Serious (ish) fuel economy question

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flak monkey
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Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by flak monkey »

People always ask as the VTR seems to have a bad rep for fuel economy and tank range. Been out everyday for the last week on fun rides, twisty roads, up and down the gears, lots of traffic and overtaking. Used most of a tank of fuel every day.

Filled up today. 156 miles and the reserve just started to flash, got 14.3 litres in, which by my reckoning is about 49mpg.

I don't ride like a granny either....

I don't understand how people only get 30mpg... unless you are riding everywhere at 7k revs?

Enlighten me :)
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AMCQ46
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by AMCQ46 »

are you sure you were on your storm :lol:
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benny hedges
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by benny hedges »

mine does that m8, no problem.
just have a look though if the vacuum line(s) are perished and split.....
i just replaced the lines on mine cos they were a bit poor and i went down from 173 on 14 1/2L to same as you almost with a 147!
im guessing this is cos the mix may have been artificially weakened slightly & someone else said the same... but also could be because i raised the needles a clip.
still awesome economy imo but a major difference from the day before and i was on more or less the same roads at similar mixed pace.
some are obviously just more fuel efficient than others. :thumbup:

i ride mine high up the rpm though m8..... i think the reason some get poor economy is they are lugging the engine at low rpm in high gear. they seem to be more fuel efficient higher up (imo)
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alec
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by alec »

mines really economical its gone 3 days on the red light, tomorrow i might take it out the garage and fill it up :lol:
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playerone
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by playerone »

I only got 105-107 before last bar was flashing(newer model, larger tank!!) on motorway run from bristol to southampton but i tend to take it right to the limiter up to 4th then just knock it throught 5th to 6th :eh: but only got about 14 ltrs in when i filled it so god knows what it will actually do
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by pinkyfloyd »

I find they are better when going faster. Town riding from full the little light comes on anywhere between 65 and 80 miles. Takes around £15 to fill from light each time. Hammering down the motorway I can get 90 miles without the light coming on and she only takes a tenner to fill to brim.

"sorry office but she costs less to ride at 90mph!" :lol:
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benny hedges
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by benny hedges »

playerone wrote:I only got 105-107 before last bar was flashing(newer model, larger tank!!) on motorway run from bristol to southampton but i tend to take it right to the limiter up to 4th then just knock it throught 5th to 6th :eh: but only got about 14 ltrs in when i filled it so god knows what it will actually do
mines the earlier one but with 19L tank, with the old type level sensor and i get the same, 14L to the rlod with a gallon in reserve, which is anything from 30+ miles reserve.
i got exactly the same capacity to reserve with the smaller tank so i dunno, maybe the 19L is deeper rather than being wider / taller
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Richy
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by Richy »

Hmm, I'm off to check my vac lines today then..

I tend to get 85 miles till the light is on, then fill up at 100 ish.

Off to Germany (Nurburgring) in a couple of weeks with a group from work. I hope it does more on the motorway! I can see me being unpopular if we're always stopping for me. I'll be packing my own map etc just incase.
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sirch345
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by sirch345 »

Another point to take into consideration chaps is, if you've lowered the gearing, or a previous owner has the bike will be showing it's done more miles than it actually has. Unless of course a Speedo Healer has been fitted to correct this.

Standard gearing is 16F/41R.

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Eclectic
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by Eclectic »

Mine does pretty reliably 81 miles from light to light.

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Stratman
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by Stratman »

I have always got around 42mpg in normal riding and 36mpg on fast riding. That was on standard gearing. Now appears to do more of course. 16l tank, RLOD between 100 - 116 miles.
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sirch345
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by sirch345 »

FirestormMike wrote:That explains a lot of the answers on this subject Chris. Would love to line a few storms up, brim them and all go on the same rideout to get a better perspective. :thumbup:
Mike, now that would be worth doing :D

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playerone
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by playerone »

sirch345 wrote:
FirestormMike wrote:That explains a lot of the answers on this subject Chris. Would love to line a few storms up, brim them and all go on the same rideout to get a better perspective. :thumbup:
Mike, now that would be worth doing :D

Chris.
There should be a few lined up in Wales at the end of the month for the meet :thumbup:
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flak monkey
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by flak monkey »

FWIW mine is on standard gearing and the odometer matches both my cars readings on the run to work :)

Its interesting to see what other people are getting though. Mine is also a 19litre tank BTW.

Normally I fill up when it drops to the last bar on the gauge which is reliably 120-125miles of commute riding and I get about 12 litres in.

The main reason I posted this was that normally the first reaction when I tell people what bike I have is one of 'oh they are a bit thirsty aren't they?'
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pinkyfloyd
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Re: Serious (ish) fuel economy question

Post by pinkyfloyd »

I get the "ooh they are thirsty" comments too. I just tell them "no, they just have a tank smaller than I could pee!"
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
History:....CZ125....RXS100.....Lifan LF125-14F.....Suzuki GSXR750
Current:...1999 VTR FIRESTORM!
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