Running ECO Mode - my MPG results.

[Spiderfrog]

I don't worry so much about MPG as I do to how far I can go on a tank of gas. It really doesn't matter too much with in city driving (to and from work or what not) you can fill up on every corner, it's when out on a trip and there's 200+ miles to the next gas station. That's when GPM comes in to play, nothing worse than running out of gas and miles to the next gas.

 

[ARtraveler]

I don't worry so much about MPG as I do to how far I can go on a tank of gas. It really doesn't matter too much with in city driving (to and from work or what not) you can fill up on every corner, it's when out on a trip and there's 200+ miles to the next gas station. That's when GPM comes in to play, nothing worse than running out of gas and miles to the next gas.

My Subaru Outback will go 500 miles on a tank of gas. More than enough for most days rides. I fill mine about once a month these days. 2017 with 28,000 miles on it.

 

[2dogs]

If you've ever been on a long trip in a very rural area and are pressing the envelope on fuel millage where gas stations seem to be far and few between, it can become very worrisome as your fuel gauge starts closing in on empty. Admittedly its happened to me more than once. It can take the enjoyment right out of the ride. Gas up often and enjoy the ride. You never know who you'll met at that little rural gas station.

 

[bikerbillone]

My Subaru Outback will go 500 miles on a tank of gas. More than enough for most days rides. I fill mine about once a month these days. 2017 with 28,000 miles on it.

My Prius will get almost twice the mpg as my Spyder RTL,, but it is not one with the outside world and near the fun.

 

[knobby]

If you've ever been on a long trip in a very rural area and are pressing the envelope on fuel millage where gas stations seem to be far and few between, it can become very worrisome as your fuel gauge starts closing in on empty. Admittedly its happened to me more than once. It can take the enjoyment right out of the ride. Gas up often and enjoy the ride. You never know who you'll met at that little rural gas station.

We just finished our first 'long' trip to Maggie Valley/Cherokee (1400 miles round trip) on our new '21 RTL. The trip computer calculates MPG for trip A, B, & Total (not sure if all RT's had this feature but our previous RS-S and ST Limited did not). We are currently at a total of 2400 on the odometer and the average MPG shows an incredibly low 24 MPG! The last leg of our journey yesterday was 190 miles and the computer shows 39 MPG for that tank of gas. The wife rides solo in ECO mode and I'm on my 2 wheeler and we generally avoid freeways and stick to secondary roads when possible. We were 20 miles from home yesterday and the computer reported 50 miles to empty. The tank gauge soon reported "low fuel" and then within a few minutes the "50 miles to empty" disappeared and was replaced by a series of dashes?? We were kind of panicked but decided to press on and made it into our town and stopped at the local BP and the Spyder took 5.5 gallons. I just checked our operators manual and it states the tank capacity is 7 gallons!! Looks like the "miles to empty" may be pretty accurate but it's quite weird that it disappeared when you need it most!

 

[Snoking1127]

That's because cooler air is more condensed. I had a Corvair that acted like it had a supercharger in the winter months because of that.

I thought he meant that the Spyder sat idle then?

 

[2dogs]

We just finished our first 'long' trip to Maggie Valley/Cherokee (1400 miles round trip) on our new '21 RTL. The trip computer calculates MPG for trip A, B, & Total (not sure if all RT's had this feature but our previous RS-S and ST Limited did not). We are currently at a total of 2400 on the odometer and the average MPG shows an incredibly low 24 MPG! The last leg of our journey yesterday was 190 miles and the computer shows 39 MPG for that tank of gas. The wife rides solo in ECO mode and I'm on my 2 wheeler and we generally avoid freeways and stick to secondary roads when possible. We were 20 miles from home yesterday and the computer reported 50 miles to empty. The tank gauge soon reported "low fuel" and then within a few minutes the "50 miles to empty" disappeared and was replaced by a series of dashes?? We were kind of panicked but decided to press on and made it into our town and stopped at the local BP and the Spyder took 5.5 gallons. I just checked our operators manual and it states the tank capacity is 7 gallons!! Looks like the "miles to empty" may be pretty accurate but it's quite weird that it disappeared when you need it most!

