poor fuel milage

[rgsting]

only had my rt a short while driven only 1600 mi only getting 25 mi to the gal is this about right ?

[boborgera]

only had my rt a short while driven only 1600 mi only getting 25 mi to the gal is this about right ?

How are you checking your mileage.

[Bob Denman]

It seems a bit on the low side...
But there's a lot more info that we'd need to know in order to say that with any conviction.
How hard do you twist your RT's tail? What rpm are you using for a shift point?
What is your typical cruising speed?
How hard are you accelerating up through the gears?
How much of a load are you putting on your RT?
What kind of riding are you doing? Interstates? Secondary roads? The twisties up through the mountains?

How your right wrist dances with the loud grip, will have the largest impact on how sick you feel at each fuel stop...

I normally get between 32 and 37 mpg with my RT; it averages out to a touch over 34 mpg...

[Jbiancolli]

I'm averaging about 30. 1100 miles, 240 lbs. mixed driving

[bullant12]

I've averaged around 30mpg's... and this includes my RT-622 trailer fully loaded.

Keep in mind that the is not like your average motorcycle. It is not designed for fuel saving. Once you get used to running your machine and it gets more milage, you will see that the MPG's will improve.

Oh, and

[WaltH]

Gas mileage can be expected to improve up to about 10,000 miles as the engine loosens up.

[ARtraveler]

Like Bob: I average about 34 mpg on every tank. A combination of highway/and in the city commute driving. I am gentle on my RT--no speeding tickets for me--and usually upshift between 4000 and 5000 rpm's. I try to keep the engine in the 5000 rpm area regardless of gear I am running in.

[NancysToy]

It's a little low, but it usually improves after the Spyder gets a few thousand miles on it. I have averaged 29 mpg over the last 21K miles with my RT, so you are close. Some get more than 30, some less, but 30 is pretty typical. As was said, your mileage depends on a lot of things, including the local gas quality.

[phj]

I get between 34 and 37 mpg's and that is over almost 6,000 miles.

[Bob Denman]

Your typical cruising speed affects these things at the pump by a whole bunch... They push a lot of air around with that wide front end. The faster you go; the faster the fuel runs through those troublesome throttle-bodies!

[flybuddy]

My mileage stunk until I figured out that I was over filling the fuel tank. I kept trying to get it to overflow so I would know where full really is. All I was doing was filling the vapor canister and pissing as much as a gallon or so away. This forum straightened me out. Just got back yesterday from 1300 miles of riding in 2+ days, averaged 35 mpg. Just fill it till you see it at the top of the neck then stop.

[Slybird]

Now that I've gotten almost 10K on my RT, my mileage is on the upswing. The past three or four fill-ups, I've averaged right around 33mpg.

[MarkLawson]

25 sounds right to me. When on the interstate @ about 78 MPH pulling my trailer, I average around 21. I've gotten as high as 36 and as low as 18.4

A\It all depends on the right hand and road and weather conditions.

[jbtoups]

I am using Fuelly.com. I have 73 fill ups for an average of 26.9 with about 6500 miles. I will sure be glad when I see a little better gas milage. When I pull my trailer I get between 21 and 24 mpg. I love the bike but the gas milage really has been less than satisfying. If you look on fuelly for the can-am i think that will give you a real feel for what people are actually getting. So what if someone tells you they got 30 mpg, its what they get over many fuel ups that really count. It seems to me that mid 20's is a more realistic mpg to expect.

[Arr MiHardies]

Ive been using Fuelly as well with over 100 fill ups and about 9500 miles tracked.
Average mpg is 29.1

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/arrmiha...io-convenience

Looking at the graph it is quite clear that in the hot summer months here, my mpg drops by about 4 mpg. In cooler months, I saw over 30 mpg. Its amazing how much difference air temperature can have on fuel economy.

As a note, I have never pulled a trailer.

[NancysToy]

.....Looking at the graph it is quite clear that in the hot summer months here, my mpg drops by about 4 mpg. In cooler months, I saw over 30 mpg. Its amazing how much difference air temperature can have on fuel economy.

It's not all the air temperature. Fuels are formulated differently in the summer and winter. In the summer, the EPA requires them to be less volatile, to reduce evaporative emissions. Less volatility means less heat capacity, which means worse fuel mileage. Much the same effect that adding that stinking ethanol has. There is a trade-off. Colder, denser air in the winter requires more fuel to achive the same air-fuel ratio, so there is a bit of a reduction in that sense. The end result is that seasonal mileage variations are a very localized effect, different for you than for me.

