Gas mileage

[Janusz]

Hopefully though, as I get another 1 or 2k miles on the bike, mileage will improve.  That seems to be everyone's theory, but I am still quite shocked with some folks' high 30's and 40+ MPG figures from the start...  It's so strange that there is such a variation from bike to bike, even stock.

 

al

I strongly suspect that gas mileage statements have a lot in common with fishing stories.

Some people calculate their mileage based on half of a tank used...

[Guest ivan]

The distance is rather important, if you ride short distance/city the fuel consumption will increase to 8Liter/100km and more. Temperature is important as well, in winter consumption will increase. The V11 will perform (fuel) better on long journies, my minimum is 5.9Liter/100km, I have an average fuel consumption of 6.5Liter/100km with a milage of 22.000km.

 

The rather high fuel consumption is a general problem, it seems that "our oldfashion" motor had to perform well and must pass all emissions concerning noice and effuse. Contradictory, all these gouvernments deside to make strict rules to all manufactures but it seems that these "clean" injected motorcycles have a higher consumption with some exceptions like Ducati and some Guzzi models (Calif EV and the Daytona).

[al_roethlisberger]

Well, took my first longish highway trip this last weekend to Yosemite, as well as around other various mountain passes and deserts in Northern California.... about 1000 miles.

 

So, as soon as my trip took me out of the traffic of the cities, my mileage rapidly climbed beyond the 35-37MPG I am getting around town.

 

After completing the trip, I found that I averaged a little greater than 43MPG!! On a couple cases I even got 48 and 49 per tank! Wow

 

So, while Ivan's point about highway versus city traffic is fairly obvious, I was honestly fairly shocked this evening when I sat down and did the math, as I hadn't been keeping track of the actual MPG over the trip... just filling up every 100 or so miles when it was convenient.

 

So.... I guess I can get my 'magic' 40 without a problem on a trip after all!

 

....heck, maybe it'll even get better once the engine is broken-in

 

al

 

And no, I still haven't done my run-dry test...

[Guest Tim]

Hmmmm....

 

For those of you quoting the better mpg numbers, i.e., 40mpg or better, you seem to be running out of gas way too soon. 40mpg x 5.5 gallons = 220 miles yet no one is claiming to have ridden anywhere near that far on one tank. What's up? Does the tank really not hold 5.5 gallons? Does the fuel pick-up not work once you get down to the last gallon or so?

 

I'm still trying to figure out what bike I want to buy and fuel range is important to me . . .

 

--Tim

[callison]

The V11 tank is 5.5, but about .5 of that is not readily accesible to the system as it is in the lower right side of the tank. If you actually run out, you can conceivably lean the bike until it's nearly left side to the ground and move some of the gas over. Hernias notwithstanding, most of us prefer to fuel up within a safe margin. The 2003 V11's have the fuel pump within the tank and there is no telling how much fuel those really have yet. I typically get 38-41mpg on my V11TT and 41-46 on my Sport 1100i. I have seen as much as 51mph on the Sport 1100i under extremely constant long distance, constant speed conditions (49-51mpg @ 79mph) and in a few weeks I anticipate finding out what the V11 will get when I go to a rally in southern California that is 501 miles on the fun route.

 

There is no doubt however, that Guzzi's could use about another gallon or more of capacity, but our requests to Mandello have gone unanswered thus far. At least one enterprising individual in New Zealand, re-routed the crankcase vapor recovery to a small sump tank in the tail with a return line to the oil pan and then converted the spine to additional fuel storage. It worked out to about a half gallon. I'm still considering that one, but I find little joy in playing around with the plumbing on these things. At least on the V11 the fuel filter is right out in the open. On my Sport it's a pain to access and on my California it's about a 3 hour job to change the filter.

[RichMaund]

When my V11S was new I remember getting 30 mpg on the first tankful. That was a mix of city riding here in the flatlands with short bursts on the hiway.

 

The bike continues to run better and better as I pile the miles up. I consistently get 43 mpg loaded on the freeway at speed on trips. 6th gear and cruising at 80-90 mph. Funny thing is that if I slow down or run below the sweet spot at 5k rpm, the gas mileage drops! Love those italian bikes! They love to run!

