MPG & Fuel Warning Light

[chris]

I realise this is largely down to riding style but there must be an averageish figure out there that you guys get in terms of miles per gallon?
I put 3 gallons in last time and the warning light came on briefly tonight after 123 miles but then decided to go off again. It comes on when I start the bike but goes out when I set off. Never noticed that before, is it normal?

[Boxer]

It will come on when it's getting low if it's setting on the sidestand and then go off when its upright again...At least mine does.

I get anywhere from 150-170 on the yellow-light depending on riding style around the roads near home. Out on the slab, droning along I get as much as 190-200 miles before the yellow light signal appears. That equates roughly to 42-50ish MPG.

Haven't checked it in a while. But I would not worry too much about mileage. With the cost of tires and maintenance you're better off driving a Civic...Or better yet, a thumper Suzuki. My wife's little S40 gets around 60MPG. The prices of gas have me very close to commuting on her bike!

[sjbmw]

155 miles from full tank to low fuel light. No idea what reserve has.

When my bike is on the kickstand and tank not full the low fuel light will come on. Once the bike is upright for 30 seconds it goes out. Maybe the sensor is on the right side?

[popgazer]

After each fillup I read the trip odometer and (divide by) the gallons on the pump's dial, which gives a precise MPG. Then reset the odometer till the next fillup.

I do mostly city (los angeles) traffic. My average used to be 32-33mpg untill a couple of months ago I did a valve adjustment. The avergae jumped to ~37MPG. Yup, I gained about 4-5mpg doing VA, can you believe it !?

[chris]

I'm doing OK then. Will wait for the light to come on properly then see what it takes to fill it. With our fuel costs in the UK it's best not to think about it! Currently paying £4.40 a gallon here, just short of $8. £14 filled it up last week.
BUT it's worth every penny and it's bound to cost a lot more because I don't ride straight into work these days, been up early every day this week in the good weather and putting a few miles on before heading in.

[Silverr]

I usually get around 135-139 miles around town before the light comes on. That assumes some pretty hard riding. Pure highway gives me 195-200. As for the valves affecting miliage, all i can say is that the valves/tb adjustments can be pretty important when the bike is under 18k miles. I have found that at the 6k and 12k service, they were both in need of a fairly big adjustment. As the vibration increased, the mileage did decrease a little for me. I have to assume they are related. Either way, its far better than the 12mpg I get on my 75 Land Cruiser:(

[chris]

12mpg...ouch!

[yjleesvrr]

48 mpg on average on the highway. 50 mpg best observed. Fuel warning light comes on roughly between 182 and 200 miles on the trip meter. I usually gas up at 200 - 220 miles on the highway. I once stretched it to 230 miles, but the motor began sputtering. I had to stop, sway the bike from side to side to get the gas trapped in the various nooks in the tank, and ride to the next exit with a gas station. Thus my longest ride between fuel stops was 232 miles.

Around town, I gas up after 160 miles. Low fuel warning light comes on around 140 - 150 miles with around-town commuting.

[ebiker]

.......I don't ride straight into work these days, been up early every day this week in the good weather and putting a few miles on before heading in.

I had nearly same problem several years ago in suburban Philadelphia when commuting on my '87 K100RS. It took me about 20 minutes to ride to work......and about two hours to ride home, with brief stops in New Jersey and Delaware.

Oh...fuel mileage...OK. Signature has the answer....

Ed..

[Croc]

The best I have done is 220 miles before the light came on and eventually filled up at 250 miles. However, the bike was new to me and I was riding very carefully. However, I have since gained confidence, removed the cat and added a K&N filter. I now get the light at about 160miles.

Croc

[bmerchant]

12mpg...ouch!

Chris, don't forget their gallons are less than ours!

FWIW I get around 150-160 before the light, run to about 180 before filling. At this point I have never gotten more than 18litres in, so I figure I gould get to 200, so long as there was a garage there.

Mine works out at 45mpg(UK) which I am a bit dissapointed by. I do however have a full remus system and an after market chip in which certainly makes it go (and sound nice) but at a cost. I'm sure it ought to do 55mpg(UK) in standard trim. My RT did and that was a bloater!

[chris]

Hi Barry, mine is completely standard in the exhaust dept so I'll run it to the light then fill it and check. Last time I filled it the light was only intermittent and I got around 13 litres in there so I reckon I was overcautious by some way.

[wncbmw]

Around 150 to the light!

Remember - high rpms + curvy roads = lower mileage! (and more fun! )

[chris]

Remember - high rpms + curvy roads = lower mileage! (and more fun! )

So the more I spend on fuel, the more fun I'm having...

[ProductUser]

I got 45 mpg on the last tank. My low level light comes on ~185 miles when riding 60% slab, 40% city. My light comes on ~135 miles when I'm cruising between 85-110 mph When the light comes on, I know I have at least 35 miles left if I cruise at 70 mph. I've streched my tank to 225 miles once (it took 4.7 gallons to fill her up).

ProductUser

[R4R&R]

It looks like they are all about the same when it comes to mileage. I've noticed on mine I get 43mpg with standard cases, 46 without, and once got an average of 52 (that was pretty much a full tank, loaded down with a weekend's camping gear and steady 50MPH cruise on the BRP.) Typically my light comes on between 160 and 170 miles and yesterday I put exactly 5.0 galllons (U.S.) in with about 210 miles shown on the odometer. Of course all of my mileages are based on the inaccurate/optomystic speedo/odometer. I haven't tried figuring it out using the GPS mileage, and would rather not.

[Kevin]

45mpg!! The BEST I've gotten was about 42 and that was with mostly highway riding. Most of my riding is in the city, and I usually get around 35 or so. Light comes on at about 120-130. Could this deficit be due to my Staintune exhaust? I talked to someone lately who said he is putting 89 octane in his tank and getting 50+mpg highway. Anyone else using that low?

[OneShot]

In response to the original post, I get the fuel light at 162 miles +/- 5 miles driving between home and school. Kevin, I run 89 and sometimes 87 octane with no problems.

[scottybooj]

$8 a gallon????

Well, an imperial gallon is a bit larger than ours but still...that's a lot of quid!

Seems that BP doesn't stand for British Petroleum, it stands for Bend-over Please.

[leno]

I'm doing OK then. Will wait for the light to come on properly then see what it takes to fill it. With our fuel costs in the UK it's best not to think about it! Currently paying £4.40 a gallon here, just short of $8. £14 filled it up last week.
BUT it's worth every penny and it's bound to cost a lot more because I don't ride straight into work these days, been up early every day this week in the good weather and putting a few miles on before heading in.

My fill up is about £14.50 - £15, I do tend to over fill by a little and to help I've drilled a hole in the filler neck to let out the air. But have to take care that I'm going to ride a little after filling because the cold petol expands in the tank and overflows if I only do the 500yards from the gas station next to work.