Weight+style vs. mileage

[Smittyboy]

I'm curious about this because I was reading the 15t front sprocket thread, and someone reported having the smaller front sprocket and still getting roughly 60 miles per gallon. I have a stock setup, ride it like a total (meow), and very seldomly ride two up... I usually get about 48-52 mpg. Here's the question. How much does rider weight impact not only performance in accelerating and top speed, but gas mileage. I read somewhere about f1 racing that every 15 pounds they can shed from the car it is the same as gaining an extra horsepower. Anyone know of a similar rule for motorcycles?
So if people could chime in with setup, riding style, weight, and mileage that would be awesome!
ie: stock, relaxed, 290lbs, and 48-52mpg.

 

[Grainbelt]

So if people could chime in with setup, riding style, weight, and mileage that would be awesome!
ie: stock, relaxed, 290lbs, and 48-52mpg.

Stock gearing, average ten-over plus some in the twisties , 180lbs, V35 cases, 45-50.

The aero drag of the side cases over 50mph costs me 2-3mpg. My right wrist is worth another 3-5. I've seen as good as 55mpg if I keep the speed and revs down, and the luggage off.

 

[DefyInertia]

heh

2004 FZ6 with fairing, windscreen cut down slightly, 6'3" 175 lbs w/out gear, no saddlebags, 15/46 gearing, stock exhaust/airbox, regular filter, no fueling adjustments of any kind, 10w-40 synthetic , ummm...

Consumption ranges widely but I am no stranger to high 50s and even low 60s even when riding in top gear at a sprited pace in the corners (55 to 65 give or take 5 mph).

 

[Smittyboy]

So, 175 tall guy and 290 almost as tall guy see different gas mileage? SHOCKER!!!! (spank) the extra 100 plus pounds equates to <9-10 mpg difference. BUT you also have the smaller front sprocket... AKA, I need to give my bike the ultimate upgrade for power, torque, and fuel economy... A TREADMILL...

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

Im only 145 pounds at about 5'7'' and the most I have seen is 53 MPG, and this happend only once during a charity ride. Ive gotten as low as 35 MPG, but a typical tank is almost 45. When I ride two up, ive got 260 pounds on the bike and my MPGs only drop to about 42. This is all very consistant, no matter how easy I drive. Bike is completly stock. I wish I was getting the milage your getting DefyInertia lol.

 

[FIZZER6]

I'm only 140 lbs soaking wet so even with all my gear and some luggage I'm still under the 200 lb total payload.

Bike is all stock other than the Scorpion slip ons.

I average between 48-52 mpg commuting to work. My commute is all back roads, average 65 mph and only 4 stop signs in 7 miles and zero traffic.

On the highway with full luggage at 70-75 mph I always get right at 50 mpg.

My record was 60 mpg cruising in the mountains at 45-50 mph in 5th & 6th gear.

Your wrist makes more difference than rider weight. When I ride 2-up I often get better fuel economy because I'm being easier on the throttle!

 

[DefyInertia]

I'm only 140 lbs soaking wet so even with all my gear and some luggage I'm still under the 200 lb total payload.

Bike is all stock other than the Scorpion slip ons.

I average between 48-52 mpg commuting to work. My commute is all back roads, average 65 mph and only 4 stop signs in 7 miles and zero traffic.

On the highway with full luggage at 70-75 mph I always get right at 50 mpg.

My record was 60 mpg cruising in the mountains at 45-50 mph in 5th & 6th gear.

Your wrist makes more difference than rider weight. When I ride 2-up I often get better fuel economy because I'm being easier on the throttle!

Sounds about right. It's all about the combination of not having to stop, not having to slow down/accelerate too much, and riding pretty much straight through a full tank (i.e., not turing the bike on and off more than a couple times during the tank). I also wonder if the first gen FZ6 gets better MPG than the second gen....they changed the fueling right?

Although your communte sounds perfect for getting good MPG, and it might be each time, over the course of a tank it's not that great a set of conditions (and you're still getting good results). Assuming you're filling up about 4.5 gallons on a tank, I'm seeing the following numbers.

~4.5 gallons at 50 mpg = 225 miles on the tank

A seven mile commute as you described for 225 miles includes about 161 launches in 1st gear from zero mph up to ~65 mph+ and 32 start and warm ups from cold (letting the bike idle). Not a great way to post up amazing mpg figures yet you are still reporting 48-52 mpg.

I rest my case! :ban:

 

[FIZZER6]

Sounds about right. It's all about the combination of not having to stop, not having to slow down/accelerate too much, and riding pretty much straight through a full tank (i.e., not turing the bike on and off more than a couple times during the tank). I also wonder if the first gen FZ6 gets better MPG than the second gen....they changed the fueling right?

Although your communte sounds perfect for getting good MPG, and it might be each time, over the course of a tank it's not that great a set of conditions (and you're still getting good results). Assuming you're filling up about 4.5 gallons on a tank, I'm seeing the following numbers.

