Poor Gas Mileage

[sumo]

From new to 1250 miles I was getting 59.7 mpg. Seeing everyone posting high 60's per gallon I commented on the forum, wondering if the NC700's didn't get better mileage than the NC750's... around that time, and for the first time, I cleaned the chain, and started to oil it regularly. Yep from new to 1250 miles I never put a drop of oil on it. Fast forward to today, I am now getting 69.4 mpg and the chain maintenance is the only difference, well the average temperature is warmer too.

Today I did a full clean and oil of the chain, I noticed how easy the rear tire was to spin while cleaning. It was a chore the first time, if I tried to give it a spin it would stop almost immediately, I thought it had to do with the DCT. Today I can give it a spin and it goes a full rotation and then some.

So could a poorly maintained chain have been costing me 10 mpg? I'm thinking so.

Here are some pics because it's always better with pics...

 

[happy]

I once had a college room mate running the ZX11R.
He paid thousands to swap out parts for titanium weight loss.
I once said to him, just skip dinner and exercise more. The weight loss from the love handles will make the bike go faster and chicks can wrap their arms around him better.

Needless to say, the rest was history....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[L.B.S.]

sumo, the dishes in my cupboards aren't that clean.

Yikes, I get aprox. 2 years worth of your dirt accumulation, every time I go the ten feet it takes to ride my bike out of the back grass/mud yard to the alley, lol

 

[Beemerphile]

If I ride it as dog and the Honda engineers intended, I get mid to high 60's. I can hardly bear to shift it a 2,000 rpm and ride under 55 mph. So, I don't. Shifting at 4-5,000 rpm and running 65-75 where I can, I get 55 mpg. I can touch 50 mpg on my R1200GS if I drive sedately. But that is even less fun than driving the NC700 sedately. So, I ride the D.S. out of both of them and just pay the gas man.

Once on the Blue Ridge Parkway riding a Federal Government Forest Ranger approved 45 mph for an entire tankful I got 92 mpg.

B - O - R - I - N - G !

 

[670cc]

From new to 1250 miles I was getting 59.7 mpg. Seeing everyone posting high 60's per gallon I commented on the forum, wondering if the NC700's didn't get better mileage than the NC750's... around that time, and for the first time, I cleaned the chain, and started to oil it regularly. Yep from new to 1250 miles I never put a drop of oil on it. Fast forward to today, I am now getting 69.4 mpg and the chain maintenance is the only difference, well the average temperature is warmer too.

Today I did a full clean and oil of the chain, I noticed how easy the rear tire was to spin while cleaning. It was a chore the first time, if I tried to give it a spin it would stop almost immediately, I thought it had to do with the DCT. Today I can give it a spin and it goes a full rotation and then some.

So could a poorly maintained chain have been costing me 10 mpg? I'm thinking so.

Here are some pics because it's always better with pics...

View attachment 29892

View attachment 29893

View attachment 29894

You have too much time on your hands. Spray the chain and forget about it for 2000 miles. It's just a chain.

I ran the stock chain until it was kinked pretty bad and had a lot of drag. It had no measurable effect on the gas mileage.

 

[supertux1]

Here are some pics because it's always better with pics...
View attachment 29893

Those chain and sprockets look brand new! Time for an Italian Tuneup?

 

[MiG Angel]

You have too much time on your hands. Spray the chain and forget about it for 2000 miles. It's just a chain.

I ran the stock chain until it was kinked pretty bad and had a lot of drag. It had no measurable effect on the gas mileage.

I've noticed the same thing. Headwinds are my killer. Also apparently living near sea level???

 

[itlives]

The worst mpg I ever got on the bike in question is 36.
That was one tank, in a strong headwind and fully loaded coming back from Ark camping. Did I mention I was going 80 mph the whole time? Well, too be perfectly honest, I couldn't go 80 the whole time because the headwind was too strong.

 

[frozenpoet]

On my big adventure I got a tank or two at/near 50mpg, a tank or two over 70, but most around 67ish. Two up, 100lbs of gear.

