Gas Mileage

[Trickie Dick]

Anyone see the big touring bike comparison. https://autos.yahoo.com/news/compared--three-american-v-twin-touring-baggers-182647272.html
What I though was interesting was the gas mileage on these bikes. Over the years I've read so many posts about how poor the mileage was on our RTs compared to other big bikes. It sure doesn't appear to be so.

 

[Chupaca]

Not great...

I have always said...if anyone got a big twin for economy they missed their mark...ours is somewhat under but not bad compared to many of the cars we drive. The new 1330 ace is much better and surpasses the twins big time. But an interesting write up...thanks :2thumbs:

 

[ARtraveler]

I have always been a lover of "big iron." If I still had use of my hip, I would be all over the Indian Roadmaster. I would still be a :ani29: owner. Not willing to part with my RT.

When I had my Yamaha Venture, the Kawi Voyager, the Kawi Vulcan Nomad, and the Vulcan 2000 LTD, fuel economy was never a consideration in my purchase. I liked the big engines, the bling, and the feeling of "owning" the open road.

Glad to see the current 1330 now gives "reasonable" as in high 30's/low 40's in the mpg. Always got mid 40's on the other big iron.

 

[Bob Denman]

There's two things that guys will lie about:
One; is the fuel mileage that they get
The other; we can't talk about in here... pps:



Thanks for posting that article! :thumbup:

 

[ARtraveler]

There's two things that guys will lie about:
One; is the fuel mileage that they get
The other; we can't talk about in here... pps:



Thanks for posting that article! :thumbup:

Me lie! :yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:

 

[SPYDERGUY1]

gas mileage

did not buy my spyder for gas mileage or lack there of. It is what is is, whether gas is 50 cents or 5 bucks. I will ride either way. just like a daily driver , you want to drive, SUCK IT UP. jmo.

 

[jimnsusie]

My 14 rt consistently gets much better mileage than the HD trikes that I ride with and a lot less noise.

 

[Professor]

The chart also listed top speed for each of the three. Anyone know what the official top speed is for Spyder models? I don't plan on going there, but since my RT speedometer goes to 200 :yikes:, I'm just curious.

 

[opiewhan]

Agree

did not buy my spyder for gas mileage or lack there of. It is what is is, whether gas is 50 cents or 5 bucks. I will ride either way. just like a daily driver , you want to drive, SUCK IT UP. jmo.

Bought my Spyder:spyder2: to RIDE..2 out of 3 people ask about the mileage..Why?? All I say is "Dont really know I just fill the tank and ride"..hyea::2thumbs:

 

[missouriboy]

...my RT speedometer goes to 200 :yikes:

200! Yeah, but 200 what? Yards per minute? :dontknow:

My RT top speed so far is 106mph. With a tailwind. (That would be about 170kph, I guess.) opcorn:

 

[bill7259]

Mileage

There's two things that guys will lie about:
One; is the fuel mileage that they get
The other; we can't talk about in here... pps:



Thanks for posting that article! :thumbup:

Mine (2012 RT) gets 29-30. Don't mind it, but would be nice if the fuel tank had more capacity.

 

[robmorg]

I have always been a lover of "big iron." If I still had use of my hip, I would be all over the Indian Roadmaster. I would still be a :ani29: owner. Not willing to part with my RT.

When I had my Yamaha Venture, the Kawi Voyager, the Kawi Vulcan Nomad, and the Vulcan 2000 LTD, fuel economy was never a consideration in my purchase. I liked the big engines, the bling, and the feeling of "owning" the open road.

Glad to see the current 1330 now gives "reasonable" as in high 30's/low 40's in the mpg. Always got mid 40's on the other big iron.

Dwayne,

Interesting... I've also owned two of the bikes you've owned, and loved riding both of them as well. I had a Kawi Vulcan 2000 LTD, and my last touring cruiser was a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. (You may have had an earlier Venture rather than the later Royal Star version.) The Vulcan stayed in the family - my oldest son now owns it. Both of these got better mileage than my 2013 RT though, and the Venture was a V4.

Here's pictures of them...

...........

 

[ARtraveler]

The chart also listed top speed for each of the three. Anyone know what the official top speed is for Spyder models? I don't plan on going there, but since my RT speedometer goes to 200 :yikes:, I'm just curious.

Top speed 120 or ballpark...depending on a gazillion variables.

I did 95 once.

RE: 200 mph Speedometer. The :spyder2: can be set to Kilometers per hour. Great if you are riding in Canada. 200 kph = about 120.

Have some fun with a passenger sometime. Set the speedo to kph and point them to the speedo when you are doing about 150. (93 mph or so).

When people ask me how fast :ani29: will go, I just point them to the 200 mph speedo and usually don't have to say any more. :roflblack:

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree:... And I've only had one person ask if that was for mph, or km/h...

 

[ARtraveler]

Dwayne,

Interesting... I've also owned two of the bikes you've owned, and loved riding both of them as well. I had a Kawi Vulcan 2000 LTD, and my last touring cruiser was a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. (You may have had an earlier Venture rather than the later Royal Star version.) The Vulcan stayed in the family - my oldest son now owns it. Both of these got better mileage than my 2013 RT though, and the Venture was a V4.

Here's pictures of them...

...........

I had a 1984 Venture. I did not fit the GW ergos so I opted for the Venture. I think it had a 1200 V Max in it. The Nomad I speak of was the 1500 version. One of the cycle magazines called it one of the top 10 bikes ever made. I still wish I had that one.

 

[robmorg]

I had a 1984 Venture. I did not fit the GW ergos so I opted for the Venture. I think it had a 1200 V Max in it. The Nomad I speak of was the 1500 version. One of the cycle magazines called it one of the top 10 bikes ever made. I still wish I had that one.

That V Max on your Venture was one heck of an engine! And those Kawi Nomad's were beautiful bikes for sure. All of the Vulcan series performed well, sounded great, and would have been perfect for your "ergos". I went to the RS Venture because I wanted more leg room. But I missed my Vulcan, with it's good looks and low center of gravity. (Now that you mention it, it WAS the 1500, and not the 2000.)

 

[ARtraveler]

That V Max on your Venture was one heck of an engine! And those Kawi Nomad's were beautiful bikes for sure. All of the Vulcan series performed well, sounded great, and would have been perfect for your "ergos". I went to the RS Venture because I wanted more leg room. But I missed my Vulcan, with it's good looks and low center of gravity. (Now that you mention it, it WAS the 1500, and not the 2000.)

Final Hijack: The only Vulcan LTD I had that I did not like was the 2000cc version. For me (a short person) it was way to heavy at 850#, it took everything I had to lift it off the kickstand. Once up and running, it was a dream to ride. My final Vulcan LTD was the 900cc version. That one fit me like a glove and I put a Mustang seat on it so had about a 26" seat height. Both feet on the floor felt real good. My hip then said no, and my two wheel days are over.



UNHIJACK: :yes:

 

[den1953]

My Last 3 Motorcycles

My last three bikes were in the big category. The 2007 Yamaha Roadliner "S" had the 1858cc air-cooled V-twin and no overdrive. We rode it to Washington D.C. in 2010 for Rolling Thunder and that motor was busy at Interstate speeds getting 41mpg average. My next bike was a 2010 Triumph Rocket III Touring which had a liquid cooled inline triple with 2297cc and also no overdrive and it averaged around 35 mpg if I didn't romp on it. I could easily get it below 30 mpg with my throttle hand. The huge 151 foot pounds of torque made roll-on performance addictive to say the least. My current ride, a 2012 Victory Cross Country has a 1734cc air/oil cooled V-Twin with a sixth speed overdrive. In sixth as long as my speed stays around 60 mph I can get 50 mpg, but above that it drops. At 70 mph it's about 45 mpg. Bigger isn't always better but it's nice to have that roll-on power of a big engine in certain situations.