Gas mileage

[faithit]

my spyder has just over 3,000 miles on it now & i'm wondering how others are doing regarding gas mileage. my machine is getting just over 30mpg. is this about average? any ideas on how to increase that--i'm not an aggressive or hard-charging rider & don't abuse the machine.
thanks
rw

[daddydarko]

my spyder has just over 3,000 miles on it now & i'm wondering how others are doing regarding gas mileage. my machine is getting just over 30mpg. is this about average? any ideas on how to increase that--i'm not an aggressive or hard-charging rider & don't abuse the machine.
thanks
rw

I average a little under what you're getting and that seems to be the norm (28-33 mpg). I haven't noticed a significant impact on mileage by driving aggressively though (e.g. jack rabbit starts, city driving) . I DID, however, notice a pretty big difference when I drove 90mph+ for an extended period of time. That got me closer to 20!

[NancysToy]

Ditto, around thirty or less.
-Scotty

[docdoru]

32 m/g average (Hindle, Supreme gas and no Ethanol mixture). Agree with Wolf Spyder: long rides on intersates over/around 90 mph is worst than the city!

[spyderbitten]

I've averaged a little over 30mpg in my everyday commutes to and from work. I took a 200 mile trip last weekend on

interstate hwy with speed kept between 60 & 65 and averaged just a tad over 40mpg.

[LittleJohn]

Everyone should keep in mind when comparing their milage to someone elses, hat different additives in different areas of the country, as well as different altitudes, etc. all play into the mileage you will get. If your with 5 mpg or so of someone else, then your probably not having any mechanical issues.

If anyone starts quoting 40+ mpg, and can prove it, Ill be interogating them for how they did it for sure.

[mike3069]

I've been tracking milage since day one. The worst I've gotten was second tankfull @ 27.5mpg ( I don't think I got it full the first tank). The best was coming back from Homecoming riding thru Vermont @ 37.25mpg.

With 2500+ miles on now it seems to be bouncing around, depending on riding conditions, plus or minus 1 either side of 35mpg. I am not terribly aggressive anymore, but I do know how to have "fun" with my right hand still!

[daddydarko]

but I do know how to have "fun" with my right hand still!

Welcome to married life.

[dbnc]

Welcome to married life.

:bigthumbsup: now that's funny and sad at the same time :a20:

[bjeffrey]

Pre-first checkup at 700 miles I was getting 29.5, I was pretty disappointed. Right after that it jumped to 33.5 mpg and I was running it with alot of quick takeoffs and highway speeds (70 - 85).

The wife and I took a road trip 100 miles, 60 @ 70 mph and 40 @ 50 mph we averaged 34.5 mpg with 2 people on it.

[Dwight]

Spyderbitten,

I don't know where you're from but if you road 60 - 65mph on an Interstate around here (KS) somebody would have run over you! Be carefull out there!!, besides you'll have more fun on the 2 lane roads.

Dwight

[spyderbitten]

Dwight,

I ride 52 miles round trip to work and various trips on I-70 at 60-65mph with no problem. I started doing that months ago in my Ford Powerstroke diesel to conserve fuel. It has since become a habit. I have had no troubles
so far. I figure if people want to pass, that is what the other lane is for. People will pass regardless of your speed.
I committed long ago to not let the driver behind me dictate how fast I drive. I'am in Missouri.

Mike

[Danimal]

Never kept track of it... never will. When I get down to 2 bars... I refill.

Considering all of us spent over $15,000 of disposable income on this toy.... complaining about $$$ on gas is a moot issue IMO.


Put it this way..... did anyone out here really buy a Spyder because they wanted to save $$$ on gas????

No way...... It would take forever to make back the $15,000 you invested in the Spyder.... in Gas Savings.

[daddydarko]

Put it this way..... did anyone out here really buy a Spyder because they wanted to save $$$ on gas????

No, that's just what I said to justify the purchase to Wifey.

[bjt]

Put it this way..... did anyone out here really buy a Spyder because they wanted to save $$$ on gas????

No way...... It would take forever to make back the $15,000 you invested in the Spyder.... in Gas Savings.

I did. At least that was one of the reasons. My "winter ride" only gets 12 MPG or so. This is so much better and more fun.

[trumphair]

One of the most commonly asked questions for me is "What's the MPG?" I realize BRP started design work on this when nobody gave a crap about gas prices, but in today's environment it could be a huge selling point for a lot of people.

[csmead]

I randomly check mileage as a way to check engine performance. Figure if the motor is about to go belly-up, mileage will seriously decrease. I have got as good as 40 mpg (long trip w/mountains) and less than 30 mpg (with all city driving). I would agree that the first few weeks, I got about 25-28 mpg. I just turned over 5,000 miles...I think it's broke in now.

[Danimal]

Well.. obviously if you are buying a new vehicle because you NEED one anyway.... you are going to consider MPG....

But you have to be realistic....

Let's look at bjt's example.

Previous car got 12 mpg.
(3 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Spyder gets 35 mpg.
(8.75 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Difference of 23 MPG
(5.75 miles per dollar)

Price of Spyder - out the door - $ 17,500 + any extras....

Current price of gas..... $4.00/Gallon.

So you are getting an extra 5.75 miles on the Spyder for every dollar you spend.

