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90 Miles Per (US) Gallon on the NC700X

I know there are multiple factors, especially my 260lb carcass plus saddle bags always on but can attest that I observed a very significant mpg increase during my recent BRP ride from MM233 to Cherokee plus a little.

I typically see mid/upper-60's in my 33-mile work commute (round trip), this is dependent on my ability to keep stops/starts to a minimum. My lowest mpg is high 50's during long stretches of 65mph+. During said BRP ride a couple Saturdays ago, I hit 79mpg for the tank - filled up in Blowing Rock & again in Maggie Valley for trip home.

I've learned that on the my NC, the best mpg is for me to keep the rpm's below 3k which was a learned behavior for me since I like to wind it out.

p.s. calculated via US gallons
 
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Lucky you. Can’t ever seem to get to 60mpg or over :(. Have a tall windshield, side and top cases, 240 lbs of myself, and the majority of my ride is 60mph.
 
Lucky you. Can’t ever seem to get to 60mpg or over :(. Have a tall windshield, side and top cases, 240 lbs of myself, and the majority of my ride is 60mph.
When I rode back home on a recent trip riding for nearly a couple thousand miles into a headwind with full luggage doing 65 mph, I was getting (US gallon) mileage in the upper 50s. Since I bought the bike new, my tank mileages over time have ranged from 55 to almost 95. Sometimes the riding environment permits good mileage, sometimes it doesn’t.

In my experience, side cases at highway speeds have about a 5 mpg detrimental affect on mileage. I don’t think rider weight would make any difference at all unless it simply poses, by way of body size, more wind drag resulting from increased frontal area.
 
Lucky you. Can’t ever seem to get to 60mpg or over :(. Have a tall windshield, side and top cases, 240 lbs of myself, and the majority of my ride is 60mph.
The over 60mph is a big factor.

I can get into the mid 70's on my daily commute if I really try. 65 is easy without trying.
Long Saturday rides in more rural areas running around 45-50 mph in 6th gear and I can get mid-80's mpg.
 
WOW didnt need a college lecture.
Just that going 80mph will use more gas than going 45 mph.
Just keep it simple!
We live in a world where politicians can’t define what a man or woman is, so why are you surprised that it takes a long explanation to explain the obvious lol.
 
I know there are multiple factors, especially my 260lb carcass plus saddle bags always on but can attest that I observed a very significant mpg increase during my recent BRP ride from MM233 to Cherokee plus a little.

I typically see mid/upper-60's in my 33-mile work commute (round trip), this is dependent on my ability to keep stops/starts to a minimum. My lowest mpg is high 50's during long stretches of 65mph+. During said BRP ride a couple Saturdays ago, I hit 79mpg for the tank - filled up in Blowing Rock & again in Maggie Valley for trip home.

I've learned that on the my NC, the best mpg is for me to keep the rpm's below 3k which was a learned behavior for me since I like to wind it out.

p.s. calculated via US gallons
I run my bike between 3 to 5k, which is the sweet spot for me. I can’t count every stroke of the motor, and it pulls nicely. I get 74 mpg consistently. Ok that’s an Imperial gallon, 61 mpg U.S. Below 3k the bikes gutless and boring, and Id contemplate suicide if I personally rode consistently at those speeds lol. But that’s just me.
 
I run my bike between 3 to 5k, which is the sweet spot for me. I can’t count every stroke of the motor, and it pulls nicely. I get 74 mpg consistently. Ok that’s an Imperial gallon, 61 mpg U.S. Below 3k the bikes gutless and boring, and Id contemplate suicide if I personally rode consistently at those speeds lol. But that’s just me.
I love this bike (700) between 2k and 3.5k; that is what makes the NC700 so special. Above that it is more like any other Japanese bike. But that’s just me.
 
Lol I'm a 2500-3500 rpm kinda guy on my NC and CB as I was on my FJR and ST 1300 and my FZ-1s, and my GS 1100, and my VF 1100S and every other bike I've owned that wasnt a 2 stroke
 
I love this bike (700) between 2k and 3.5k; that is what makes the NC700 so special. Above that it is more like any other Japanese bike. But that’s just me.
Seems like there are a lot of just me‘s on this site, with their personal preferences lol.
 
Lol I'm a 2500-3500 rpm kinda guy on my NC and CB as I was on my FJR and ST 1300 and my FZ-1s, and my GS 1100, and my VF 1100S and every other bike I've owned that wasnt a 2 stroke
Ok I’m a 3 to 5k guy. You’re a 2.5 to 3.5 k guy, and 670cc is a 2 to 3.5k. Both of you are doing ok when you start exceeding 3k, but you tail off to soon. Try and work on twisting the throttle more.
 
