1st big day (350 miles) , mpg, etc

[Triumphcycleman]

ok, so I trailered to Virginia, rode for 358 miles in one day and here is what I learned. (ok 358 miles isn't huge but it was COLD FOR GODS SAKE!)
First, 28 degrees is pretty damn cold to start off a ride. I was dressed for it, and my heated grips were a godsend, but it was still cold....
Second, my first tank of fuel was 87 octane, and I rode pretty darn aggressively. I was determined to get south as quickly as possible so I rode hard and fast in sport mode. Mixture of highway and 2 lane. Got exactly 164 miles and ran out of gas. I carried a spare gallon just for this occasion so I got 29.8 mpg. On my next leg of the journey, I put in 90 octane ethanol free gas and rode sensibly while in ECO mode. I got exactly 213 miles till it ran out. That came out to 38.7 mpg. Pretty happy about that, considering I still rode pretty fast over the same highway/2 lane mix. Also, considering the bike still hasn't hit 1000 miles, the mileage should see 40 when broken in. Hear is what else i learned. The fuel gauge shows full or nearly full until it hits 100 miles, then moves pretty predictably to empty. At empty, it takes 5.5 gallons.
Third, the windshield, hand guards and saddle bag work well.
Fourth, it is at least as comfortable as an F3 or F3-S to travel 1 up on. Very comparable in fatigue to the arms/back and actually better for the legs because I was able to easily change the peg locations (which we all know changes the pressure points). It is really, really sweet from 65-75 mph with virtually no noise or vibration. I wear ear plugs, so the noticeable engine noise from 25-45 mph (compared to the F3) was a non issue.
Fifth, even 55 degrees is pretty cold at highway speed. I peeled a few layers in the afternoon, then decided to layer up again. Why feel cold, right? I guess I am getting old.
Sixth. It is not an RT or F3 limited. If you want that level of plushness then they are the way to go. I prefer sport tourers, dual sports and naked sport bikes so this Ryker is right up my alley. I am sure now that I can ride it distances with ease. I wasn't sure until yasterday. PA to WA here I come this summer.

[cueman]

You da man! Good job! cueman

[Zip]

Good job. But a few comments. You changed multiple variables so it is hard to compare apples to apples. The other thing about the fuel using the same grade there is a difference between up north and in the south. This time of year up north we have winter grade fuel which gets less MPG than the grade fuel (which is like our summer grade) in the south.

[old Timer]

Thanks, excellent report.

[chris56]

I ordered one - without any tests - sounds great !!!!

[ARtraveler]

Great report. Thanks.

[Chupaca]

Glad you made it over there and were able to get a respectable ryde in and getting some much appriciated spec's for those waiting for their rykers to arrive and the weather to clear for others. Thanks....enjoy the rest of your trip ...

[blacklightning]

Glad to hear that you like the bike. Very good ride report, and sounds like it performed to, or above your expectations.
One question, I heard that it is bad to run the gas tank dry on a car or bike, as some of them use the fuel to cool the fuel pump. I have also hear that it could stir up anything that could be in the bottom of the tank, and cause problems. Is that something to be concerned about?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Good job. But a few comments. You changed multiple variables so it is hard to compare apples to apples. The other thing about the fuel using the same grade there is a difference between up north and in the south. This time of year up north we have winter grade fuel which gets less MPG than the grade fuel (which is like our summer grade) in the south.

………… but …………….. Driving a set Loop with the temps and type of driving, using miles checked with the Odo and gals used will get the best results ………. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd once it's broken in things should get better ……………. For very cold operation get Snowmoblie Hippo Hand covers. ………...Because I got Frostbite in my hands 30+ years ago they are super sensitive to cold temps …. I have Hippo Hands attached to the top of my Ski poles ….. Yep it looks stupid - but at below 0F temps I can still ski for 2+ hours without going in to warm my hands …………… be smart - not tough , it feels better ………...Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Glad to hear that you like the bike. Very good ride report, and sounds like it performed to, or above your expectations.
One question, I heard that it is bad to run the gas tank dry on a car or bike, as some of them use the fuel to cool the fuel pump. I have also hear that it could stir up anything that could be in the bottom of the tank, and cause problems. Is that something to be concerned about?

Not imho ….. you have to do this fairly often to cause long term damage …… yes the gas does cool the fuel pump & that will stop when you go empty, but then the engine stops running ( right ) so the cooling doesn't need to occur - the engine is stopped …….. Anything at the bottom of the Tank remains there ( other than water etc ) ….that's why spyders ( and other veh's ) have fuel FILTERS …. If there is Sooooooooooo much crap in your tank the filter will CLOG and the engine will stop because of fuel starvation - not because the injectors have sucked in some terrible stuff …….. Mike

[Peter Aawen]

...... I heard that it is bad to run the gas tank dry on a car or bike, as some of them use the fuel to cool the fuel pump. I have also hear that it could stir up anything that could be in the bottom of the tank, and cause problems. Is that something to be concerned about?

