What is the secret.......

[sjcpanther]

To getting better gas mileage?

Looks like I'm getting around 29-30 MPG. Granted I ryde 2-up the majority of the time.

I use 89 mid-grade gas. I tried 93 octane but didn't get any better. Have not tried ethylene-free gas yet.

Now have over 18,000 miles on this RT, so it should be broken in.

Any other things to try? Or should I be satisfied this is the best I'll get?

[Chupaca]

really you are getting good mileage. These machines are not and never were or will be economical on gas. Under a variety of different conditions I have gotten as low as 25 and as high as 40 but on average 33 mpg. If you are looking for a big change you will have to go to the new 14's. There are little things you can do but little will be the change and effect...

[MidTNDawg]

I averaged about 31-32 on my 2012 RT Ltd, but most of my riding was 1 up. I have to say I never really noticed a difference 2 up. My problem was not so much mpg as it was mpt (miles per tank). Man, I love my 2014!

[Dan McNally]

What RPM range do you normally run? I find I get much better mileage around 5300-5500 RPM than under 5000 in a higher gear. Rotax likes high RPMs!

[BikerDoc]

ride with windshield all the way down as much as possible and definitely ride at steady higher rpm. do not shift at low rpm since that wastes power.. I got up to a steady 32 on my 2012 RT but I am now running around 40 on the 2014 so I am in love too

[Bob Denman]

1. Keep your windshield low... reduce aerodynamic drag as much as you can.
2. Roll off the line easy... use as little of your right wrist as you can.
3. High rpms: I don't buy it. Do your shifting so that the next gear has you spinning things fast-enough to protect your clutches.
4. Let the bike handle the downshifting chores. There's no drive-load on anything, so the low rpm levels won't hurt anything...
5. Highway sppeds... slow down! These things are like a barn door; it takes way more power to push them faster!
I was able to consistently get 32 to 33 mpg with my 2010 in this manner.

[Dragonrider]

If you are tall, like I am, keeping the windshield low does nothing at all. When I had my 2010, my average mpg was 22 - 27, when it was stock, using pump gas. Then I did the cat delete, added a Yosh pipe, kept the tires hard, replaced the wires & plugs, and changed to non-ETOH gas. With all of that, I consistently got 34-36 mpg. My new 2014 got 36.8mpg on its first tank.

[ARtraveler]

The answers are going to vary a bit but everything posted above can and will figure in to your numbers.

On my four Rotax 998's I average(d) 30 mpg. Low 28 and high 34. Currently, the 2011 is getting 31-32. We run it at 5000 ballpark rpms.

Averaging 40 mpg on the 2014 ACE.

[Pennyrick]

To getting better gas mileage?

Looks like I'm getting around 29-30 MPG. Granted I ryde 2-up the majority of the time.

I use 89 mid-grade gas. I tried 93 octane but didn't get any better. Have not tried ethylene-free gas yet.

Now have over 18,000 miles on this RT, so it should be broken in.

Any other things to try? Or should I be satisfied this is the best I'll get?

At 29-30 mpg you have already found the secret with a 998 cc Spyder RT.

[robmorg]

To getting better gas mileage?

Looks like I'm getting around 29-30 MPG. Granted I ryde 2-up the majority of the time.

I use 89 mid-grade gas. I tried 93 octane but didn't get any better. Have not tried ethylene-free gas yet.

As Gene said (and the post above), you are already getting better than average mileage with yours - especially with a passenger. Everybody has different answers to this question, which makes me believe that it's all in how you ride it, as well as how much weight you carry. Therefore, plain logic tells me that Bob Denman's response is probably the closest to being on target with respect to getting the best mileage you can.

I usually ride solo and consistently get 25 - 26 mpg on every single tank load (with 25.4 mpg being my running average). And like you it makes absolutely no difference, in my case, what octane level I use. (I usually use 93, because I believe it's better for the engine, but sometimes I'll put in mid-grade - especially if the tank is not near empty.) Everyone says that ethanol-free gas makes a big difference, but it simply is not available, anywhere near where I live - at least according to "pure-gas.org". (There's a phone app for that site which is pretty good, by the way.)

