Honda Unicorn 129 mpg/Star Twin Thunder Star 1200 TDI 94 mpg
 

Thought I post these two motorcycles which get some pretty impressive gas mileage. First is the Honda Unicorn which is rated 55kmpl or 129 mpg. I believe this bike was developed for the Indian market, so it's not available in the U.S. unfortunately. I guess there are always ways to get anything though. :D Grey market maybe? There is a review here:

https://www.indiabike.com/infobank/unicorn/index.htm

They achieved a top speed of 70mph. I believe the original specs only say 62mph, so could be used on the highway (though not much passing ability).

https://www.moneycontrol.com/autoshow...Q_2007_400.jpg


Also stumbled upon this bike called the Star Twin Thunder Star 1200 TDI. Yes it's a diesel motorcycle which is available in the Netherlands. I'm guessing it is a production model now(?), as it was a prototype not too long ago. It's listed as 2,5 liters on 100 km or 94 mpg.

https://www.vw3literlupoclub.com/res_171_7146.JPG

There is a brochure available here in English: https://www.startwin.com/pagina/bikes...understar.htm#

I have to wonder what speed that 129mpg was achieved at, I know some bikes get their mileage figures at 35mph, it seems a bit heavy at 277lb and just slightly more power then my cb125 that puts out 12.5 peek horse power, but I like the improvements to the ignition system, and exhaust system, and I would love to have alloy wheels on my Honda instead of steel rims.

CBR125R is available in Canada.
https://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photo...da-CBR125R.htm

I have reason to believe that it might be available in the US in 2009. Can't say for sure, and it might only be for racing even though it is a street bike in other parts of the world.

Hey, I was researching motorcycle fuel efficiency and also came up on Honda Unicorn - 125mpg is really good.

Any idea on when something like this will be available in the US?

I currently have 2001 Suzuki Katana, had it for a few years, but going to sell it due to dismal fuel economy - the best I got out of it was 41mpg with just me riding it all highway. With 2 people and gear it drops to 30 mpg which is retarded, so I don't even drive it any more.

I got a 94 Honda Civic VX a few months ago and now getting 45-50mpg all day long just riding around town, and 55-65mpg on highway. I want to get back on a bike, but it's got to get 100mpg and be able to go on highway.

So what are our choices for fuel efficient motorcycles?

I saw reports that Yamaha TW200 can get 80-95MPG with higher gearing, but looks like it's hard to get one used for a decent price - the ones I saw for sale were in 2-3K range (even older ones from the 80S-90s) - that's more than I what paid for my cars. Looks like the only other option is Kawasaki Ninja 250 which is good for may be 70MPG - they are cheap, but I'd really like to get better fuel efficiency.

They got really nice bikes in India - here some specs I've looked up:

Honda Unicorn - Top speed 113kph/70.1mph; Fuel economy 51.1kpl/120mpg Overall, 52.7kpl/124mpg Highway, 49.9kpl/117mpg City
Baja Pulsar 150 DTS - Top speed 108kph/67mph; Fuel economy: 49.4kpl/116mpg Overall, 51.5kpl/121mpg Highway, 47.3kpl/111mpg City
Hero Honda Achiever - Top speed 109kph/67.7mph; Fuel economy: 53.3kpl/125mpg (overall)

So this are street/highway legal bikes 65-70mph and 110-125 MPG - they list for 50-55K rupees, so ~$1200 for a new bike. With peak oil and US economy tanking we really need something like that here right now. Has anybody looked in to importing them to US?

Thanks
Ross

Why are there not more Diesel motor bikes?

Weight, cost, demand.

Hard enough to get diesel cars in the US.

Well, you chose a Suzuki Katana. Not sure which displacement model you have, but the Katana is a sport bike. Yes, it can be used for commuting and other cycling purposes, but the engine was sourced from the early GSXR series bikes. The 600 Katana was the race bike of choice in the 600 class even in the late 80's.

A V6 Ford Mustang is probably a good analogy. Ford has some stuff above it in their performance line. It isn't designed to be an econobox.

Hopefully some of the smaller bikes will be making it stateside soon.

I spent some time in Italy in 1994, the amount of small bikes in the 125 to 250 cc class was amazing. Cagiva, Aprilia, etc. Anything in or above the 600 cc was a rarity. Of course, those smaller guys were 2-strokes... ... ...

SD26, I have an '01 Katana 600 - nobody in the right mind would buy it for a sports bike. In the 80's they had a 1200 Katana that was for the track, but that time has come an gone. So, I knew it was slooooow when I bought it in '03, but that was fine as I just wanted a nice touring bike that I could ride on 8 hour trips - back in the days of cheap gas it was a great ride.

