Think I have the MPG thing figured out

[Triumph 'n Shadow]

Hello all!

I know people are reporting anywhere from 61 to 75 MPG and up on their NC700X bikes.
I was trying to figure out how to get up in the 70's.

I rode the bike as normal for me where it is 15.1 miles one way to work with about 14.5 miles being on the highway.
This was doing 60-65 MPH.
When I checked my mileage it was 66.

So I tried again with the same result (66 MPG).

The next tank I cruised a little faster in the 64-68 MPH range.
My mileage dropped to 65.

So this last tank I decided to try to keep the RPM's at 3K and lower.
We took a nice country ride yesterday and today at around 2600 to 2900 RPMs.
We just filled the tank right before we arrived home.
The bike got 70.348 MPG.
At those RPMs it did not feel as if the engine was lugging at all so I felt comfortable running at those speeds.

So it appears the key is to keep the engine humming a long at a little lower RPMs.
I am sure other things can be done to bump that up.
Someone mentioned getting a high quality chain will eliminate some resistance and so raise MPGs.
Making sure the tires are inflated to proper air pressure is totally necessary.

But I wanted to pass on what I have learned.
We bought our NC7 back in late September and we have 1113 miles on it (I rode it when I could over the winter.)

Anybody have anything to add which might boost gas mileage?
I would assume with 1113 miles on the bike it is still going through the engine break-in stage.
I am wondering if around 3K miles it will naturally boost itself up a little as everything is seating just right by that point?

I wanted to add this is with gas that is up to 10% ethanol.

Thanks.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[Lou Wambsganss]

I put about 2,000 miles on mine over the winter commuting to work. The short 4 mile trip, warm up time, and cold temps dropped the mileage as low as 55 mpg. Now that the weather is warmer, i can get maybe 64 on the same route. If I tool around on county/state roads where the speed limit is 55-65, little traffic, and run a whole tank down basically cruising, I can get 75-76 mpg. As summer blend gas starts to show up, mileages might start to increase a few percent.

Not sure if you are using it, but Fuelly is a really great app for tracking anything and everything related to fuel. It's free and keeps a ton of valuable metrics for tracking your vehicle fuel economy, costs, comparisons to other users with similar vehicles, etc. I, like others, imbed my Fuelly average mpg in my signature line.

Another good one is Gas Buddy. I use it to find the cheapest gas station on my route and save a few cents per gallon each time.

 

[670cc]

Hello all!

I know people are reporting anywhere from 61 to 75 MPG and up on their NC700X bikes.
I was trying to figure out how to get up in the 70's.

I wanted to add this is with gas that is up to 10% ethanol.

Michael

Umm, my AVERAGE over 9000 miles is 79.6 MPG, at least it was before my last trip.

Low RPM and low speed is the ticket, plus any way you can reduce wind resistance. Cold ambient temperatures will definitely drop your mileage.

Going to pure gas instead of 10% ethanol will get you a 3% MPG gain. That's what the BTU calculations predict, and that is also my actual experience. I run 10% ethanol because that's all I can find without paying a ridiculous price for pure gas.

 

[StratTuner]

Yep. I think you nailed it there!

My ideal Hyper-miling ride would be on a long road where I could ease up to
6th gear at 2,500 and stay there for 180 miles at whatever speed the bike can manage at 2,500 in 6th gear.
For me, that's about 47 MPH.

 

[bigjeff]

It is the stopping and starting that lowers my mpg. Around town 64-65 mpg. In the country, I ALWAYS get around 74 mpg. I am never easy on the throttle. Rolling mass takes less gas to keep it going. It is the stopping and starting that uses the most fuel IMHO.

 

[670cc]

Well, happily, my 2000 mile trip last week with side bags and gear aboard didn't drag my average down too badly. I'm still at 78.9 US MPG overall. On this trip I may not have ever gone over 4000 RPM. If I did it was brief. Otherwise RPMs were in the 2500-3500 range most of the time.

 

[Triumph 'n Shadow]

670cc:

Wow!

A 2K mile trip.

Would you be willing to give some details on the terrain and how the bike handled, the smoothness of the ride, where you went and how much you enjoyed it?

If you have another site already devoted to the trip, let me know the link.

I would love to hear about it.

Does anybody have any thoughts as to if they feel my bike, at 1100 miles, is broke in yet or if I am still in that process?

Thanks everyone.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[dduelin]

670cc:

Wow!

A 2K mile trip.

Would you be willing to give some details on the terrain and how the bike handled, the smoothness of the ride, where you went and how much you enjoyed it?

If you have another site already devoted to the trip, let me know the link.

I would love to hear about it.

Does anybody have any thoughts as to if they feel my bike, at 1100 miles, is broke in yet or if I am still in that process?

Thanks everyone.

God bless!!

Michael

The last Honda motorcycle that I owned that even mentioned break-in guidelines suggested to avoid full throttle starts and hard braking for 300 miles. My 2012 NC700X manual doesn't even mention break-in. I'd say you are well beyond any break-in period.

 

[Smallville]

The last Honda motorcycle that I owned that even mentioned break-in guidelines suggested to avoid full throttle starts and hard braking for 300 miles. My 2012 NC700X manual doesn't even mention break-in. I'd say you are well beyond any break-in period.

+1



My best MPG (97.5 mpg) so far, was achieved in the Ozarks at about 50mph running through the curves.