Lol I'm a 2500-3500 rpm kinda guy on my NC and CB as I was on my FJR and ST 1300 and my FZ-1s, and my GS 1100, and my VF 1100S and every other bike I've owned that wasnt a 2 stroke
Yes, and on my GL1800, it’s a 1k-3k game. There is rarely a reason to rev over 3000 on that bike. I have a modified final drive with taller gearing.
 
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Seems like there are a lot of just me‘s on this site, with their personal preferences lol.
Ok I’m a 3 to 5k guy. You’re a 2.5 to 3.5 k guy, and 670cc is a 2 to 3.5k. Both of you are doing ok when you start exceeding 3k, but you tail off to soon. Try and work on twisting the throttle more.
I am not looking for suggestions on how to operate the NC. I have ridden it the way I like it for about 100,000 km. I know the machine very well. Furthermore, my riding environment may be different than someone else’s, and that can dictate how the bike can or could be ridden.

You just got done saying there are a lot of forum members with personal preferences. Why would you try to impose your preferences onto someone else when he or she was not even asking for advice?
 
First, the history: Back in May, 2013, on a still fairly new NC700X, I happenened on the Blue Ridge Parkway after gassing up at Cherokee, North Carolina, USA. I was heading northeast as far as I could go in the daylight available. As I rode at a leisurely legal pace, I realized based on the odometer and fuel gauge, that the fuel economy seemed surprisingly good (2012 models do not display instant or average MPG). I continued in a hypermile style mode until I was just too nervous about running out of fuel, so I pulled off the Parkway and gassed up at 293 miles and achieving 94.5 miles per US gallon. Going forward I added farkles to the NC like a big windshield, hand guards, and other nonsense that would increase frontal area and degrade the aerodynamics, thus I never expected to see 90+ mpg again. Upper 80s has been easily attainable, but not the 90s.

Fast forward to today, well, yesterday actually. I again find myself in the same scenario as in 2013, riding the same NC on the BRP. Again, due to some occasional slow cars ahead of me and my general slow legal pace, I make the mental associations between odometer and fuel gauge and realize the fuel economy is looking good. So I went into a hypermile mode: light throttle, average 45 mph speed (which is the speed limit), highest gear possible for the load, very minimal braking and only two break stops (there are no stop signs or traffic lights along the entire BRP). Seeing the final flashing fuel gauge appear alone at around 250 miles, give or take 5, I mentally calculate that the bike will run out of fuel at around 310-320 miles on the tank. I figure I’ll consider it empty at 300 just to have a safety margin. There is no gasoline for sale on the Parkway, so the fuel-up involves exiting the Parkway to a town known to have a station. It worked out that I pulled into a station with 289.3 miles showing on the NC trip meter. I filled up fully, as usual, until no more fuel could be added or it would spill over the tank neck, and was able to fit 3.211 US gallons. This calculates to 90.0965 miles per US gallon. So there, I did it again!

One might suspect that this one 289 mile tank with 90.09 MPG is a big anomaly, but it is not. I attached my NC’s latest Fuelly summary showing multiple tanks of mileage in the 80s on either side of this one. I fully expect the current tank, yet to be logged in fuel up #304, is running well into the 80s.

In the interest of full disclosure, I can say that the rear tire is near end of life. It’s reduced circumference will cause the odometer to read potentially a higher number of miles than what was actually covered. However, the speed readout relationship between the bike’s speedometer and the Garmin GPS is still very close, a difference on the order of 1-1.5% at most, so I suspect the tire is not affecting readings much. I also noted that the odometer miles covered were very close to the GPS’s trip prediction. I’m going to say that at worst, the odometer error could be as much as 2%, but no more. I would need to measure the tire circumference and compare to new, or find some measured mile sections to check odometer accuracy somehow, but I have no way to do that right now.

See attached photos. Without having witnesses, the photos is the best I can do.

Lastly, the primary reason for the great mileage on all my last 10 or so tanks is I have been riding in situations that call for lower speed. In my experience, speed is the primary factor in determining fuel economy on the NC motorcycle.

View attachment 49269View attachment 49268View attachment 49270View attachment 49271
I've never done better than 68 mpg on my 2016 NC, riding in D. I normally pound on it in S2 and get around 65. I can't see ever getting over 70 mpg, even riding geezerly
 
I am not looking for suggestions on how to operate the NC. I have ridden it the way I like it for about 100,000 km. I know the machine very well. Furthermore, my riding environment may be different than someone else’s, and that can dictate how the bike can or could be ridden.

