RT Limited

[AllanZ]

Does anyone have an idea about what kind of gas mileage I should expect on my 2013 RT Limited. I am currently getting only about 25-26 mph.

[Jeriatric]

https://www.fuelly.com/motorcycle/can-am/spyder%20rt-s

[warp10]

It should improve to about 30 mpg after it is broken in 4k - 6k miles

[Chupaca]

there are a lot of variables when it comes to this question. There are a lot of threads referring to this same question. You didn't mention how many miles you have on your roadster but as mentioned it does get better as the engine breaks in. We can get from 25 to 38 depending on weather roads and loads etc. On average we get 33 on our RS. Strangely running at higher rpm's helps our milage as well. These were never advertised as economical vehilcles and the small tank compared to cars make us feel the range is lacking. We stop every hundred miles anyway and can get 180+ on a tank. Don't worry it will get better...!!

[SpyderAnn01]

It should improve to about 30 mpg after it is broken in 4k - 6k miles

Or not.

[lwrydr]

I have a 2013 RT Limited and get between 30 - 32. It has 2800 miles on it.

[Bob Denman]

This'll have a lot more to do with how your right wrist is tickling the loud grip; than anything else.
I was getting 33mpg with my 2010 RT

[finless]

Pretty consistant 33 mpg for me on my 2011 RTS with 3600 miles on it now..
It was less in the first 2K miles (about 30).

Bob

[AllanZ]

there are a lot of variables when it comes to this question. There are a lot of threads referring to this same question. You didn't mention how many miles you have on your roadster but as mentioned it does get better as the engine breaks in. We can get from 25 to 38 depending on weather roads and loads etc. On average we get 33 on our RS. Strangely running at higher rpm's helps our milage as well. These were never advertised as economical vehilcles and the small tank compared to cars make us feel the range is lacking. We stop every hundred miles anyway and can get 180+ on a tank. Don't worry it will get better...!!

I sincerely hope so. My bike only has 700 miles (so far). Getting ready to take it in tomorrow for service. I had a 1700 cc Yamaha and it got 40 mpg. We live in Florida, so we don't experience to many hills and usually light winds.

[AllanZ]

Pretty consistant 33 mpg for me on my 2011 RTS with 3600 miles on it now..
It was less in the first 2K miles (about 30).

Bob

That sounds pretty good. Right now, we are very new, only 700 miles. Thirty three would be nice.

[ARtraveler]

My experience has been 30 to 31 mpg with all the 's listed below. As others have mentioned, there are a lot of factors involved, but one of the biggies has to do with driving style. IMO.

The average includes 28 mpg at the low end and 34 mpg at the high end. Once on each event.

[3 Wheel Addict]

I only have 1600 miles on my 13 RT/S and the best I have got so far is 35mpg but average is 32-34 range. I don't ride it like I stole it.

[Magdave]

I only have 1600 miles on my 13 RT/S and the best I have got so far is 35mpg but average is 32-34 range. I don't ride it like I stole it.

Never seen anything close to that and I hypermile. 2100mi now and best I have seen on a 2hr highway ride at~60mph was 28mpg.

[oneway]

28000 miles on my 2011rts. Record every fill up and average 27 mpg.

[3 Wheel Addict]

Never seen anything close to that and I hypermile. 2100mi now and best I have seen on a 2hr highway ride at~60mph was 28mpg.

I will NOT ride the highway, don't like being forced to run 80 mph. I'm mostly running back roads between 50 and 60. Out of the 1600 miles I have less than 20 of those are on the highway. Can't explain the difference though?? I keep track of all my fill-ups on longer rides and that is the average I'm getting, last long ride was 125 miles and topping the tank off after took 3.9 gallons so the math puts that at 32mpg and that was the ride I did with Cyncyspider and the group to Cynthiana Kentucky.