[safecracker]

I have only checked my milage once. I reset the trip meter after fill up, went 124 miles and took 3.2 gallons. I filled up the second time like I did the first. I could of been off a tenth or so. My riding was with my wife and I and averaging 45 to 50 mph. At least half the time we were cruising in 4th gear, with cruise control on. I haven't tried to see what I will get on the turnpike. The speed limit where I live is 75 mph. I will be finding out this weekend.

[bluestratos]

I can range from 25 to a high of 34 depending on how fast I drive, city vs highway, where I buy the fuel, how much wieght I carry, windshield up or down and time of year.

[shelbydave]

When I first got mine, I was around 24. Now at 3600 miles, I'm around 28-30

[Arr MiHardies]

It's not all the air temperature. Fuels are formulated differently in the summer and winter. In the summer, the EPA requires them to be less volatile, to reduce evaporative emissions. Less volatility means less heat capacity, which means worse fuel mileage. Much the same effect that adding that stinking ethanol has. There is a trade-off. Colder, denser air in the winter requires more fuel to achive the same air-fuel ratio, so there is a bit of a reduction in that sense. The end result is that seasonal mileage variations are a very localized effect, different for you than for me.

Colder air is denser as you mentioned, but it is much easier to cause an ignition when there is more air available. Because the air is denser and thus more abundant, more air fits within the combustion chamber, making ignition easier. Should require less fuel. Air density at 120° is about 20% lower than density at 30° (this is not an exaggerated seasonal temperature difference for Vegas). This is an almost direct correlation to the approximately 20% decrease in fuel milage I see in the summer months. Instead of adding more fuel to achieve the needed fuel to air ratio, wouldn't it make more sense to allow less air in instead to achieve the desired ratio?

[NancysToy]

Colder air is denser as you mentioned, but it is much easier to cause an ignition when there is more air available. Because the air is denser and thus more abundant, more air fits within the combustion chamber, making ignition easier. Should require less fuel. Air density at 120° is about 20% lower than density at 30° (this is not an exaggerated seasonal temperature difference for Vegas). This is an almost direct correlation to the approximately 20% decrease in fuel milage I see in the summer months. Instead of adding more fuel to achieve the needed fuel to air ratio, wouldn't it make more sense to allow less air in instead to achieve the desired ratio?

Unfortunately, the sensors and the fuel maps work only off the air pressure and temperature (indirectly calculating air density) and a fixed air-fuel ratio in the mapping. The ECM fine tunes this under certain conditions. How well the mixture fires in the cylinder doesn't matter...only whether or not there is excess fuel in the exhaust during closed loop operation. Perhaps a system could be designed to monitor combustion efficiency and compensate for it, but it doesn't exist on the Spyder. Also keep in mind that the air temperature is not the combustion chamber temperature, which is quite constant once the engine warms up, so combustion efficiencies remain fairly constant. The ratio you have seen is merely coincidence, IMO.

[shelbydave]

Unfortunately, the sensors and the fuel maps work only off the air pressure and temperature (indirectly calculating air density) and a fixed air-fuel ratio in the mapping. The ECM fine tunes this under certain conditions. How well the mixture fires in the cylinder doesn't matter...only whether or not there is excess fuel in the exhaust during closed loop operation. Perhaps a system could be designed to monitor combustion efficiency and compensate for it, but it doesn't exist on the Spyder. Also keep in mind that the air temperature is not the combustion chamber temperature, which is quite constant once the engine warms up, so combustion efficiencies remain fairly constant. The ratio you have seen is merely coincidence, IMO.

Wouldn't the combustion chamber temp vary with the type of driving? I know my EGT's go way up under hard acceleration.

[NancysToy]

Wouldn't the combustion chamber temp vary with the type of driving? I know my EGT's go way up under hard acceleration.

It can, but the chamber temp doesn't vary as much as you think. The water-cooled head keeps things pretty constant. The exhaust gas temp is another story, that can vary considerably.

[Some Guy]

Hi Scotty,
I claim no intelligent knowledge in this conversation. What do you think about the Power Commander V With Auto Tune?

[rock]

we have a 2010 rts-se5 limited ...it started with low mileage also about 26 mpg...at about 10000 miles it increased to 31 mpg...at 15000 miles we put a k+n air filter and a good exhaust on it and now get close to 38 mpg ... thats with me n the wife on it.. we now have 22000 miles on this unit and are thrilled and will never own any other machine but a spyder...so b patient it will come around...also shifting rpms are everything....AK is right around 5000 rpms is an excellent rpm to run the unit at ,,shifting and cruising...be a gentle and safe rider and dont abuse this unit and you will get a life time of pleasure ...good luck and happy riding!!!!