It's not just SOME, blacklightning, it's Pretty much ALL vehicles with a modern fuel injection system! And that goes especially so for those vehicles with their fuel pump actually IN the fuel tank!

Is it something you need to be concerned about? Short answer is YES, you really should try to avoid running the tank down until the engine starts to splutter from fuel surge or low levels, and you should definitely try to avoid running it dry/until the engine stops, altho you might get away with either if they happen only a couple of times or so - but that's not a definitive or guaranteed measure.

Longer answer? Sure, you might 'get away with it' if you only run out of gas once or twice or so on a newish machine with a (supposedly) clean gas tank, but these high pressure &/or immersed fuel pumps work with microscopically fine tolerances, and if there's not enough fuel left in the tank to cool the pump adequately, the spinning parts that normally ALMOST touch will very quickly start to overheat & expand; &/or the odd bit of contaminant in the dregs that's small enough to slip thru the filters (and it is there!) will get caught between those parts & either crunch into tiny bits of grinding paste or; if it's liquid like water condensate (ie, molecules that no filter can catch) will flash off into a molecule of superheated steam & let the two surfaces it's between instantly weld together and just as fast rip apart again, leaving a tiny divot & a corresponding tiny raised lump of metal; in either case introducing defects that will continue to create further damage to those components as the pump continues running.

So yeah, the pump WILL suffer microscopic and irreversible damage pretty much every time you let the fuel level get too low or dry! Do that once or twice, you probably won't notice any consequent drop in performance; do it half a dozen times or so & if you are lucky and looking for it, you might notice the vehicle isn't getting quite the same fuel economy it did once nor performing quite as well as it used to, but it'll be hard to quantify without careful measurements; but do it much more often than that &/or you are unlucky & it happens much sooner, the accumulated damage is likely to start becoming increasingly noticeable to all but the most oblivious of riders/drivers - and by the stage that it IS noticeable, then no matter how much injector cleaner you run thru the tank once the pump is damaged, it's not going to go away short of a pump replacement or a full rebuild! And I won't go into the specifics of the damage that can (& very likely will eventually - or possibly a lot sooner) occur further along in the injection system; suffice to say that it too probably starts out small but this damage can escalate rapidly into really expensive damage if you aren't lucky!

All of which is why most vehicles with modern fuel injection systems have warnings in their user manuals not to let them run out of gas and why the low fuel warning light comes on when there's still a fairly generous amount of fuel remaining! It's REALLY not a good idea to let the fuel level get too low on these modern fuel injection systems!

So how lucky do you feel?

[Winnex3]

ok, so I trailered to Virginia, rode for 358 miles in one day and here is what I learned. (ok 358 miles isn't huge but it was COLD FOR GODS SAKE!)
First, 28 degrees is pretty damn cold to start off a ride. I was dressed for it, and my heated grips were a godsend, but it was still cold....
Second, my first tank of fuel was 87 octane, and I rode pretty darn aggressively. I was determined to get south as quickly as possible so I rode hard and fast in sport mode. Mixture of highway and 2 lane. Got exactly 164 miles and ran out of gas. I carried a spare gallon just for this occasion so I got 29.8 mpg. On my next leg of the journey, I put in 90 octane ethanol free gas and rode sensibly while in ECO mode. I got exactly 213 miles till it ran out. That came out to 38.7 mpg. Pretty happy about that, considering I still rode pretty fast over the same highway/2 lane mix. Also, considering the bike still hasn't hit 1000 miles, the mileage should see 40 when broken in. Hear is what else i learned. The fuel gauge shows full or nearly full until it hits 100 miles, then moves pretty predictably to empty. At empty, it takes 5.5 gallons.
Third, the windshield, hand guards and saddle bag work well.
Fourth, it is at least as comfortable as an F3 or F3-S to travel 1 up on. Very comparable in fatigue to the arms/back and actually better for the legs because I was able to easily change the peg locations (which we all know changes the pressure points). It is really, really sweet from 65-75 mph with virtually no noise or vibration. I wear ear plugs, so the noticeable engine noise from 25-45 mph (compared to the F3) was a non issue.
Fifth, even 55 degrees is pretty cold at highway speed. I peeled a few layers in the afternoon, then decided to layer up again. Why feel cold, right? I guess I am getting old.
Sixth. It is not an RT or F3 limited. If you want that level of plushness then they are the way to go. I prefer sport tourers, dual sports and naked sport bikes so this Ryker is right up my alley. I am sure now that I can ride it distances with ease. I wasn't sure until yasterday. PA to WA here I come this summer.

thank you Triumphcycleman that was a very good review I have had mine going on three weeks now and between the weather and vacation I have not even drove it a foot out of my garage sense They delivered it to my house can’t wait for that day to try it out

[blacklightning]

It's not just SOME, blacklightning, it's Pretty much ALL vehicles with a modern fuel injection system! And that goes especially so for those vehicles with their fuel pump actually IN the fuel tank!