You just got done saying there are a lot of forum members with personal preferences. Why would you try to impose your preferences onto someone else when he or she was not even asking for advice?
I put a smiley at the end of my post but I see for some reason it didn’t take. It was said tongue in cheek. I don’t care how people live or ride their bikes. I tend to have a dry sense of humour and it doesn’t always come across in the written word. As for trying to impose my preferences, I somehow doubt that anyone on this site is so week willed that theyd be influenced by my posts. No more than I would if someone were to state that the way to ride the nc is to never exceed 1000 rpm in any gear.

There are times I like to chug around, and then there are times I like a bit of aggression. I’ve owned numerous sport bikes with high power and redlines and I’d be lying if I said I redlined them everywhere I went. I’m sure like most riders I rode according to my mood. The nc for me is a bike that I enjoy for chugging around, and I do a lot compared to previous bikes. But I also like the fact above 3k it wakes up and has a satisfying surge of linear power. I will say I feel that an owner is missing something if they don’t enjoy that on occasion.

Ride safe.
 
I put a smiley at the end of my post but I see for some reason it didn’t take. It was said tongue in cheek. I don’t care how people live or ride their bikes. I tend to have a dry sense of humour and it doesn’t always come across in the written word. As for trying to impose my preferences, I somehow doubt that anyone on this site is so week willed that theyd be influenced by my posts. No more than I would if someone were to state that the way to ride the nc is to never exceed 1000 rpm in any gear.

There are times I like to chug around, and then there are times I like a bit of aggression. I’ve owned numerous sport bikes with high power and redlines and I’d be lying if I said I redlined them everywhere I went. I’m sure like most riders I rode according to my mood. The nc for me is a bike that I enjoy for chugging around, and I do a lot compared to previous bikes. But I also like the fact above 3k it wakes up and has a satisfying surge of linear power. I will say I feel that an owner is missing something if they don’t enjoy that on occasion.

Ride safe.
Yes, I already gathered that you think owners are missing something if they don’t go much above 3K, even though you just wrote that you don’t care how people ride their bikes. Yet, you still chose to close your post by writing it once again, so apparently how others ride does bother you.

I think riders are capable of operating their own motorcycles to their liking, so there’s no need to be concerned about them “missing something.”

Ride on.
 
Smaller tire makes more revolutions per mile which makes the odometer log more miles than actual, which makes the fuel economy appear better than it actually is. But as I noted, I don’t believe in my case it could make an MPG error of more than 2%. We could also argue that we don’t know the accuracy of the fuel station’s pump, but those are things we can’t discover with certainty. That is why I included the Fuelly log showing that with recent fill ups at different times and stations and different pumps have also yielded MPG in the 80s, so the 90 MPG tank does not appear to be abnormal for reasons other than my riding style.
May have missed it, but did look (mostly): are these mileages using E10 or E0?
 
May have missed it, but did look (mostly): are these mileages using E10 or E0?
The mileages stated here are with E10. You didn’t miss it; I failed to mention the gasoline type used. All that was run through my 2012 NC lately was 87 octane (R+M/2 or PON) labeled as “up to” 10% ethanol blend. Only in very rare cases when that was not available would I run a different grade, but that has not happened lately and not on any Parkway rides.

If I used E0, I might expect about 2% to 3% better gas mileage.
 
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Yes, I already gathered that you think owners are missing something if they don’t go much above 3K, even though you just wrote that you don’t care how people ride their bikes. Yet, you still chose to close your post by writing it once again, so apparently how others ride does bother you.

I think riders are capable of operating their own motorcycles to their liking, so there’s no need to be concerned about them “missing something.”

Ride on.
Let me clear some things up. (Tongue sticking out smiley).

I don’t care how people ride their bikes.

It doesn’t bother me how other people ride. Provided they don’t do anything stupid in front of me which causes me danger.

I do think riders are missing something if they don’t go above 3000 rpm on occasion On this bike.

My dad is bigger than your dad.

Ive yet to meet a better rider than me.

Valentino Rossi may ride “very ard.” But he’s no match for me.

That about covers it.

Ride on.
 
I just love the way people (aka cagers) jaw drop when I tell them my MPG. Or refer to my NC as “basic transportation” Because they think of motorcycles as toys.
 
I just love the way people (aka cagers) jaw drop when I tell them my MPG. Or refer to my NC as “basic transportation” Because they think of motorcycles as toys.
To be fair I think most of us think of motorcycles as toys. I wouldn’t want to attempt a 40 minute commute in February where I live. Less about the cold, more about the ice
 
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