New bike MPG only 50?

[salishmoto]

As I've posted elsewhere I'm just back from buying and riding the bike home. Over the 540 miles I found I was getting only 50mpg when doing 75-80mph. Now, it was 32 degrees and foggy, so the air is thicker, but I wasn't impressed. Steady throttle. How are people getting over 60? Is it a break in thing for the engine? Do you have to cruise at 60mph to get 60mpg? I confess I hadn't checked tire pressure since I rode it away from the dealership and before knowing it does fine on 87 I was putting in 91 octane since my other bikes require that.

 

[670cc]

As I've posted elsewhere I'm just back from buying and riding the bike home. Over the 540 miles I found I was getting only 50mpg when doing 75-80mph. Now, it was 32 degrees and foggy, so the air is thicker, but I wasn't impressed. Steady throttle. How are people getting over 60? Is it a break in thing for the engine? Do you have to cruise at 60mph to get 60mpg?

This is a common question from some new owners who haven't obtained the fuel economy they expected.

In my experience, simply put, the NC is capable of getting excellent gas mileage. How the bike is ridden will determine whether you get that great mileage or not. Having ridden close to 60,000 miles on my NC so far, my average is over 75 mpg. It is possible to get good mileage, but it doesn't come automatically.

Don't blame it on break in. I got 75+ mpg on the first several tanks on my new NC, and the mileage never really changed after break in. If you ride 75-80 mph in cold weather, mileage in the 50s is probably normal. To get better mileage, you have to ride slower. It's just physics. If I cruise at 60 mph in warmer weather, I will probably get 65-75 mpg, depending on the wind direction and how much luggage I have. My record (for me) 94.5 mpg came from riding at a steady 45 mph for nearly 300 miles.

 

[salishmoto]

I'm full of questions tonight since I just got the bike and I appreciate your thoughts. What you say makes sense. Out West here in North America you really can't travel highways without going at least 70 mph. Most flow is around 75 to 80. I get about 35-40 on bigger 1200-1400cc bikes so even 50 is pretty good overall. I bet the bike gets great mileage around town compared to many.

 

[Alias]

On my 2012 NC, cruising one up and fully loaded at above 4,000 rpm resulted in low 50's mpg.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

I'm averaging 65 MPG (converted from 3.60 L/100KM) with my 2012 NC700SA. I think that 65 MPG is a good "typical" number for someone who just rides, mostly commuting with a decent mix of city/highway, without specifically aiming for speed or economy. Note, my first few tanks were 60MPG (3.95 L/100KM).
I have my Ninja 300 for when I want to crank something to redline. I get about 55 MPG (converted from 4.27 L/100KM) on that one. Still mostly commuting, but usually with a little more spirit.

 

[CamaroEric]

It will get better with time. I know the break-in theory is a little hokey, but keep riding. Winter fuel blends also do not help mileage.

As what others have said, when I commuted at 55-60mph, I was topping 80 mpg and still rarely get under 70. Anything over 65mph will certainly make the mileage plummet.

 

[dduelin]

Motorcycles have terrible coefficients of drag. A vehicle with excellent streamlining that doubles it's speed quadruples it's drag so imagine how much drag increases on a motorcycle that doubles the speed..

A few years ago I was planning a ride that required 250 mile gas stops and I knew that I had to achieve minimum 50 mpg in expected wind and weather conditions. I rode nearly 2000 miles testing and figures on my 2015 with my weight, Madstad windshield, and a top box gave me a cruising speed of 80 mph.

Ride slower and mpg increases to what others are reporting. If I am riding on the interstate at 75-80 in warm weather I expect mpg in the mid 50s. On a two lane road at 60 mph I'll probably get mid to high 60s. I can be in the twisties twisting the throttle all the time yet keeping speeds in a 30-50 mph range I might get into the 70s.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

Motorcycles have terrible coefficients of drag. A vehicle with excellent streamlining that doubles it's speed quadruples it's drag so imagine how much drag increases on a motorcycle that doubles the speed..

The drag would also quadruple. When talking proportionalities, the coefficients can be ignored. Doubling speed always quadruples drag as drag is proportional to the square of the velocity.
However, if you took two vehicles with equivalent frontal area (important as the drag equation considers area as well) and one had a much higher Cd, the absolute increase in drag would be larger since 4x a bigger number is larger than 4x a smaller number.

 

[salishmoto]

As a bio science geek, but not an engineer, I appreciate physics discussions. I'm also a sailor and remember learning years ago that the force of the wind cubes as it increases. Maybe I got that wrong. But I can tell you from vast experience on the ocean that 40 knots is not twice as strong as 20 knots! And don't even ask me about 60 knots.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

As a bio science geek, but not an engineer, I appreciate physics discussions. I'm also a sailor and remember learning years ago that the force of the wind cubes as it increases. Maybe I got that wrong. But I can tell you from vast experience on the ocean that 40 knots is not twice as strong as 20 knots! And don't even ask me about 60 knots.

