BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

okay, so I got a new/used 2004 r1150r with about 6,000 miles on it, and I've put about 1000 more miles on it since I got it a few months ago. I love the bike, but for some reason my gas mileage stinks. I consistently get about 25 mpg. I do a lot of city commuting, but even so this seems really low. I recently got the rather expensive bi-annual tune-up, and the mechanics down at bmw said there's nothing wrong with the bike, and my gas consumption hasn't improved at all. Is something wrong with my bike, or am I just revving too high, or does it just need more time to get broken in or something? Any help would be great. I'd like to go more than 100 miles every fillup.

seisouso, this sounds serious. You may have a gas leak you haven't detected. Check out the clamps and QDs on the right side of the bike under the tank (when the bike is running). Those clamps have been known to leak and the QDs may have a nick in the o-rings from a former botched tank removal.

I recommend that you get out on the highway with a full tank of gas and run it in top gear for a couple hours, fill the tank, and see what kind of highway mileage you're getting. You should be somewhere in the 40's.

It is very difficult to gauge proper mileage of the bike while doing city riding due to the variability of conditions.

Seriouso -

I once bought a 2003 black R1150R with 6000 miles on it, and I got 40-50 mpg right off the bat on the highway, until I sold it about 3K miles later. City miles will obviously be less than highway miles, but you really should be getting much better mileage than you describe, I think. Has the bike been to the dealer for a 6K service and do you have a reecord of the service? If not, that's a good starting place. I can't offer you much other advice than my own MPG experience but based on that, it sounds like something is wrong with your bike.

I do mostly city riding and get about 25mpg. So, you're not alone. I have about 12000 miles on my Rockster and have always gotten that kind of mileage. The process of getting any vehicle moving uses the most fuel and if you're constantly stopping and starting your mileage will suck. And it'll be even worse if you like to twist the throttle like a hooligan!
I also weigh 255 lbs, which I'm sure doesn't help my mpg.
T.

In city traffic will absolutely kill your gas mileage. Lot of stopping/starting up, especially when it is kinda fun to crank it on from a stop, is really hard on the mpgs. Out on the highway, you should be getting 45+, that seems to be where the computer expects you to be...

thanks for all the help guys. Other people getting the same mileage in city conditions makes me feel a little better. I'm doing some freeway riding this weekend, I'll start with a fresh tank and see what happens. I guess it's too much to ask to expect the 1150 to get as good gas mileage as my old 500cc.

unless you are riding in NYC or LA rush hour city traffic, it doesnt sound right to me.

i rode 161 miles today accross the state of Florida and got 46+mpg.

My '02 R had 6000 miles when I bought it and had had the 6k mile service done on it. I also do mostly city driving, and was finding myself getting in the low to mid 30's for gas mileage, and was concerned. But the last tank was from more consistent riding, and I noted mileage in the upper 30's. I think the colder weather here (30's and 40's this week) also has something to do with it. Might be worth getting it checked out if the highway riding doesn't change things.

My city commute results in low 30’s MPG, but I am a pretty conservative (new) rider. When I first started riding, I was riding at a lower RPM (~2,800 or so, about 37 MPG), but some discussions RE: carbon deposits prompted me to keep the revs a bit higher in the city (3,000 – 4,000). That dropped me down a good 5 MPG on average.

If I remember correctly there was a recall on 2004 RR models, re: fuel line clamps. This delayed delivery of my 04 by about 1 week.

Check with a dealer to see of your bike was mfg'd with the defective fuel line clamps. It's a warranty job.

when I went to the dealer for the biannual tuneup the dealer said that whenever they do service they check the vin number to see if there are any applicable recalls. I'm assuming that includes fuel line recalls. By the way, I also live in San Francisco so I do a heavy bit of hill riding and stop and go. That may also account for some of the poor mpg. It still kind of disappoints me that I get the same gas mileage as my girlfriend's volkswagen.

seisouso wrote:when I went to the dealer for the biannual tuneup the dealer said that whenever they do service they check the vin number to see if there are any applicable recalls. I'm assuming that includes fuel line recalls. By the way, I also live in San Francisco so I do a heavy bit of hill riding and stop and go. That may also account for some of the poor mpg. It still kind of disappoints me that I get the same gas mileage as my girlfriend's volkswagen.

As suggested above, fill the tank and go for a nice, long highway cruise.
That should put your fears to rest on the MPG front.

Seisouso, I hope you didn't convince yourself that you were buying your R1150R to save money...

I, too, live in SF, but out in the southwest part of town (Sunset). I work on the peninsula, and when I do my weekend errands, I choose places that are on the peninsula, so my mileage is in the 40's. I had to go downtown for a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how much traffic had worsened in the ten years since I'd last used my bike to commute in the city. Idling through two cycles of a traffic signal you are getting 0 MPG, and not very much more than that creeping along at 2 MPH in first gear. Our oilheads don't reach full operating temperature as quickly as a liquid cooled bike, so with short trips you never get the bike properly warmed up. I'd hate to use any vehicle I cared about for such short, slow trips.

When I worked downtown I had an old 350cc Honda that I used just for commuting and short trips. Any chance you could get a beater (or even a scooter) for riding in town and save your R for road? If not, at least take your bike down 280 on the weekend so you can run it efficiently, warm it up completely, charge the battery, etc.

peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

PS - 25 MPG doesn't surprise me, given the type of riding you describe.

I would make sure the CCP plug is in.

frank

What's a CCP? I forgot to mention that the guy at the BMW dealership said I should try to keep the RPMs above 4k, and that I probably shouldn't be getting out of 3rd gear in the city. I've been doing that pretty much since I got it now, and that surely has an effect on the mileage. Is his advice correct though? It feels somewhat counter-intuitive with all the vibration through the footpegs and handlebars. He gave me the whole spiel about carbon deposits and a happier engine. I'm sure my mileage would improve at a lower rpm.