Hypermiling has become such a habit anymore that I don't even have to think about it. I just pulled off another 96+mpg tank. I did a couple mods to the bike: a Cafe' Shield and a taller front sprocket. I went from a 3.0 ratio to a 2.8 ratio. Runs real nice at 50mph. I've been told that the mini cafe` shield makes the bike create a little less drag. I can believe it. All of this last tank was after the sprocket and shield install. 122.8 miles on 1.274 gallon. Amazing. I'm hoping to do a 100mpg test run soon. Anyone else out there getting big MPGs with their bikes?
hello my daily commuter for 2 years was a 1967 honda ct 90 with a lot of miles on it. my commute is 33 miles one way, and i had to take alot of back roads to get there. as worn out as it is i got an average of 110 MPG, and that was pushing it hard. ive gotten as good as 150 MPG while cruzing it at 35 MPH in 4th gear, makes me wonder how well it would do with a rebuild and maybe a newer carb.
Three tanks now on my 06 Vulcan 500 and it looks like ~59 mpg. Not 9in your league but I'm thrilled with it since its about 3x what my truck gets. I've gone from using about 15-16gal/wk ($40) to about 5 gal/wk ($20) in my commute. I have to admit I that I don't hypermile nearly as much on the bike as in the truck. Some of the techniques, eg DWB, make me a bit nervous with the way many of the people around here drive. Plus, it's tough not to tweak that throttle occassionally - it's just too damn fun.
TheRider: Tell me your tricks. So I was riding home this evening on my usual very hilly route -- I can coast at 50 mph (the speed limit) down the hills by holding in the clutch. That concerns me though -- is that type of riding hard on the clutch? Replacing the clutch early could cost more than it saves. Anyway, I'm hoping I can give you a run for your money on my Ninja, but jacking up my mileage 30 mpg seems pretty daunting.
The most immediate effect of holding your clutch in is the strain on your fingers from holding the lever in. I would shift to neutral and relax your fingers if it was going to be a decent coast.
Congratulations!!! I too have a 05' Kawasaki Ninja 250cc & getting 65MPG on the freeway. Try not to pulling the clutch tto much because you might pprematurely wear it off.Keep riding your bike...And please be carefull outthere...Peace
You are correct. The "rod" as I call it, will wear out. There is a release rod that pushes on the back of the clutch to release the spring pressure on the plates on most wet, multiplate clutches. It will wear. You'll have to remove the sidecover and replace it someday anyway. Not sure if its really worth it on a bike. I would only do it when it would be really productive and not often and at short intervals. Hey! Go for it! Remember, with a bike its speed. I bet you could get low 80s if you keep it near 40. The mileage goes way down. If you look at my tanks, even with my new cafe' shield and 15T front sprocket when I was pushing it a couple days ago the mileage dropped to 80. Air temp makes a big diff. If you hypermile during hot muggy weather you'll see a diff. Good luck! I've been told that the TW200 main jets are on the lean side. I can tell this. Runs like crap under 50 degrees even after I've ridden 5 miles. After I get 100mpg a couple times and summer ends, I'll probably upsize the main jet (or move the clip, if there is one) to see if I can get a little smoother operation. The fact is that the small displacement of the TW200 keeps my compression high and therfore overall power creation efficiency is up during cruise operation. You'll lack some of the efficiency in power production but you might make it up in aerodynamics, depending on your bike, tires, faring, etc. I'd love to see a competitor. Maybe I should throw down the gauntlet? My worries are fill innacuracies. That goes away through multiple tanks. Good luck!
OK. Here are my tricks: #1: SLOW!!! Mopeds get great mileage because they run slow. With a bike the drag will kill your mpg and bury it. I've estimated 80mpg at 50, 90mpg at 40 and when I hold it to 30 I've gotten close to 100mph. #2: It fun to cram it but don't. It not that you pour gas through the engine. Actually stiff accel is more efficient that really easy. the problem is when you pour on the gas you're more likely to have to hammer the break or something, wasting all that energy you just put into the mass. Don't putter. Get on it to get up to speed but don't drag race your shadow either. #3: Anticipate stops. If you see you're going to have to stop (like at a light) hit the breaks early. It may be that you'll slow down enough that you'll still be rolling when the traffic starts moving again, thereby keeping some energy instead of wasting it at a full stop. #4: Drop the throttle, shift to neutral and kill the engine. Roll up to your parking spot if you can. Move the bike around by hand as much as possible without idling it. Idling is neutral is wasting fuel. #5: Turn off the gas if the bike will set for more than 1/2 an hour. (Rule of thumb.) I suspect carb evap could waste some of your fuel. Obviously this is of no concern to fuel injected bikes. Comments, Critiques, please...
Thanks for the tips Rider -- we've got a competition! I took my wife for a ride yesterday though so I think I'm handicapped for the next fillup. I'm also going to have to work hard to keep it under 60, but a little competition will be good for my discipline.