But bike manufacturers really gotta focus on the fuel economy, as that is the only thing that what will help them sell IMHO. Right now they are still on performance and features - I saw reports on the new '08 Kawasaki Ninja 250 and with adding 6'th gear and other changes it's getting lower MPG than '07 model. What is up with that?

I thought the Ninja 250's always had a 6 speed box?

I think the biggest mpg gain is from tuning for mileage. I don't think there's a single bike in the US where it was in the top 10 design goals. Diesel vs gas isn't anywhere near as important.

real Gas milage.
 

People often quote gas milage for vehicles that are very unrealistic but they think they are really getting that milage. They never actually check their milage. Those peole stating 50MPG around town from their cars get a rude awakening if they actualy check their milage accuratley.Please don't say you getting 50 MPG around town unless you have really checked your milage. Unless you have a hybrid, it isn't going to happen. An average of 4o MPG around town would be difficult for almost any normaly driven vehicle with over 1.5 liter displacment other than special purpose economy cars or very small newer cars driven gently. Driving habits are a big factor in MPG. Nobody is averaging 55 or 60 MPG on the highway under normal driving conditions other than hybrids or the very smallest new cars from any manufacturer. Sometims real milage comparisons can be quite surprising. A brother once bragged about the great milage in his new 1994 Corrola with auto tranmission . He also had on older 1985 Mustang 2.3 LT 4 cylinder 4 speed standard. He and his wife went on a long trip and took both cars. He filled both to the top of the filler neck when starting the trip, 260 miles later they gassed up, again to the top of the filler neck. It cost the Corrolla $4 more than the Mustang?? Suprise, shock was more like it. Around town the Corrolla would get much better MPG than the Mustang but on the long highway trip the old 4 cyl Mustang easily beat the new Corrolla in MPG. Motor cycles don't get nearly the milage they could if they are any kind of sport bike. A GSXR 750 gets much less MPG than a Suzuki Swift. MPG is not a consideration when high performace is required. Some bikes in the 250Cc and smaller can achieve well over 60MPG and much more but very few highway capable bikes are going to get more unless driven very gently. As soon as you crack the throttle open milage dissapears fast. I once drove a 1970 Norton 750 at full throttle with a measured one gallon in the tank. It was 3AM on new pavement. It went just over 12 miles.!!How you drive makes a huge difference in milage and real MPG testing can be quite surprising and often humiliating.

When newbs join the site and bring up 2 year old topics, to which they add zero relative information, it...
Welcome?

firebird74521, most here measure their fuel economy accurately, and plenty of people on this site can get 50-60MPG from a Civic VX. djenyc's claim of over 50MPG from his VX around town is not implausible or even unlikely. That's only 30% better than the car's 39MPG EPA city estimate. Are you aware that the VX is, as you say, a "special purpose economy car"?

I manage to squeeze 38-42MPG from a 2008 VW Rabbit, a 3000 pound car equipped with a 2.5 liter I5 engine, in mixed highway (40%) and town (60%) driving. It is, as you say, "difficult".

As you said, "how you drive makes a huge difference" truly; and this site is about that exact topic. Most people here intend to combine that with "real MPG testing" to create results that are "quite surprising".

Welcome to the site. It takes an open mind to use our techniques and priorities, but it pays off in improbable fuel economy.

Always take motorcycle mileage ratings with a grain of salt. from the EPAs own website https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp

"The EPA also does not test motorcycles or four wheel vehicles that are not legal for highway driving..."

that means the economy ratings are good for a lot less than for cars (at least cars, being tested by the same guys, are OK for comparisons to eachother)

It bothers me a lot, there are no good official FE figures for motorcycles. When we chose our bikes we had to do a long research on the 'net for the users' experience. And most of them rides their bikes in a very different manner than I do :D

But in the end, we did not go wrong with them :) Both of our bikes are capable of exceeding 80mpg (once I've even got close to 100 with Teresa - not bad for a full-fledged 650 ;) she's no sport bike though, I must admit :)), they just need different approaches :)

One day, I'd like to build a Moped like the ones I saw in Hawai'i; capable of 80mph, and still "49cc". Okay, they were bored, I don't know how much, but they probably still got 100mpg. I saw one Honda Elite capable of sustained racing at over 100mph.

Maybe we want to compile a chart, based on admittedly anecdotal experience, of motorcycle gas mileage, so people might get a real-world idea of what to expect...

...just a thought...

It's much harder to determine the FE of a vehicle type based on user experience. More real than a standard test, but varies widely due to the different circumstances and drive styles. And it's especially true for motorcycles, many of them are for joy rides only and for many people a joy ride means wringing the hell out of these bikes...

...just another thoght...

It would still be useful, I agree.