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. :sour:. 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.
