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Fuel consumption


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Can anyone tell me how many kilometres to a tank of petrol I would expect to get with a V11 sport. Does the fuel consumption improve after break in period.

Cheers.

I get 240-260 km running longer stretches,

but it depends on your riding style. :bike:

 

Also I tend to ride my V11 harder after the break-in

and that prevents fuel consumption to drop :D

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I can't do the conversion in my head but I get a solid 170 miles on the highway before I start getting nervous. Fuel light comes on @ about 135 miles.

 

Driving hard does not seem to make a big difference. (The bike I mean)

 

Mike

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I found on my 2002 Le Mans that I was getting 23-25 MPG (about 10 l/100km) when driving in-city. In recent trips that have been more highway-centered, I've been getting more like 32-38 MPG (6-7 l/100km). On my most recent trip, when I didn't have time to fill up my emptying tank, I made it about 170 miles(272 km) to home, without the reserve light coming on. That was a particularly high-speed trip, too, with speeds averaging around 70 MPH, and bursts up to 115, passing slow-moving cars. I'll be very interested to see what my mileage was when I fill that tank. (If the reserve light is just about to come on, then I will have gotten around 44 MPG, or 5.3 l/100km.)

 

There's the separate issue that the Le Mans and Sport tank design is such that around half a gallon (2 litres) of fuel is unusable, due to the placement of the fuel tap. Thismeans that although your tank holds 22 litres, you can only use 20 of them. Therefore, at 6 l/100km, the practical range of the bike is about 330 km. (That is, at 330 km the bike stops running. That's not the point at which the reserve light comes on and you need to start looking for gas.)

 

I've found that my reserve light comes on when the tank is down around 3.8 gallons, or 14.5 litres, leaving 1.4 useable gallons (over 5 litres) as the reserve. I find this excessive, and would rather that the light came on with around .8 to .5 gallons remaining, although I haven't done anything about it yet.

 

Hope that helps.

 

(edit) I've updated my fuel mileage graph: Le Mans fuel mileage graphs. It's in both Miles per Gallon and Litres per 100 km.

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I got 30MPG the other day, and that was city driving, which is good for me. I generally get high 20's, around 28MPG in an urban environment.

 

But on a trip last Summer, which was highway and long road rides... I got around 43MPG if I recall. I know I was pleasantly surprised.

 

 

As far as the fuel on the right side of the tank that is unuseable, I'm still working on that. I've got all the parts(spare petcock, hoses, etc) to make a balance tube above a relocated fuel pressure regulator, but I just haven't gotten to it yet. Other than tapping the OEM regulator to fit a standard fitting, or finding an aftermarket one that I can use, it's really an easy project....

 

I posted pics on a thread a while back of "phase 1" where I had relocated the fuel pump and heat-shielded the lines:

 

Relocating Fuel Pump Thread

 

Anyway, once done, theoretically at least a portion of the right side unobtanium fuel will get to the pump....

 

al

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I looked at the fuel mileage chart and if I was getting 28 mpg I'd be pissed! City driving generally gets me into the mid 30's range on the V11 Sport and the high 30's to low 40's range on my California or Sport 1100i. The PCIII caused very little reduction in mpg. Freeway driving is better. I have gone 194 miles on one tank at 75-80 mph and still had .16 gallons left in the tank. Even whacking the throttle occasionally and cruising down one my local canyons at 120 mph hasn't dropped me below 33 mpg. I don' t have a fairing either, so the coefficient of drag is high. If I leave the great (hah!) state of California, my gas mileage improves because the gas everywhere outside of this (California) state is better. The Sport 1100i has a fairing and leaning on the tank to take advantage of it has seen me hit 50-51 mpg several times at an average speed of 79 mph on a sustained superslab run. I'll bet the Breva 1100 will hit high 40's consistently and probably into the 50's without any real effort owing to the pico-injectors and dual-plugging. I suspect that on that engine, the large bore of the main throttle body is blocked for lower rpm running (the stepper motors mentioned in the specs) which would give much better air velocity into the cylinder and better control of the fuel mixture with the new injector setup as well. Dual plugs can help too. This project bike Garuda has been in the 50+ mpg range since the engine modifications.

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...well, that's great news for you Carl :P

 

And per the various "mileage" threads we started last year, a number of us were "pissed" that we were only getting mileage in the 20's... but alas, that seemed to be the norm, instead of the exception.

 

Over time, my mileage has gotten better though, as many have predicted as the engine loosens up, etc. For the longest time, I was consistently getting in the mid-20's around town. At least now, even after the performance modifications, I'm creeping up to around 30MPG in town :huh2:

 

..it's getting better :thumbsup:

 

al

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Yeah, I was getting crappy gas mileage in-town, and eventually tired of it enough that I got the Ninja as my in-town bike. It's plenty powerful enough for that kind of riding, is a lot ligher, and gets 50-55 MPG on average. I haven't tried riding the Le Mans in town lately, I probably should, to see if my mileage has changed any.

 

I know that my mileage went down as I got more comfortable on the Le Mans, and began using it to its full potential. That is, I started whacking the throttle more. :P It's a fun bike for doing that.

 

I'm not happy to be getting 28 MPG as an overall average, but at least I know that it rises up into the 30's and low 40's when riding more rural roads and highways.

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Dunno, the Sprint may have a better EFI system(i.e. closed loop?) ...or better yet, carbs?? :huh2:

 

But yes, many-a-bike friends of mine have(like my buddy's VFR) get's excellent mileage, from day one :wacko:

 

Every bike I've seen in the last few years where the model went from carbs to EFI, lost fuel economy. I suspect this will get better as the EFI systems on motorcycles mature though.

 

However, around town ~30MPG... it's not a big deal to me. I got 40+MPG on my last long trip, and I'm happy with that. And I hear it will just get better as the mileage piles up and the engine loosens further, so I'm not really complaining anymore.

 

al

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Dunno, the Sprint may have a better EFI system(i.e. closed loop?) ...or better yet, carbs?? :huh2:

 

But yes, many-a-bike friends of mine have(like my buddy's VFR) get's excellent mileage, from day one :wacko:

 

Every bike I've seen in the last few years where the model went from carbs to EFI, lost fuel economy. I suspect this will get better as the EFI systems on motorcycles mature though.

 

However, around town ~30MPG... it's not a big deal to me. I got 40+MPG on my last long trip, and I'm happy with that. And I hear it will just get better as the mileage piles up and the engine loosens further, so I'm not really complaining anymore.

 

al

I agree. The Guzzi is so much fun to ride, I forget about fuel mileage :mg:

 

A clear case that HP doesnt necessarily mean more fun. :D

 

I think many riders these days forget that.

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The V11 Sport ws returning 37-38 mpg until I tweaked the TPS this last time and goy it down to 36-37. That's a combination of all roads but mostly rural curves, very little traffic. I like to crank through the gears up and down. Music! :bike:

 

I have a 750VFR for a critch bike while the Guzzi is in 'restoration' and it's getting 36-38.

 

Could the roads and riding style be the biggest influence on our mileage? I'd think so. Stuck at lights, idling, your fuel consumption will drop precipitously. :drink:

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