Touring gas mileage

[MangoMike]

Just read the Rider review of the RT and they mentioned gas mileage in the high 20's, said the low light came on as early as 90 miles! Is this true? Any solutions except keep putting gas in the bike during a trip?

Mike

 

[dave01]

I averaged 27 mpg on the way up to Spyderfest and 29 on the way back to Fl. Running a little slower and it was downhill the whole way. The fuel light/guage isnt accurate. I have disconnected mine and am using the digital ones. Much more accurate

 

[syclemom]

mileage

My wife just called to let me know she made it , the 6 hr. trip to Round Rock Tx. taking my daughter home , the two of them pulling the trailer she got 30.71 , 30.15, not too bad 2-up she has 10,000mi. on hers now and still seems tight.

 

[upsdoctor]

Mike, I only get 28-30 MPG too! Not what I expected since my Goldwing buddies get 40+.

Dave, where did you get th edigital gas guage?

 

[strats]

I'll enter into the discussion in metric talk.
Firstly, get rid of the analog gauges, they are all but useless.

Saturday was the first time I have had the fuel light come on, and there was still somewhere between 5 and 6 litres left.

I'm averaging 7.85 litres per 100K's, and was at about 245K's when the fuel light came on.

Would have been nice to have a little more range, but I am well and truly ready to have a leg stretch at 200K's, so I am not that concerned.

 

[ThreeWheels]

Yeah, I hear you. It seems to be true, after about 2500 miles the gas mileage goes up.

Understand, should you choose, there is a fix for the analog gas gage that's a warranty repair.

At 1000 miles, I was getting 25 MPG. Going down to the Dragon with about 2000 miles , I was getting, maybe 27 MPG. The idiot light would come on after about 100-105 miles. I put on another 1700 miles down there.

Coming back, over 850 miles at highway speed, I averaged 33 MPG. This was some serious booking, not the creepy slow stuff, so the wind resistance was pretty high.

So that's my story. YMMV.

 

[dave01]

Mike, I only get 28-30 MPG too! Not what I expected since my Goldwing buddies get 40+.

Dave, where did you get th edigital gas guage?

Unplug your gas and temp guages and the digital ones turn on. They are located in the dash cluster and work great

 

[ARtraveler]

Touring Gas Mileage #474

At 2000 miles,, I find I am getting 28-29 mpg consistantly. The light goes on for me at about 130 miles and I ususally go to 160-165 before filling up. At that time, the tank takes between 5 and 5 1/2 gallons (leaving about 1+ gal in the tank). When the bike is shut off, you will notice the needle bottoms out about 3/8" or more below the final red mark--so empty is way below the markers. I have not been brave enough to ride below the empty markers and have been to lazy to carry extra gas to see where my bike will actually run out. I do think I could get 175-180 miles on a full tank--but am working up to proving that statement. I see the mileage creeping up from the initial 26-27 and am still guessing I will eventually reach 30 mpg. I fill the tank to the same level each time. Right to the top and let it settle down about 4 times before I quit. I had gas smell at first, but don't get that any more either. Have had no problem with gas expansion or overflow because it does not get that hot here in Eagle River AK. I also get consistant readings on the guage--have not had the wandering needle or bouncing needle problems that I have seen posted. I'll update as mileage accumulates on the RT-S.

 

[Prense01]

I have been averaging between 25-30mpg. Number of riders doesn't seem to have much of an affect. Prevailing winds affect it greatly. It's fairly flat here so I cannot speak to hills. My analog gauge is consistent and steady, but it is in the red after about 80 miles. I can generally put about 3 gallons in at that point. I will be disconnecting the analog gauges soon to see how the digital ones work. It is not very comforting riding along with he gauge in the red and you know you should be able to get another 70 or so miles out of the tank. I don't think it is fair to compare the gas mileage on these to any two wheeled machines. Apples vs oranges IMO.

Chris :spyder:

 

[bikeguy]

Took a little trip to the Texas hill country over Friday and Saturday and mileage on the RT ranged from 24.5 on a stretch bucking a strong headwind to 29.5 running slowly in a group on some narrow county roads. This was all two-up riding and when we got home Saturday afternoon we had 1458 miles on the odometer. So it's getting about what I expected. It may get a little better when it wears in a little more but I'm satisfied as it is. I wish it had a little more range although, as others have said, I'm ready to stretch my legs after 120 -140 miles. The problem is that there ain't always a service station at the end of that 120 - 140 miles.

Cotton

 

[Lamonster]

Mike, I only get 28-30 MPG too! Not what I expected since my Goldwing buddies get 40+.

I've never heard of a Goldwing Trike getting 40mpg, all the guys I know who have them pretty much get the same as us.

On my RT SE I've got as low as 19.5mpg and as high as 37mpg. With the trailer I seem to be around 25-28mpg. Without the trailer I average 28-32mpg depending how I drive.

I just drove over 9,000 miles 4 gallons at a time and my only real complaint about the RT is it needs to be able to go at least 200 miles with a reserve of at least 30 miles. I would like to see 250 miles but I don't think that's going to happen on a three wheeler.

 

[dave01]

I just drove over 9,000 miles 4 gallons at a time and my only real complaint about the RT is it needs to be able to go at least 200 miles with a reserve of at least 30 miles. I would like to see 250 miles but I don't think that's going to happen on a three wheeler.

Maybe if you convert the frunk into a fuel cell. That would be a few more gallons...LOL

 

[Lamonster]

Maybe if you convert the frunk into a fuel cell. That would be a few more gallons...LOL

I use my frunk but not my saddlebags.

 

[dave01]

It fits

 

[MangoMike]

I just drove over 9,000 miles 4 gallons at a time and my only real complaint about the RT is it needs to be able to go at least 200 miles with a reserve of at least 30 miles.

A 200 mile range with 30 in reserve would be wonderful. Does anyone think that BRP will address this? I guess I wasn't aware of other trikes, looks like the Spyder is in the ballpark for trike mileage.

Mike

 

[ThreeWheels]

A 200 mile range with 30 in reserve would be wonderful. Does anyone think that BRP will address this? I guess I wasn't aware of other trikes, looks like the Spyder is in the ballpark for trike mileage.

Mike

I've said this before. I'm not pleased with, but can tolerate a 120 mile range on a long trip. After about two hours, most people are ready to stretch their legs anyway. But for a daily commuter, that is REALLY poor. That means you need to stop for gas every day. That can add a bunch of time to your commute since you need to get gas the same time EVERYONE ELSE on the East Coast seems to be buying gas.

 

[Vordak]

I had a 2006 Goldwing (NOT a trike) and NEVER got close to 40mpg. The Wing has a 1800cc 6-cylinder! It's thirsty!

Goldwing Trikes (any trikes really) get TERRIBLE gas mileage. The Spyder RT is the best in the 3-wheel category, other than the RS/GS.

Plus, by paying $15,000 LESS for my Spyder RT compared to a Wing/Harley Trike, I can buy a lot of fuel for that $15,000!
V.

:2thumbs:

 

[krb1945]

Maybe...

the engineers will lengthen the wheel base about 3 inches. Then you could add a larger fuel tank and improve other items at the same time. /Ken

 

[3Ryder]

Just checked...

Just calculated recent MPG at 31.5. Still in the break-in period.

 

[jima1153]

Just filled up. 25.6mpg some hiway,some tooting around town in 1st gear, mostly 2 up. Just hit 400 mi. Still pretty tight. she'll loosen up this summer. :chat: