fuel economy

filled the tank to the bottom of the filler tube collar. put 32 miles on it and looked at the fuel level. the gas gauge is showing 'full' yet but i know its getting low. when i checked it the fuel is down to slightly below the backbone tunnel in the tank. certainly looks like a lot of fuel gone already...

im not overly concerned about the gauge and its accuracy but i swear ive used an awfully large amount already. at this rate the bike might run about 125 miles or so (ROUGH estimation)...

whats everyone else getting from a tank of fuel? my buddy's kawasaki zrx1100 goes about 180 miles on a 5+/- gallon tank...

i didnt race it around any, i drove pretty sanely and included city, country and a bit of interstate in the run yesterday. i will add more today...

 

have you got any carbs on that thing Lt, or are you tipping it straight in the barrels ?

 

yeah its got carbs....lol...

the mixture is pretty good based on the plugs (pulled and displayed in another post)...

tonights ride revealed some more electrical issue with the sender because i went from a 'full' tank to '1/2' then to empty with the warning light and everything...

it went back to 'full' as i was heading down the road after a stoplight...

 

Last year I averaged 35 usMPG with my 750
I refill the tank around 200 to 225 km's or 125 to 140 miles.

 

@ this moment i get an average of about 15 km per liter (a bit more than 35 miles/gallon (US))

It has the tendency to get better when the wheater gets warmer....

Need to carb-sync and replace oil + filter... it should be running more economical then...

 

I get 47 when cruising it down the freeway at 75 mph. When on the go I get in the high 30's. Just ran the tank dry two blocks from home Sunday. I went about 315 km's on 5 gallons of gas. yup I was having fun

 

I was getting a steady 34 MPG before i found an issue with the spark plugs, I'm hoping it's up around 40 now but i've yet to take it out on a good cruise to find out. I think I get around 140 miles on the tank, 160 tops.
My Ninja i bought last year consistently gets 50 MPG on a 4.1 Gal tank so i'm usually around 200 miles when it's time for gas.
The ninja gets better gas mileage, so in these times of ever rising gas prices, it's getting the majority of the seat time.

 

I average around 150m before res.
If I am getting on her a bit harder I end up at about 120m before hitting res.

 

I hit reserve at 110 mi. with the 650's 3.4 gal tank.

It takes 2.3 gal to fill = avg. 47 mpg.

May be better if I could ride less than 70 mph here in so cal!

But I would get run over!

I can't believe it with gas near $4 the SUV's are still going 85+.

 

I just filled my tank yesterday and I had put 149 miles on and took 3 gallons to fill. That is awesome.

 

You Americans and your funny language... MPG... Gallons...

I'm surprised you havent moved to metric

I have a 22ltr tank and get around 220 to 250 km per tank depending on how hard I ride

 

I don't think that you'll ever see us switch to that other system. During my college years learning to become a mechanical engineer I was exposed to the metric system to a great extent and am quite comfortable with it. I guess I'm multi-lingual if you will. But now in the "real world" of work, I use the english system probably 90% of the time.

I guess were just stubborn and ignorant, but you already knew that. :roll:

 

We actually DID move to metrics back in the 70's.
It lasted less than a year before the American businesses and Gov't said Enough!
I don't know if it was too HARD or if the politicians thought "We ARE the world power!"

 

Not to hijack the thread but, how much fuel should be left when you hit reserve?
There was less then 1/2 a gallon in the tank and I was still in the on position.
I noticed that it would not take gas all of a sudden, bogged.
I immediatly thought of the carbs that I just did.
So I figure I would fill up with premium maybe stop for some seafoam on the way home.
Filled her up no problem the rest of the ride.
It could of been out of fuel and bogged.
Right.

 

That "bogging" means it is time to spin the petcock to reserve.
1/2 a gallon is kinda stingy, I have about >1 gal left before I flip.
Someone might have modified the petcock, or its a trait of the 650 seca, or your just imagining things

 

1980 650 maxim

get 100 miles before it starts to sputter and i have to turn to Res.
Get about 42 mpg

 

:lol: hahahaha :lol:
Right.
Saying to myself "it's Not the carbs, its not the carbs"
hehehehehe

 

Update: My 40 cubic inch Yamaha is getting even better with age. I went for a longer trip over the weekend 90+ miles with a passenger and got 48.8 miles per gallon.

 

I am a new 1982 650 YICS Seca rider looking for some feedback on the mileage I am getting. I did a quick ride to the Interior of BC yesterday that included climbing a long 4068 feet (1240 m) mountain pass and kept the bike at 5,000 rpm much of the time at about 115km/hr or about 70 mph max and a bit of around town riding. My three fill ups gave me mileage figures of 42 mpg, 37 mpg and finally 35 mpg on the long ride home always at full highway speed. I go on reserve at about 220 km or 135 miles or so.
I keep hearing you guys working on your carbs, do my mpg figures seem OK and can I leave my carbs alone for awhile ? It pulls quickly to redline in the first four gears, I won't be trying that in 5th until I get new tires

Thanks,
Eric

 

1982 650 seca and seem to be averaging 47 mpg with a good mix of riding

 

Just went on a ride today with MnMaxim and PainterD.

When we stopped for gas, I had gone 135 miles and it took 2.7 gallons. Which was 50 MPG. Not too bad for riding two up, getting up to 88mph on one stretch, rest was cruising around 50-55 mph.

What a nice ride!!

Thanks guys!!

 

On a trip yesterday of 225 miles, I got 50 MPG running on the freeway most of the time at 65-75 MPH.

 

Ok, from what you guys are getting for mpg, I am burning too much gas ! It's always the carbs isn't it
I will get an order ready for parts so I can clean and rework all 4 carbs and I can start wrenching on the first rainy weekend.
Thanks for the comparisons !
Eric

 

On my breckenridge trip I got as good as 67 with the wind at my back and 33 with the gale force wind in my face. An average of all three fill ups was 49mpg. That was going 65 or so. The Denver trip today I got an avaerage of 47 at 70mph. Not too bad. Around town avarage is 43. I think the windscreen helps a lot.

 

I am very happy with my fuel econ. considering, right now in SC, the gas price is $3.73/gallon.

I regularly get 42 - 45 MPG. It's all highway since this is my commuter bike.

Usually, it drops to three bars on the fuel gauge at 55 miles, and I usually get 140 miles before I have to turn to reserve. At this point, I put in ~3.5 gallons.

And to top it off, I think valve 2 is running rich.

 

Damn.
I get 35 mpg, I don't understand how folks are getting 45-50 mpg.
Does riding style really make that much of a difference?

This guy went from 65 mpg 8O to 33 mpg in one trip.
Doubling his mpg and around town 43.
:?:
Around town, back and forth to work, I usually shift at about 6000.
Could this be the culprit?
I'm taking a trip in 2 weeks lets hope for better milage.

 

I tend to shift when it feels comfortable, but usually don't wait that long to shift. More like 4500 or so. I usually cruise at 4500 (65 mph) or 5000 (70 mph), and usually don't get much over that. I usually get about 200 miles before I have to go on reserve when on a trip, 170 around town. I get about 45 around town in stop and go driving. Living in the mountains, my mileage probably isn't quite as good as I could get a sea level. My 750 RK does have a fairing and I think that makes a difference.

 

Actually first fill up was 47. Second was 33 and last fill up was 67.
Yes it really went to 33 MPG. Head wind was terrible. 40 mph wind gusts and climbing up the 11000 foot mountain pass did not help a bit. I was also amazed by the 67MPG on the return trip. But the wind was at my back and I didnt go faster than 65. I was in no big hurry. On the Denver trip yesterday, on the way there I got 47 mpg.
I generally shift around 4,000 rpm. It just seems to like to shift there.

 

I haven't really done the full calculations on mine yet, but I estimate I was getting about 30 mpg before Samsr did the carbs for me. I will post soon with a more accurate figure in the near future. I went for a short ride today and the power improvement was unbelievable. I know the economy is going to go up 'cuz my driving style will have to change. Can't go WOT all the time now!
Thanks Randy.

 

I watched where I was normally shifting on the last leg of my trip and I am shifting somewhere between 3 and 4000 RPM depending on the conditions. Not quite as high as I thought I was. Just did and average on the 3 fill-ups on my trip of 531 miles. This is freeway driving up to 70 plus, some mountain roads and some city driving. My average mileage was 50.6 .

 

Bad fuel mileage might be worn rings or engine problems. Can't do any harm to have a compression test or a leak down test in each cyl. to see what is up. On my old seca turbo engine, it was hard to start and took forever to warm up. I switched engines and mileage went from low 30's to 47 mpg on the turbo when I am not on boost. Cant hurt to look into it.

Sean

 

Make sure that you aren't leaking gas by the Enrichment Valves not being seated closed.

The activation rod on many of the carbs I've had in here for cleaning have been rusted pretty badly.

If that rod doesn't allow the Enrichment Valves to seat closed ... you'll be wasting lots of gas.
In the same vein, check the fingers of the lifters to those Valves.
On bikes where the owner had smashed the Enrichment Valves open,, they bend ... or, ... cause the Top Hat to be bent binding the Valve open.

