next (about 3 miles). I guess that doesn't help; by time the bike warms up I'm half way to where I'm going. :/ My gas light starts flashing at around 120 miles.

How do I get 50 mpg??

Ah, Tallahassee, my old stomping grounds back in the late 70's, there were some nice roads to ride on in the country.

Anyway, I would attribute your mileage mainly to no highway miles to speak of. I get around 50 to 52 if I keep my speed down and RPMs below 5,500 when I commute 45 miles one way on I4 in Orlando. If I take is up over 6,000 my mileage drops to around 47.

So I you want better miles in city driving I would say shift before 5,000.

But most of all enjoy your bike and ride safe.

 

[IPilot]

I usually get on average commuting 42 MPG. When I go for longert rides on the weekends I get wround 48 MPG. I am around only 2000 miles so it still should improve a lit bit.

 

[Wildcard]

Hmmmm... I just hit 2100 miles and I've averaged 40-43mpg tops. It doesn't matter if it is highway or city driving. I ride like a grandma and cruise around 4k is that why? This is also on 93 octane.