Is it something you need to be concerned about? Short answer is YES, you really should try to avoid running the tank down until the engine starts to splutter from fuel surge or low levels, and you should definitely try to avoid running it dry/until the engine stops, altho you might get away with either if they happen only a couple of times or so - but that's not a definitive or guaranteed measure.

Longer answer? Sure, you might 'get away with it' if you only run out of gas once or twice or so on a newish machine with a (supposedly) clean gas tank, but these high pressure &/or immersed fuel pumps work with microscopically fine tolerances, and if there's not enough fuel left in the tank to cool the pump adequately, the spinning parts that normally ALMOST touch will very quickly start to overheat & expand; &/or the odd bit of contaminant in the dregs that's small enough to slip thru the filters (and it is there!) will get caught between those parts & either crunch into tiny bits of grinding paste or; if it's liquid like water condensate (ie, molecules that no filter can catch) will flash off into a molecule of superheated steam & let the two surfaces it's between instantly weld together and just as fast rip apart again, leaving a tiny divot & a corresponding tiny raised lump of metal; in either case introducing defects that will continue to create further damage to those components as the pump continues running.

So yeah, the pump WILL suffer microscopic and irreversible damage pretty much every time you let the fuel level get too low or dry! Do that once or twice, you probably won't notice any consequent drop in performance; do it half a dozen times or so & if you are lucky and looking for it, you might notice the vehicle isn't getting quite the same fuel economy it did once nor performing quite as well as it used to, but it'll be hard to quantify without careful measurements; but do it much more often than that &/or you are unlucky & it happens much sooner, the accumulated damage is likely to start becoming increasingly noticeable to all but the most oblivious of riders/drivers - and by the stage that it IS noticeable, then no matter how much injector cleaner you run thru the tank once the pump is damaged, it's not going to go away short of a pump replacement or a full rebuild! And I won't go into the specifics of the damage that can (& very likely will eventually - or possibly a lot sooner) occur further along in the injection system; suffice to say that it too probably starts out small but this damage can escalate rapidly into really expensive damage if you aren't lucky!

All of which is why most vehicles with modern fuel injection systems have warnings in their user manuals not to let them run out of gas and why the low fuel warning light comes on when there's still a fairly generous amount of fuel remaining! It's REALLY not a good idea to let the fuel level get too low on these modern fuel injection systems!

So how lucky do you feel?

Thank you for explaining that. The real reason I ask is because my 2nd generation Vmax only has a 4 gallon tank. And on average it gets about 25-28 mpg. So at about the 80 mile mark, the low fuel light comes on. At that point, the tripometer also starts to count over from there, so you know how many miles you have driven since the low fuel (or last gallon) came on. Typically, I will go until about 100 miles if I know where the service stations are. At that point, it takes between 3.4 & 3.6 gallons to fill up. I want to take about a 1 liter container, for those just in case moments, but pray that I never need them. All my other bikes (the vmax is number 16) have always gotten between 180-200 miles to a tank. Getting used to this 100 mile max is taking some practice.
Thanks Again.

[Triumphcycleman]

Great point. It was filled with PA winter grade 87 when I left, and I can't imagine the 90 octane ethanol free was anything but good stuff. I was actually pretty excited to find it at this little bitty gas station in Natural Bridge, VA so I really didn't think it thru!

[Triumphcycleman]

Not too worried about damaging the fuel pump. When they come from the factory, many don't have enough fuel to run, so the pumps are empty, and they run electric cycle tests on them prior to shipping. Since 2009, I don't think I have ever sold a fuel pump.

[Triumphcycleman]

The bike has exceeded my expectations. One benefit of being a dealership owner is I have been able to take advantage of the demonstrator program. Every year, I get to ride the newest, latest, greatest whatever. So, I have thousands of miles on every Spyder model made, and i have formed what i think are "educated" opinions. In 20 years in business, and 50 years of riding I have only bought and actually owned a dozen or so bikes. A couple of Triumph's, BMW's, some motocross bikes, a couple dual sports, and now a Ryker. The Sunday ride went a long way toward validating my decision. It's a keeper.

[cowdrey11]

What seat do you have and how was that long of a ride with it?

[Triumphcycleman]

Stock seat. I had a saddleman tour pack sitting on the rear seat that acted like a back rest for me. It was comfy!