The other reason I believe Bob is that I don't do anything he says to do, and, as you can see, I get TERRIBLE mileage on my 2013 RT. . I usually keep my windshield all the way up ('cause I don't like the wind), but I'm both big and tall, so that probably doesn't make much difference. I like to ride aggressively and use a lot of "wrist action" off the line, and while exiting curves. I often upshift at 6000 rpm's (but never below 5100, which keeps me in the optimum power range). I suspect my mpg may improve dramatically if I lost 50 pounds, took all the extra junk out of the storage compartments that I don't need to carry, and drove like Bob suggests. But for me, the Spyder just wouldn't be as much fun that way.

I try to keep the rpm's at about 5000-5500, downshifting any time I get below 4300. Don't know how that affects gas mileage, if at all, but the machine is noticeably more power efficient and responsive in that range. At 5000 or above, you always have reserve power available.

Bottom line... IMHO, if you want the best possible gas mileage, ride like Bob suggests, and NOT like I ride.

[Bob Denman]

HEY!!
I thought that I was the "Bad Example" in this group...

[robmorg]

HEY!!
I thought that I was the "Bad Example" in this group...

Well, sometimes you surprise even you!

[Bob Denman]

[sduskin]

I have a 2014 RT-S and drive mostly highway miles. I get 38-41 mpg on 91 octane 100% gas. I have the wind screen down most of the time but dont know if that really matters or not. I am 6ft and weigh 306 nekkid so probably 320 in gear.

[BikerDoc]

I have a 2014 RT-S and drive mostly highway miles. I get 38-41 mpg on 91 octane 100% gas. I have the wind screen down most of the time but dont know if that really matters or not. I am 6ft and weigh 306 nekkid so probably 320 in gear.

can we assume that you don't ride "nekkid" to often??

[Bob Denman]

That's a mental image that'll be tough to erase...

[Scooter]

can we assume that you don't ride "nekkid" to often??

When we where riding the Blue Ridge Pky, I got 40mpg pulling a CanAm Trailer. Yes I did...

[Bob Denman]

Okay... but were YOU riding nekkid?

[sduskin]

can we assume that you don't ride "nekkid" to often??

Nah, I dont want to give other riders any excuse to point and laugh!

[Gray Ghost]

On my 2013 I get between 21 and 28. I have found that the further down I run the tank, the worse the gas mileage is. But that is because I have the machine with the super high efficiency heater. Enjoy your ride and huge gas tank.

[Bob Denman]

Between 21, & 28 mpg??
That's unusually low...
Purge valves have been implicated in some of the "low mpg" stories...
it might be worth a look?


Orrrr.... are you simply riding it like you stole it?

[OldCowboy]

This thread kinda reminds me of the Porsche 944 we had when I was stationed in Germany. We were rolling down the Autobahn one day at about 120 MPH, with my wife driving. I turned to her and said, "You know, we'd get better gas mileage if you'd slow down a bit." She gave me one of "those" looks and said, "Are you an idiot or what? Nobody buys a Porsche for good gas mileage."

That's kinda the way it is with the Spyder RT. If you were looking for great mileage you chose poorly.

[smcconnel]

hum i must be still in the break in period.....yes...only 1600 miles....fill ups are usually around 29-31 so far. i get about 145-155mi per tank. I dont hot dog but I dont granny it either.

I wonder though if my rpm's are too low.....i usually have tried to shift around what Bob suggested....but it hasnt' really affected the mileage. The only thing that seems to "boost" mileage is taking the highway most of the time obviously instead of the back roads......

but i'm also fighting the right pull issue...so that might be some of my issue.

[SpyderAnn01]

You pull the throttle hard and your gas mileage goes down. That's all there is to it. I know as I get lousy mileage unless I'm stuck on a slow road.

[Bob Denman]

The secret : SLOW DOWN!