Not familiar with the new 21's but congratulations on your new ownership. My scoot is a 14 however I'm sure if you have an RT we both have the 1330 engines. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. We could also be geared differently. At 3000 RPM I'm doing exactly 60 MPH on my RT. The 24 MPG seems very low. I got 40 MPG on my first tank. Possibly an error on math. I'm guilty of that myself. The 39 MPG is right in the ballpark but as far as the miles to reserve thing, I'm not sure. These new machines are packed with sensors and electronics the likes of what we've never seen before. I run ECO mode 95% of the time myself. But remember, these 3 wheel machines are very suspectable to many outside influences that can take a toll on our MPG. These spyders are akin to flying a barn door down the road. Nothing like a 2 wheeler. One person can get 40 MPG and another person riding the same machine under identical conditions can't get close to that. As your wife becomes more experienced with her new machine I'm sure MPG will improve and stable out. Give it time, ride more, be safe, and above all have fun. That's what it's all about.

 

[ARtraveler]

In my past experience (7 spyders now), I have noted that mpg seems to improve with mileage on the machines. 5000 miles starts to give more of a true mileage curve. We currently get around 40 mpg but it can vary if we change up any of the riding patterns.

 

[Motogordo]

July 21, 2021

I have just over 2,000 miles on my 2021 Sea to Sky. I use 91 octance and the ECO mode. My average is about 40 mpg. I haven't used the standard mode since I bought it a month ago.

 

[always young]

For what it's worth..... ride whatever way that makes you happy! Use the octane that you can afford and the MPG you're happy with. Life is too short to worry about such minor things. Damn, I just started a **** storm, sorry. Something that I noticed recently in my car (Santa Fe) trip to western Tennessee and back. Cruising at 75 both up and back pulling the trailer with the F3 on the back. My mileage while running Florida gas was about 2-3 MPG less than the gas used from the upper states. Florida is flat (better MPG?) and Ga and TN are hilly (poorer MPG?), you would think so. My take, the gas blending is different per area. Some good, some not so good. Anyway, everyone get out there and enjoy the ride and fresh air! Maybe we'll cross paths some day. :bbq:

 

[Pooch]

July 21, 2021

I have just over 2,000 miles on my 2021 Sea to Sky. I use 91 octance and the ECO mode. My average is about 40 mpg. I haven't used the standard mode since I bought it a month ago.

Same here… build date was February 2021. Finally am coming up on the 3000 mile first maintenance mark… appointment is next week.
I am so happy with this mpg as compared to my Gold Wing GL 1800 trike of 28-32 mpg.
I did ride one tank of gas in standard mode and found the throttle response to be really quick but failed to observe mpg… although I know it used more fuel…but didn’t seem like it took too much more.
We have had lots and lots of rain here. The weatherheads say in a couple of days we will return to typical Texas weather…
HOT and dry… oh boy, can hardly wait!

 

[vito1943]

As a new Spyder owner I have put about 900 miles so far on my 3 week old 2021 RT. I always have it in ECO mode, and have tried to shift when the orange arrow lights up (I assume older model years had a green arrow from the comments here). Mostly I am finding that I get about 33 mpg. On a group ride, riding solo, and at the very modest pace the group was traveling (mostly Honda Goldwing trikes), I got 38 mpg. But the rest of my riding, mostly two up but not aggressive or with much at speeds over 70, the 32 or 33 mpg seems pretty consistent. I didn't buy the Spyder for its gas efficiency, but I was a bit surprised at the low mpg. The Spyder weighs about the same as the Goldwing that I just traded in, but the Goldwing's engine was significantly larger (1832cc vs 1330). Yet the Goldwing gave me 37 to 39 mpg regardless of how I rode it, and regardless of whether I was riding solo or two up. Still, having the ability to easily go 200 miles between fill ups is more than acceptable to me.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

As a new Spyder owner I have put about 900 miles so far on my 3 week old 2021 RT. I always have it in ECO mode, and have tried to shift when the orange arrow lights up (I assume older model years had a green arrow from the comments here). Mostly I am finding that I get about 33 mpg. On a group ride, riding solo, and at the very modest pace the group was traveling (mostly Honda Goldwing trikes), I got 38 mpg. But the rest of my riding, mostly two up but not aggressive or with much at speeds over 70, the 32 or 33 mpg seems pretty consistent. I didn't buy the Spyder for its gas efficiency, but I was a bit surprised at the low mpg. The Spyder weighs about the same as the Goldwing that I just traded in, but the Goldwing's engine was significantly larger (1832cc vs 1330). Yet the Goldwing gave me 37 to 39 mpg regardless of how I rode it, and regardless of whether I was riding solo or two up. Still, having the ability to easily go 200 miles between fill ups is more than acceptable to me.