 

[mercurydog47]

Fuel management

I have over 27,000 miles on mine and your MPG experience is about typical. If you are really stretching your range you have to ride slower-about 55-60 miles per hour. That kind of riding will give you 68 MPG but high speed cuts this off dramatically. I use midgrade for no particular reason, I am not mechanically inclined but I just figure these little engines are working hard and the little extra octane may help. Maybe not. One thing for sure, this bike could use an extra gallon in the main tank. I carry 4 30 ounce camp fuel bottles in tractor document cases so I have just shy of a gallon of fairly unhandy reserve. Two cases are bolted on the sides of the top box and two cases go inside the frame of the GIVI Trekker boxes, attached by multiple zip ties.

 

[Beemerphile]

I use midgrade for no particular reason, I am not mechanically inclined but I just figure these little engines are working hard and the little extra octane may help. Maybe not.

The extra octane, if unneeded to prevent knocking, is doing you no good at all. The mileage improvement is somewhere between negligible and negative depending on the additive mix used by the particular fuel supplier to increase the octane rating. The cost difference, however, is significant. Your cents per mile will drop significantly by using regular gas.

 

[VE258]

Yep. I think you nailed it there!

My ideal Hyper-miling ride would be on a long road where I could ease up to
6th gear at 2,500 and stay there for 180 miles at whatever speed the bike can manage at 2,500 in 6th gear.
For me, that's about 47 MPH.

yes. same here. best mileage is on country roads at speed and rmp's above. 2200-2500. i come up with this conclusion after second tank

 

[Olythom]

Yep. I think you nailed it there!

My ideal Hyper-miling ride would be on a long road where I could ease up to
6th gear at 2,500 and stay there for 180 miles at whatever speed the bike can manage at 2,500 in 6th gear.
For me, that's about 47 MPH.

+1 on that. My experience (almost 6,000 miles on a new NC700x/DCT) is like yours. I'm averaging 74 mpg. My best mpg numbers are in 6th gear between 45 and 50 mph with very steady throttle control. My mpg numbers also improve after the bike is well warmed. I commute about 60 miles per day and always see better numbers during the second half of my commute.
But.... Even on my worst 'mpg' days, I am loving this bike. And some of the worst 'mpg' rides are the most beneficial for my spirit!
I did not get to ride for the last three weeks (recovering from dbl hernia operation) and boy, did I miss it. I've been back on the bike for the last two days and feel like a new man.
>T

 

[Ridr44]

Everyone is stating their best mileage...how is it when you blast down the highway at 80 for a few hours? dan

 

[DanH]

Everyone is stating their best mileage...how is it when you blast down the highway at 80 for a few hours? dan

I just ran an IBA Saddle Sore the other weekend with a group of much bigger bikes in some really bad weather including 40+ mph head and cross winds and torrential rains in the mountains. On the highway we averaged between 70 and 80 MPH. Over the course of the trip I got as high as 77 mpg with a tail wind at 80 mph; the same stretch of road after a turn-around into the wind at 80 mph I got 37 mpg. Overall I got 48 mpg. Like I said, I was pushing my bike awfully hard. There were places up long inclines into the wind where I was running at 6000 RPMs in 5th gear to maintain 70-75 MPH.

 

[MiG Angel]

My 80 mile round trip commute consists only of speeds of 70-75 mph and I average 55 mpg. It's been consistent for 25,000 miles

 

[davidc83]

I have over 27,000 miles on mine and your MPG experience is about typical. If you are really stretching your range you have to ride slower-about 55-60 miles per hour. That kind of riding will give you 68 MPG but high speed cuts this off dramatically. I use midgrade for no particular reason, I am not mechanically inclined but I just figure these little engines are working hard and the little extra octane may help. Maybe not. One thing for sure, this bike could use an extra gallon in the main tank. I carry 4 30 ounce camp fuel bottles in tractor document cases so I have just shy of a gallon of fairly unhandy reserve. Two cases are bolted on the sides of the top box and two cases go inside the frame of the GIVI Trekker boxes, attached by multiple zip ties.

Octane does not increase performance; octane is actually an inhibitor. 2 ways of combustion in a engine-1. ignition/spark 2. compression. High performance engines (which our engines are not) produces a ton of compression, the increased octane reduces the compression so the engines do not continue to 'knock' once they are turned off. Back on topic-on my butt burner 1000 last year, riding continuously on the Interstate at 74mph, I averaged 68-69mpg. On my commute to work (76 miles round trip-60 miles of interstate) I ride between 78-80mph. I average approx. 64-65mpg. I am 5'10', weigh approx. 200 lbs, have a 35L topcase and small soft side bags (about 21L each).

 

[treybrad]

Everyone is stating their best mileage...how is it when you blast down the highway at 80 for a few hours? dan

You're looking for this thread - http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-general-discussion/9857-whats-your-worst-fuel-consumption.html

trey

 

[L.B.S.]

Everyone is stating their best mileage...how is it when you blast down the highway at 80 for a few hours? dan

My mpg drops dramatically. Like a lot.

On the other hand, so did that speed drastically effect my last bike, an F800ST. Awesome mpg's at 3,000-ish rpm (roughly 70 mph or less) but high 40's low 50's at 75-80

The difference being, my best on the NCX is over 84 mpg's, and the best on the ST was 65 mpg. At 80 mph the "poor" mpg of the Honda is close to the best I ever got on the beemer.

In town they are both bad, (relatively speaking, lol) I chock this up to me more so than either bikes fault, though.

 

[Shad]

I commute 36 miles into Salt Lake City from the northern suburbs on Interstate 15 in the HOV lane and 36 miles home (72 miles a day). I travel between 70 and 75 miles per hour in S mode. I have averaged 59 miles per gallon. I think my mpg is lower for two reasons. Elevation is above 4,500 ft and I ride in S mode instead of D mode. I've owned the bike for 2 months and have more than 2,000 miles on it.