Gas Mileage for my Bikes

[battleax]

Here are my bikes, fuel mileage; 1999 Honda Valkyrie Interstate (#849, 9.5 feet long, 100HP, 100lb/ft torque) 46-32 mpg, after 34K usually 38mpg. 2000 Kawasaki ZRX1100 38-32 mpg usually 34 but the carb needles are one notch rich. 1971 Kawasaki H1, Mach III, 500cc two stroke, 33-16 mpg usually about 30 mpg but it will really suck gas if you ride it fast. Honda XR650R not much, you ride it hard when you ride it.

I have had 50 bikes the best mileage I remember getting is my Honda XL600R, it had an aftermarket muffler and holes drilled in the airbox, with no rejetting 65 mpg consistantly.

[bones33]

Nice selection. Love that H1! Never ridden one but I understand that they have gobs of personality, much moreso than most Kawis.

I had an '82 XL500R and it got 60mpg, all the time no matter how it was ridden. Looks really similar to your 600.

Another data point: '88 Kawasaki Concours been getting about 54 mpg recently, dropped fuel level in the carb, nearing 200,000 miles. Shooting for 60 mpg.

[battleax]

200K on the Concours! Wow, that's a lot of riding. Yes, I am enjoying my collection, I have not really ever tried to tune one of my bikes to get good fuel mileage, I just try to get them to run the best that they can. I have seen a lot of variation in the Valkyrie according to the speed that I ride it at. When we got 46 mpg my wife and I were traveling fully loaded and riding at a leisurely pace on the Nachez Trace road. I am amazed that bikes like the Valkyrie do as well or better in fuel mileage as some much smaller bikes. After all we are talking about 500-600 pounds difference in weight. I know it has to do with the carb settings and the engine design particularly the cams. But still, if a 1520cc 6 cylinder with 6 carbs can get over 40 mpg, a 600 should get 60 mpg with stock tuning. Bikes seem to get about 34-38 mpg when they are tested, a least they do better than the 500cc two stroke H1 which, like I said, can get 16 mpg!!

[GasSavers_SD26]

Nice H1! I've been working on one for a long time, will be eight years, but I don't have it finished.

Here's my SV1000S. I'm number 26. 14 to 17 MPG.

The 2003 R6 (yellow) used a bit more fuel depending upon the track. Less weight, a little more power, but the ram air really turns it up.

[battleax]

Dave cool bikes, quite a bit faster than the old H1, but it sounds like if you ride them hard they get about the same mileage! It really aggravates me to pour copiuos amounts of fossil fuel into my car or truck, but somehow burning in my bikes is OK with me. Double standard? Gas mileage doesn't really seem to be much of an issue with bikes, otherwise manufacturers would make an effort to boost fuel economy, Harleys have generally gotten good mileage, but as of late the new models have dropped to the level that the other brands have been getting.

[GasSavers_SD26]

Double standard? LOL! Yeah...

You can take the same current production bikes and get way over 30 to 40 MPG ridden on the street by a sane person. Still having the performance available to crush four wheel vehicles valued at around 10 to 100 times the value, as you know. Those cars would never approach that mileage, so that's a double standard the other way too.

I didn't notice the chambers on your first pic. The coating really makes them blend in nicely to the original look. Everything else looks very original...ah, I see the air filters too.

[jcp123]

'03 Honda Shadow Sabre 1099cc - ~40/50. Low tank of 39.xx, high of 53.5x. Bone *** stock except for some saddlebags and a windshield, only has 8200 miles (of which 1600 are mine in the last 3 months...PO apparently didn't get out much)

[Jim T.]

Originally Posted by battleax

Dave cool bikes, quite a bit faster than the old H1, but it sounds like if you ride them hard they get about the same mileage! It really aggravates me to pour copiuos amounts of fossil fuel into my car or truck, but somehow burning in my bikes is OK with me. Double standard? Gas mileage doesn't really seem to be much of an issue with bikes, otherwise manufacturers would make an effort to boost fuel economy, Harleys have generally gotten good mileage, but as of late the new models have dropped to the level that the other brands have been getting.

If you ever want to sell that thing, call me. I have two basket case H2's and no time to restore them.

Jim T.

[GasSavers_SD26]

Not sure if you other triple guys are on the Kaw Triples forum, but it's a nice forum. http://kawasakitriplesworldwide.com/phpBB2/index.php