~4.5 gallons at 50 mpg = 225 miles on the tank

A seven mile commute as you described for 225 miles includes about 161 launches in 1st gear from zero mph up to ~65 mph+ and 32 start and warm ups from cold (letting the bike idle). Not a great way to post up amazing mpg figures yet you are still reporting 48-52 mpg.

I rest my case! :ban:

Nice work! Yea I'm sure my <50mpg commuting is a result of so many cold starts, especially in the morning when the engine is 55-60 degrees from sitting overnight outside. Running a cold engine burns a lot of extra fuel (you know because the exhaust smells nasty on cold idling). I generally only let it idle for 30 seconds and then ride easy at 4-5K rpms until I reach 2 bars on the temp gauge.

 

[Zargof]

Mine is stock, with the exception I have a laminar lip. With my gear on I am about 200 lbs. I am averaging between 49-53 with like a 10 mile ride to work with like 3 stop signs and average speed about 55 mph.

 

[Crax]

I generally seem to get about 45-48 mpg. I'm 185 lbs, 2009 FZ6, all stock. These are mostly freeway miles. Mostly traveling between 70-75 unless it's a bad traffic day.

 

[Guitar Man]

I dropped one tooth in the front right after I purchased the bike. The best mileage I have gotten has been 41mpg. I'm going back to stock when I change out my chain and sprockets. Seems like everyone is getting great gas mileage even with -1 in the front. I don't really ride hard. Makes me wonder if something is wrong with my bike.

Maybe someone can clue me in. I would definitely like to get better mileage on the bike.

 

[DefyInertia]

Maybe someone can clue me in. I would definitely like to get better mileage on the bike.

You didn't mention how often you generally go through a tank of gas. 1 day of solid riding or 3 weeks of daily commuting? Huge difference even when all other vairables are held constant.

I bet if you rode through no traffic twisty roads and spent an entire tank of gas while only stopping once in the middle to take a break for 10 minutes and without really hitting any stop signs, your mileage would be much higher. If you were to "ride the pace" in 5th or 6th gear on this ride it would climb yet again.

A key factor that appears to largely overlooked is the fact that a tank of gas that lasts two weeks where the bike is turned off and on several times and the rider hits stop signs and stop lights will yield much worse MPG than a tank that is spent over the course of 5 or 6 hours of solid riding in the mountains.

 

[Kazza]

I never care about mileage - it's all about the bling and how good you feel riding it :rockon:

 

[dxh24]

71 mpg is my best.... stock gearing full synthetic, 220 lbs.... half the cylinders might have something to do with it though hmmm....

Oh right... fz6 forum... duh

:ban:

 

[Smittyboy]

71 mpg is my best.... stock gearing full synthetic, 220 lbs.... half the cylinders might have something to do with it though hmmm....

Oh right... fz6 forum... duh

:ban:

Hey, take your versys elsewhere! :Flip: j/k
Never really put enough emphasis on the starting the engine and stop and go always sucks, but it's unavoidable. Stupid city driving. I still wanna know how people with the -1 front are getting 60+mpg. I'm a bit on the "day'um" side (gabriel iglesias) but I usually shift at 3.5k and accelerate slower than soccer moms... Always run full synthetic 10w40, carry speed through turns, and coast with the clutch in whenever possible. The one downfall is the FORSAKEN STOPLIGHTS!!! WI law states you have to wait two min or until the light goes through a complete cycle before you can go through the red and it's ridiculous sitting there with no traffic around because the city is too cheap to install sensors.

 

[yamahog]

190 ish...stock 06 and even 2-up the worst i've got in the mountains up here is 52. whatever...every time

 

[RJ2112]

25K miles, in ~3 years, I got 45-50 MPG. 190 lbs, stock gearing. My commute to work was 40 miles each way and led over mountains. I wan't gentle on the throttle. If I could get more than 185 miles on the trip odometer before I hit the blinking low fuel warning, that was a good tank.

The worst I ever saw was keeping pace with an FZ1 in a spirited day of riding, when I got all the way down to 35 MPG. That ride had very little to do with posted speed limits.

 

[Smersh]

6'3 230 lbs in the past moving toward 220.
According to aCar:
Average MPG: 46.447
Maximum MPG: 50.932

the bike is an '04 11k miles, stock plus V46 topcase.

PS: Oh yeah, the bike is blue - it's been known to make difference in speed, fuel economy and attention from the opposite sex :BLAA:

 

[nksmfamjp]

Probably 280 with gear.

Pretty mild, 10 over, acceleration to 7k and then shift

40-50 depends on driving style alot!

 

[HPTuner]

Just finished going thru the first tank on mine this afternoon. '07, all stock, no luggage, easy miles all local = 55.5 mpg. I'm 6'1", 210 lbs. Note: there might have been a couple of quick trips to 100mph