 

Around town in a mix of riding, I get a pretty consistent 33 mpg.

 

My absolute low mileage was this summer living in Pittsburgh. All those short runs around town in the steep hills killed the mileage. I got only 25 mpg on a couple of the tankfuls! But on the other hand (You have different fingers! ) the bike proved to be a terric urban assault bike. It handled tight traffic and the twisty roads and bad pavement better than any bike I have owned. It was alot of fun to ride while I up there.

 

Guzzi's are notorious for being tight when new. I have found this to be true on my personal bikes. As long as it runs well, no worries! Just ride it more and it'll get better each time!

 

BTW; I'm wrapping up my 9000 mile service tomorrow with a valve check and fresh balancing with a Twin Max synchronizer. 'Can't wait to take it out when I finish it!

[al_roethlisberger]

Rich Maund just mentioned in another thread that he's looking into a kit to balance the fuel in the tank, hopefully making the otherwise unavailable 1/2 gallon on the right side available through a balance tube. We'll see if he has time, but I'll be very interested in his results.

 

...although I must say, I was very impressed with my mileage as reported above, even without a fix for the unused portion of fuel

 

I still haven't tested total range or "run dry" yet though....

 

al

[Guest Squashed Nose]

I keep an accurate check on my fuel consumption as a change is often indicative of associated engine problems.

 

After 11000 miles of use in 7 months my bike averages a gnat's whisker over 45mpg (UK gallons of course, I don't know how they compare with US gallons. They're probably smaller, along with everything else!) My fuel light flickers on around 155-160 miles and can go a lot further.

 

I was rather disappointed with the consumption, as it happens. I ran a Kawasaki ZX9R immediately before which, under identical conditions, was averaging 52mpg!

[Guest Brent]

I would be ecstatic with 45mpg UK, which is 54 US. My mpg is somewhere in the low 30s! I tend to get up to speed fairly quickly, shifting usually around 5K RPMs, so of course this doesn't help. I'm hoping that the mileage will improve after some more break-in, and after my 1000 mile service.

[Guest Ragin' Pit Bull]

My best was 42 on a freeway drone. My worst was 32 on some backroads. I average about 39 in my daily use which is mostly highway at about 80 mph and a little bit of city traffic.

[Guest IanJ]

My fuel mileage, which has been the source of some concern for me, has averaged around 27 MPG (8.7 l/100km), doing almost exclusively in-city riding. The two times I've gotten out on the freeway for a whole tank, the bike has returned mileages of 39 MPG (6 l/100km) and 43 MPG (5.4 l/100km). I'm dissappointed with the in-city mileage, because my car gets better mileage than that. (Of course, it's also a car, and accelerates like an anemic tortoise. )

 

I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't bother too much worrying about the mileage, and just enjoy the bike. It's just a pity I usually have to hit the gas pump around 110 miles on the trip odo.

[emry]

Iam getting a very solid 35 mpg doing fairly aggressive driving at highway speeds, two up. (The roads in middle georgia stink, very long with long swepping turns.) When I first got the bike it was getting about 28 mpg, but it slowly improved.

[Guest Squashed Nose]

I guess I should't be too disappointed with 45 miles per UK gallon judging from the apalling consumption figures you guys are quoting.

 

You have to remember though, that your emissions regulations are far more stringent than here in Blighty so this probably accounts for some of the shortfall.

 

I'm still aiming for the magical 10 miles per litre (45.46 miles per UK gallon) but I don't think about it too much whilst cruising along the motorway at 110-120 mph. I just can't help it!

[John O'Sullivan]

Today I saw a brochure for the Centauro which gave the gas milage as 4,5l to 100km or 60 Miles per gallon for a four valve engine

 

I have some beachfront property to sell in Switzerland.

 

Best,

 

John in Kerry

[Guest IanJ]

That's like BMW claiming that my R100 will get 4.9 l/100km. Their figures (as stated right there on the page) are based on riding a constant 90 km/h. Of course my bike will get mileage like that riding 90 km/h, but I want to know what happens when you ride it in an actual situation, like starting from a stop. (The answer: it gets much worse.)