In order to SAVE $17,500 in gas... you would have to ride an additional 100,625 miles (17,500 x 5.75) in order to just pay for the purchase price of the Spyder.

That doesn't include maintenance,insurance, etc.

These are just round figures.... but you get the idea......

The other factor is that I have found a 2 mile trip to the store takes at 30 miles on the Spyder...... ;D


No way did anyone buy a Spyder with saving MPG as the main reason....

[COSpyder]

I am getting 35 consistently. I only have 2000 miles on the bike and I have only ridden at high altitude. I have no idea if that makes it better or worse. My other vehicle is a MINI and it gets about the same in the city so I also did not buy it for anything but fun.

[Danimal]

I would think you would get better MPG at a higher altitude.....

[dltang]

Well.. obviously if you are buying a new vehicle because you NEED one anyway.... you are going to consider MPG....

But you have to be realistic....

Let's look at bjt's example.

Previous car got 12 mpg.
(3 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Spyder gets 35 mpg.
(8.75 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Difference of 23 MPG
(5.75 miles per dollar)

Price of Spyder - out the door - $ 17,500 + any extras....

Current price of gas..... $4.00/Gallon.

So you are getting an extra 5.75 miles on the Spyder for every dollar you spend.

In order to SAVE $17,500 in gas... you would have to ride an additional 100,625 miles (17,500 x 5.75) in order to just pay for the purchase price of the Spyder.

That doesn't include maintenance,insurance, etc.

These are just round figures.... but you get the idea......

The other factor is that I have found a 2 mile trip to the store takes at 30 miles on the Spyder...... ;D


No way did anyone buy a Spyder with saving MPG as the main reason....

One flaw in your theory. The gas saving in mpg does not need to be figured as a payoff for the vehicle. If you have a weekly gas budget as an example, weather you are talking the Spyder, a motorcycle or a car that gets better mpg than your current vehicle, you are going to save weekly on your cost of fuel. We live with somewhat of a budget, nothing extreme and we don't alway follow it to the tee. But if we were budgeting $50 a week for fuel and only getting 12mpg and now we are getting 30 mph, there is going to be weekly savings in our budget. Just because you consider the mpg as part of a reason to buy a vehicle doesn't mean you are going to use that as your whole justification in the purchase.

We really liked the Spyders, we liked the looks and the safety features. Did we buy them solely for increased mpg, no. But if we had been told they are only going to get 15-20 mpg I don't think we would have bought them. I think I would have gone with the Bergman 450 or 600. The 30+ mpg did make a difference in my choice. It is better than my car and more fun to drive and safer than a conventional motorcycle, I had to figure in a lot of factors. Yes it is a toy, but it is also a primary form of transportation for me. I plan on riding it 9 months out of the year. I realize you don't like to ride in the rain or poor weather, I will dress accordingly and go out in whatever. Until the snow flies, I am riding the Spyder. You may not understand this thought process but that is my reason and explanation.

[joelin]

when I hit the red light .I always turn off my bike , if I know it will take more than 6 seconds for stopping time .
There is a report about turn off your engine more than 6 seconds then restart you will save gas and cleaning air .I think it is not only save gas and clean air but also cool down your engine too.

[Danimal]

I understand what you are saying Deb..... I just look at the big picture... and having a $ 500 a month Spyder payment would be hard to offset with weekly gas savings.


joelin ..... turning your bike off at red lights is NOT SAFE.

You need to be running in case something happens and you need to move quickly.

The electric fan may not run when the bike is turned off - I'm unsure on the Spyder - but if that is the case you could cause problems overheating.

Motorcycles do not do a good job of charging the battery... hence why most use a Battery Tender when parked at night. If you stop and start your bike a lot you are only draining the battery more and more.

[trumphair]

Well.. obviously if you are buying a new vehicle because you NEED one anyway.... you are going to consider MPG....

But you have to be realistic....

Let's look at bjt's example.

Previous car got 12 mpg.
(3 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Spyder gets 35 mpg.
(8.75 miles per dollar @ $4.00/gallon)

Difference of 23 MPG
(5.75 miles per dollar)

Price of Spyder - out the door - $ 17,500 + any extras....

Current price of gas..... $4.00/Gallon.

So you are getting an extra 5.75 miles on the Spyder for every dollar you spend.

In order to SAVE $17,500 in gas... you would have to ride an additional 100,625 miles (17,500 x 5.75) in order to just pay for the purchase price of the Spyder.

That doesn't include maintenance,insurance, etc.

These are just round figures.... but you get the idea......

The other factor is that I have found a 2 mile trip to the store takes at 30 miles on the Spyder...... ;D


No way did anyone buy a Spyder with saving MPG as the main reason....

It doesn't make sense to compare your fuel savings to the total cost of the Spyder because it's not going to depreciate to zero (hopefully not anytime soon anyway!). I bought the Spyder mostly as a toy but also as a more efficient transportation alternative (I'm about 14 MPG otherwise). If the Spyder got 14 MPG I wouldn't have bought it, and if it got 50 or 60 MPG I would have definitely been willing to pay more.

[ataDude]

...

joelin ..... turning your bike off at red lights is NOT SAFE.

You need to be running in case something happens and you need to move quickly....

+1 Absolutely...plus in first gear, clutch in, ready to go to a predetermined safe spot.