 

[PJ3711]

Its not my tire pressure for sure. I just got the tires changed 1500 miles ago and they are still up to spec. My gas mileage has progressively been getting better as my latest fill up I had 59.8 mpg which is the best I have gotten yet. I'm not sure if it is because their may have been residual gunk on my injectors from sitting up. Since I didn't run the bike for a couple minutes after I put the stabilize in. The gas in the fuel lines was probably bad when I first started it up months later. My chain is tight and I have been cleaning my chain every 500 miles as the manual dictates. Hopefully I can get my mpg in the mid 60s thats all I want lol. I appreciate all of the quick and immediate responses, thank you!

And mike I have absolutely loved the bike since I have gotten it. I'm glad we were able to get a deal done. This has been my only quip about the bike is my poor mpg in comparison to other riders. Since I will taking it on long trips here soon enough and would like not to have stop at the petrol station every 175 miles when the light start flashing. Hopefully we can meet up soon and take a ride up to AR.

 

[670cc]

My chain is tight and I have been cleaning my chain every 500 miles as the manual dictates.

Running the chain at the loose end of the spec range will minimize drag and extend chain life. A tight chain is not a happy chain.

 

[rickyricky]

I bought my NC used back in January. I only rode it from Shreveport down to where I live at now (about a 4 hour ride). Anyway on the way down I got a flat tire and wasn't able to get new tires at the time because I had just bought the bike and I was paying off school. But I'm back riding and have been riding everyday for about the past month. In that time I have been getting very poor gas mileage for an NC. I have gotten nothing better than 58 mpg but nothing worse than 55 mpg(I'm using premium) . Does anybody have any experience with this issue? I don't believe I have a fuel leak. I stored the bike in my apartment and never had a fuel smell in my place. But when the bike is running and going I could be wrong. The previous owner said he had just done the valve adjustments on the bike so those should be good but I have not verfied either. Any how I appreciate any help I can get thanks!

ps. I did put stabilize in my fuel tank so that the fuel wouldn't go bad till I had the necesary disposable income.

Sincerely,
Paul

Don't feel bad. I just put my 2nd tank in my new NC700, and got 53! I have been having a bit too much fun with it though. ;-)

 

[vitesse]

"Wasteing fuel" the slower burning fuel is not used up in the combustion cycle due to engine design, compression ratio, timing etc. so it is sent to the cat to be burned rendering no power to the rear wheel.

 

[bvogel7475]

From new to 1250 miles I was getting 59.7 mpg. Seeing everyone posting high 60's per gallon I commented on the forum, wondering if the NC700's didn't get better mileage than the NC750's... around that time, and for the first time, I cleaned the chain, and started to oil it regularly. Yep from new to 1250 miles I never put a drop of oil on it. Fast forward to today, I am now getting 69.4 mpg and the chain maintenance is the only difference, well the average temperature is warmer too.

Today I did a full clean and oil of the chain, I noticed how easy the rear tire was to spin while cleaning. It was a chore the first time, if I tried to give it a spin it would stop almost immediately, I thought it had to do with the DCT. Today I can give it a spin and it goes a full rotation and then some.

So could a poorly maintained chain have been costing me 10 mpg? I'm thinking so.

Here are some pics because it's always better with pics...

View attachment 29892

View attachment 29893

View attachment 29894

That chain looks a little too clean. Hope you haven't used any degreaser. Your chain will look clean and it will rot out the O-rings very quickly. Put some Honda lube on it every 500 miles and clean it every 2K and you should be good to go. I would avoid trying to get it as clean as you have it in the picture though because you may be starving the O-rings.

 

[L.B.S.]

That chain looks a little too clean. Hope you haven't used any degreaser. Your chain will look clean and it will rot out the O-rings very quickly. Put some Honda lube on it every 500 miles and clean it every 2K and you should be good to go. I would avoid trying to get it as clean as you have it in the picture though because you may be starving the O-rings.

I would be interested in seeing him continue to clean and lube his chain exactly how he wants to/has been so far, and report back occasionally with facts and figures as to it's lifespan. That way another data point will be available for everyone to compare and see how their own maintenance procedures stack up.

 

[Beemerphile]

That chain looks a little too clean. Hope you haven't used any degreaser. Your chain will look clean and it will rot out the O-rings very quickly. Put some Honda lube on it every 500 miles and clean it every 2K and you should be good to go. I would avoid trying to get it as clean as you have it in the picture though because you may be starving the O-rings.

You are right that many degreasers are hazardous to the life of o-ring chains, however there are degreasers such as DuPont Motorcycle Degreaser that are called out as compatible with o-ring chains.

DuPont Motorcycle Degreaser, 16 oz.

WD40 and kerosene will also clean the chain without damage.

 

[showkey]

"Wasteing fuel" the slower burning fuel is not used up in the combustion cycle due to engine design, compression ratio, timing etc. so it is sent to the cat to be burned rendering no power to the rear wheel.

You maybe be wasting money but not wasting fuel.........the load on the CAT does not change and if it did premium fuel would be specific band as it would destroy the CAT over time in all vehicles.
The NC can not take advantage of premium as it has no knock sensor....but.....it will not be damaged or harmed by it use. You might see a performance gain because your wallet will be lighter.



Fact or Fiction?: Premium Gasoline Delivers Premium Benefits to Your Car - Scientific American

Most modern cars, however, are designed to employ a specific compression ratio, a measure of how much room is available to the fuel when the piston is at the bottom and the top of the cylinder. This compression ratio—somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to one—tolerates lower octane fuels (such as regular gasoline, good old 87 octane) without knocking. "The compression ratio is fixed by the designer of the engine," Green says. "The regular fuel will burn properly and the premium fuel will burn properly and therefore there is no reason you should pay the extra money." High-performance engines, such as those in some sports cars or older, heavier automobiles, often boast much higher compression ratios. These cars—for example, Shepherd's Subaru WRX—require premium gasoline and will definitely knock without it. "I have to put the 92 octane in," he says. "It has a turbocharger."

Regular or Premium? - Feature - Car and Driver


If you do use premium gas be sure to use premium oil.........the bike will be out of balance if the two are not matched..

 

[670cc]

I'm reversing my posture on premium gasoline. I encourage people to buy it.

Lower regular gasoline prices lately have led to more folks being willing to pay extra for some perceived benefit in premium gasoline. Sometimes there is just an emotional benefit, the feeling that you "did something good" for your vehicle. Fuel retailers have reacted by increasing the price spread between regular and premium fuel. Where there once was a $0.10 or $0.20 upcharge for premium, we now sometimes see $0.60 or more. This increase in spread is pure profit. This is smart marketing. When customers are willing to pay a certain price for a product, retailers darn well need to put a product out there at that price point. Whether the more expensive product is necessary or actually better for the user is irrelevant.

I own stock in energy companies, so please go buy premium. Thank you.

 

[Brillot2000]

I have always used Mid-grade 89 octane on all my bikes over the years.

"BP's annual report on proved global oil reserves says that as of the end of 2013, Earth has nearly 1.688 trillion barrels of crude, which will last 53.3 years at current rates of extraction."

I do not know about you all, I do not think it will matter to me when this happens.

 

[mburgess]

I bought my NC used back in January. I only rode it from Shreveport down to where I live at now (about a 4 hour ride). Anyway on the way down I got a flat tire and wasn't able to get new tires at the time because I had just bought the bike and I was paying off school. But I'm back riding and have been riding everyday for about the past month. In that time I have been getting very poor gas mileage for an NC. I have gotten nothing better than 58 mpg but nothing worse than 55 mpg(I'm using premium) . Does anybody have any experience with this issue? I don't believe I have a fuel leak. I stored the bike in my apartment and never had a fuel smell in my place. But when the bike is running and going I could be wrong. The previous owner said he had just done the valve adjustments on the bike so those should be good but I have not verfied either. Any how I appreciate any help I can get thanks!

ps. I did put stabilize in my fuel tank so that the fuel wouldn't go bad till I had the necesary disposable income.

Sincerely,
Paul

I get steady 60 mpg riding balls to the walls. Use reg. unleaded in this bike bc prem. is not recommended and is a waste of money. When you switch to reg. you will experience less bogging down at lower RPMs. Feel free to contact me with any questions.