 

Around town I usually shift by 3,000 RPM, no later than 3,500 if I am just commuting to and from work and usually am in 5th gear at anything above 35 MPH. I couldn't tell you what my milage is though on the last tank since the trip odometer did some weird things when I chaged the forks out. I only drive 7 miles a day round trip as part of my work commute so I can go about two weeks on a tank of gas if I can get 100 miles to a tank.

 

I put about 100 miles on my Seca on sunday I was at 153 miles when I left work this AM. Bike bogged and sputtered as I was leaving so I switched to res. and rode home.
165 miles on it when I added 4.003 gals at the station just down from home.
I rode the bike fairly hard most of Sunday just cause it was the first time I had a chance to enjoy a ride and see what she would do after fork seal/bushings, and a good carb cleaning/adjusting.

41 mpg seems OK to me. I will do better on the next tank I'm sure as I won't be twisting the grip so much on my daily rides to work. My commute loop is 7 miles each way, with a 45 mph speed limit, if I can resist the urge to pull 5-6K at every shift I think 45-50 mpg is within reach.

 

Shifting at 4K is about the speed of normal traffic acceleration.
My ride to work is at night so no traffic shifts are at 5500-6000, 15 miles each way.
On the way home in the morning I never get past 3rd gear, as it's not need.
If I shift to 4th, now the bike's coasting at 45-50mph, waiting for the boys to catch on.

 

Here's my last mileage report on the 750 --

Without twisting the throttle off the handlebar, mostly taking it easy around town, 70-80mph highway speeds....... 46.2mpg. This is with dynojet needles/jets, Mac 4-1 exhaust, K&N filter, 87 octane fuel, and a 16" rear wheel instead of the stock 18".

Not bad, I think.

 

Maybe they're running on "E" as well and figure they can COAST to their destination when the go go juice is gone :lol:

 

Ran right at 120mi on the Maxim this week to and from work, 75-85mph on the HOV lane for 70% and 35-45mph in the city for 30% of it. Filled up tonight with 2.724gal. Got 44mpg this week, 44.8 last week.

 

I had a thought.
*stop laughing*
Some where on here I read that the YICS motor was Yamaha trying to maintain the power but get better fuel mileage.
Mine is an '82 650 Seca, so no YICS motor.
The only other '82 I saw on here got 37 and 35 mpg.
Maybe this is why others are seeing better numbers.
Any thoughts on this.

 

At a steady 65-70 I got 47 mpg based on the US gallon or 55 mpg on the Canadian Gallon.

I won't get into the metric stuff.

 

As a quick check, I did some rude math and calculated that I getting about 40 mpg (US), or 6.0 l/100 km on my 750 Maxim. That's doing a few 60 km (40 mile) commutes (one way) through the back country roadswith rolling hills, and then a couple miles of city riding at each end. If I can keep the local deer out of my path for the summer (close call this morning), I think I am set to save some $$$ compared to driving my Ram.

 

Is your front wheel stock size? If it's smaller too, then you're not actually going as far as your odometer thinks you are.

Over the last year, I average 38.5 (+- 1MPG). I track it using mymilemarker.com

That's an '81 XJ750 w/a full Vetter fairing on front.

Fuel stops are right around 150 (I generally stop soon after hitting reserve even though I know from experience I can push it further).

 

I get 50 plus on my 750 Seca with fairing and bags. Will see how my Virago does, just got it running.....

 

3 - 5 grand shift point? I must be running kinda hard because I find myself shifting in regular traffic around 6K and on highways and riding with my friends and thier much larger VTX1800 bikes I'm shifting as high as 11K RPM 8O . Guess I'd better cool it a little.

 

That's what I said, shifting at around 6K is normal.

 

Higher shift points do make a difference in fuel mileage....... Tell those guys in their 1800's to slow down......

 

So are you saying shifting at higher RPM's is better? I shift in betwen 4 - 6k for my normal riding (mostly highway). I am averaging about 40 to 45mpg on my 82 YICS 750 Maxim.

 

"I feel the need for speed !" I am a 6,000 rpm shifter,too like TheHound.
I don't want to get run over from behind at the light change ! It doesn't feel much like a 650 at 4k ! Maybe having a 750 makes a big difference, I see a lot more 750's on the road and on here than 650's
Perhaps that has something to do with my mileage not being as good as you 750 and 4k shifters !
Eric

 

Went for a ride last Sat and finally filled up again today. $1.329/liter. That works out to $5.03/ gallon US. $6.06/gallon Imperial. My mileage was 39.2
MPG US, 47 MPG Imperial or 6 liters / 100 Km.