[NancysToy]

There are a lot of variables involved with fuel mileage. Yours is within the accepted normal range, but slightly below average. Two of the biggest factors with the Spyder RT are speed and the windshield. You will get significantly lower mileage at 70-80 mph than you will at 50-60. If the windshield is raised, your mileage will drop. The 2010 will see an increase in fuel mileage if you replace the windshield with the smaller 2011 & up version and also replace the wind deflectors with the newer version. You should expect to gain about a mile per gallon. Other factors are altitude, air temperature, shift points, and how much you twist the throttle. Be sure you are shifting at 4500-5000 rpm or higher and that your cruising rpm remains above 4K. If not, your clutch could be slipping if you have an SE and your engine is also not operating at its peak efficiency. Both can lower mileage significantly. As was said, fuel mileage usually increases after you have a few thousand miles on the odometer.

[Bob Denman]

I sincerely hope so. My bike only has 700 miles (so far). Getting ready to take it in tomorrow for service. I had a 1700 cc Yamaha and it got 40 mpg. We live in Florida, so we don't experience to many hills and usually light winds.

Nothing in your prior riding experience can be farily compared to the Spyder.
Your Yammie got much better mileage because it was lighter and had less aerodynamic and rolling drag...

[NancysToy]

Nothing in your prior riding experience can be farily compared to the Spyder.
Your Yammie got much better mileage because it was lighter and had less aerodynamic and rolling drag...

Exactly, pushing a barn door down the road takes a lot more power than slicing through the air with a knife. It is all about the drag...aerodynamic for the most part, but friction enters into it too.

[finless]

FYI I am sure the amount of methenol if the gas has something to do with it too.
I have driven my SUV 4 times from Socal to Indianapolis over the past 5 years and gas in Oklahoma was terrible! Worst gas mileage I have ever seen due to methenol levels in that state. As I recall it was like 35%?

Bob

[dangme55]

Exactly, pushing a barn door down the road takes a lot more power than slicing through the air with a knife. It is all about the drag...aerodynamic for the most part, but friction enters into it too.

I have a 2013 RTS-SE5. Overall I get about 27-28 mpg. I think that is comparable to most motorcycles. I did a 300 mile trip this weekend with my Harley buddies and we all had about the same 'legs.' Stopped for fuel pretty much in sync.

There are exceptions to mpg vs engine size. I traded a Victory Vision Tour in for the Spyder. It got 40-45 mpg pretty consistently - that big 1731 CC engine just loafed at 2,000 rpm and it had a true overdrive. Its legs were way longer than my butt enjoyed. LOL My corvette which is both aero slick and drops to 1700 rpm at 75 mph also gets a counter-intuitive 28-30 mpg at 75+ mph. I love poking the Honda drivers with that one. I guess I am mean.

What everyone has been saying is right on.

What uses up energy?
1. Weight is not really a big factor - in a perfect world once you accelerated you could shut off the engine and go forever. (Like space vehicles do now in a near perfect vacuum)
2. Friction uses up energy - there are two kinds of friction - rolling and internal. Rolling friction is from your tire grip, bearings, etc. all those things we lubricate to keep moving.
3. Internal friction - all the above applies to inside the engine it has internal friction from all its moving parts (this goes down some after breakin hence mpg gain)
4. Get really picky and you can also add the power needed to produce electricity from the magneto - that ain't free either
5. The biggest culprit is what we pilots call parasitic drag. All that frontal area (more than a motorcycle - two 'open' wheels , the windshield and the rider(s) all contribute. I don't know what the coefficient of drag is for the Spyder but i am sure it is not .23 +/- like my corvette and most newer cars. The really bad news (speed kills) is that the parasitic drag goes up with the square of the velocity change. So drag at 60 mph is 4 times what it is at 30. That is what kills the top end on a vehicle at some point drag = available power and there ain't no mo' push. LOL

NancysToy and the others are correct in rpm range too. The clutch does not fully engage (stall) until 3200 rpm +/- so you are wasting fuel and wearing the clutch both if you are not above that. This engine makes peak power around 5,000 rpm so everyone is correct there as well. peak power implies best volumetric efficiency so best fuel burn to power ratio around that range.

When you go to the dealer for service BUDS will give you a read out of how much time you spent in various rpm ranges. So if you are 'lugging' and not staying where this engine is happiest 4000-6000 rpm the BUDS system will 'rat you out' - ask me how I know lol.

Bottom line just have fun and don't worry about the mpg.