Here's a few things to consider .... #1.- the RT has a much larger frontal area, that isn't very aerodynamic .... #2.- the Spyder has way more tire contact patch. #3.- As you acquire more mileage the engine will loosen up and increase your MPG's ..... I have a 14 RT and in the beginning I was only getting 33-34 mpg .... now I avg. 39 mpg and I ride aggressively in the " twistie's " ...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[ollicat]

Man, I am averaging 31.2 over my first 1600 miles. 40 sounds really nice

 

[RickWB]

Average 45 imperial mpg for first 2,000 km on my F3. I followed break-in procedure for first 1,000 km and operating more spirited since then. I have been using 91 octane fuel.

Rick

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Go to my thread here from 4 years ago to see just how much of a fallacy it is to discuss mpg over anything less than many thousands of miles.
https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?109153-Guess-when-I-used-Premium-vs-Regular
The poll focuses on premium vs regular but that is irrelevant as far as tank to tank or week to week mpg comparison. There were a lot of interesting comments made in the thread.

 

[VStarRider]

My Subaru Outback will go 500 miles on a tank of gas. More than enough for most days rides. I fill mine about once a month these days. 2017 with 28,000 miles on it.

You must have the four cylinder. I have the same year, but the 3.6. MPG is pretty good, considering its a six and has good power. I can get close to 450 out of a tank on a trip. Best mileage I can get is about 28; typically I get 25 (75 mile round trip commute on 55-mph state and county highways).

 

[Chasdog]

We just finished our first 'long' trip to Maggie Valley/Cherokee (1400 miles round trip) on our new '21 RTL. The trip computer calculates MPG for trip A, B, & Total (not sure if all RT's had this feature but our previous RS-S and ST Limited did not). We are currently at a total of 2400 on the odometer and the average MPG shows an incredibly low 24 MPG! The last leg of our journey yesterday was 190 miles and the computer shows 39 MPG for that tank of gas. The wife rides solo in ECO mode and I'm on my 2 wheeler and we generally avoid freeways and stick to secondary roads when possible. We were 20 miles from home yesterday and the computer reported 50 miles to empty. The tank gauge soon reported "low fuel" and then within a few minutes the "50 miles to empty" disappeared and was replaced by a series of dashes?? We were kind of panicked but decided to press on and made it into our town and stopped at the local BP and the Spyder took 5.5 gallons. I just checked our operators manual and it states the tank capacity is 7 gallons!! Looks like the "miles to empty" may be pretty accurate but it's quite weird that it disappeared when you need it most!

I had a similar situation last week on a trip. Had a long stretch coming across southern Idaho with few gas stations. The fuel light came on and I was thinking I could make it to my destination. It had 50 miles I think and as the range went down the same dashes appeared. Turns out I had just passed a tiny rural store that had one gas pump. It freaked me out that the range disappeared so I turned around and put in a gallon of the 85.5 octane gas and that got me into Salmom where I filled up. It probably would have made it but the fact the range doesn’t go to zero before it disappeared is very concerning.

 

[davev1pa]

For years....I've annoyed my fellow Sturgis riding buddies at the gas stations....with my MPG OCD......whatever i was riding Yamaha Honda Victory CAN AM...I had to know MPG ..yeah OCD......I'd shout out to the fellows "how many gallons you put in?" then I'd calculate everyone's results ....I was always last to pull out and start riding...lol they always put up with my nonsense just as I have their's ...watching them buy the perfect T SHIRT to acknowledge their trek to the Holy Land...Now my wife has the 1330 and me I have my gas guzzling 998 and she has to listen to my nonsense with our local rides at the pump.....she always wins with better MPG....."It's obvious I'm a better driver" she giggles ...But LOL this year....I'm taking her 1330 to STURGIS......and I'm still going annoy my buddies at the pump and I still have to sit thru hours of Tshirt BS while nursing a cold one and calculating my MPG #s........Thank God I have a purpose!!!

 

[JohnRuckus]

Fun post. To shift or not shift, when is the question :riding: lol