I'm a private pilot, flight instructor, and aerospace engineer, so I'm always happy to discuss physics and aerodynamics
I've sailed a bit, but my "learning" was mostly getting into a small sailing dinghy and yanking on things to see what worked.

 

[yojimg]

I'm getting 60-62mpg on my 2018 NC750X manual. Like you, I was hoping for the purported 75mpg. I commute 30 miles per day at ~70mph freeway speeds. I have a larger Givi windscreen installed.

I've found that my mileage improves if I drive at 65mph or less -- but then I don't keep up with the flow of other traffic. I've also tried the stock shorter windscreen, and that seemed to increase my mileage by about 2mpg.

I routinely got 62mpg on my CB500X with tall windscreen, driving at 70-75mph. The NC seems to get better mileage in city driving than on the freeway.

 

[TacomaJD]

Overall average on both my NC's seem to be in the mid-50's. Especially at 80mph highway speeds, but I'm not easy on throttle.

Worry more about the smiles per gallon!

 

[670cc]

While I get good gas mileage on my NC without trying simply because of my riding style, what concerns me most about the NC is the range. Gasoline is cheap, but frequent fill ups are an inconvenience at times. I have been on trips along with riders on other type motorcycles, and I was getting the best gas mileage of the group. But because of the NC's tiny fuel tank, we stopped for gas because I needed it first.

Getting mileage in the 50s would be awesome on my Goldwing, with 6.6 gallon tank. Getting mileage in the 50s with the NC would be terrible, with it's 3.7 gallon tank.

 

[the Ferret]

Today's fill up netted the worst gas mileage I have gotten on this bike so far. 58 mpg. It may be because of winter blend gasoline, or due to the fact that the average temperature in the 162 miles I rode on this tank was 21.5 degrees F. I hope it goes back up in the summer lol.

 

[bigbird]

While I get good gas mileage on my NC without trying simply because of my riding style, what concerns me most about the NC is the range. Gasoline is cheap, but frequent fill ups are an inconvenience at times. I have been on trips along with riders on other type motorcycles, and I was getting the best gas mileage of the group. But because of the NC's tiny fuel tank, we stopped for gas because I needed it first.

Getting mileage in the 50s would be awesome on my Goldwing, with 6.6 gallon tank. Getting mileage in the 50s with the NC would be terrible, with it's 3.7 gallon tank.

The fuel range on my NC with its smaller tank and my Goldwing with its larger tank were exactly the same; 400 km (250 miles).
I was happy when I found out they were both good for that distance.

 

[the Ferret]

hmm I couldn't make 250 miles on my NC at 58 mpg., unless I pushed the last 30 miles.

Now at the mileage I was getting this summer,74 mpg, in theory it would go 281 miles.

 

[670cc]

The fuel range on my NC with its smaller tank and my Goldwing with its larger tank were exactly the same; 400 km (250 miles).
I was happy when I found out they were both good for that distance.

My NC and my Goldwing do indeed match in range, but only under ideal conditions. When the NC has saddlebags and is pushing a headwind at speed, the mileage and range plummets. The Goldwing is less affected by the wind and speed; it's mileage can drop but not as much as with the NC.

The NC is the only motorcycle I have owned where I feel compelled to bring extra fuel along in a separate container on big trips.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

My worst recorded economy was 3.96 L/100KM (59 MPG), and I average 3.60 L/100KM (65 MPG).
Assuming 95% of the fuel in the tank is actually useable, the 14.2 L (3.75 US GAL) tank holds 13.5L (3.56 US GAL) of useable fuel.
Based on this, my worst tank would have lasted up to 340 KM (211 MI) and I'd average 375 KM (233 MI) in a tank.
Best tank would have gotten me to 428 KM (266 MI) at 3.15 L/100KM (74.7 MPG). 450 KM if we assume we can burn the entire 14.2 L.
In practice, I try and take note of the trip meter when I hit the last fuel bar and estimate how many KM I should get in that last 5th of a tank based on economy so far on that tank, then make sure to fill up by about 80% of that distance, which usually puts me at about a 360 KM fill target. This is easier than on my Ninja 300 with a 6-segment gauge, 5ths are easier to calculate than 6ths...

 

[Oldbear]

Higher speed, winter fuel and a heavy throttle hand will kill your mileage (down into the 50’s). Secondary roads with lower speeds, better fuel, and a steady throttle will deliver the best mileage. Real gasoline vs ethanol blend will hep you as well. Finally, a new engine will be tight-it should do better as its broken in.

 

[Motorat]

My first tank was 73mpg. but after the break-in period I find that I have no self control and my right hand gets a little happy. So lately my mileage goes from 58-63mpg.
Sport mode is my favorite,