How Many Miles Per Gallon?
Nov 20th, 2008 by Leo
Wouldn’t it be great if motorcycles came with mileage ratings? I think some do, but most companies don’t want to commit to a number since they’re not required to. Conventional wisdom says bikes get around 50 mpg, but that’s really off the mark sometimes…
My Genuine Buddy gets really close to 100mpg, usually somewhere around 95. It’s so high that I stopped keeping track and I often feel bad for the gas station attendant when I fill it up. When I had a Ninja 250, it got around 70 mpg…and it could still pop a wheelie in second gear. My 600RR is another story. With D&D exhausts and PCIII it got as low as 26 around town, 34 when I really babied the throttle. With the stock exhaust and stock FI settings I managed a little over 40mpg in mixed city riding (a number I can live with for that bike). Not bad, but people riding bigger bikes are often surprised because they can get around the same. The stock R6 I rented in California got around 30mpg…I don’t know if that’s standard but it sounds low to me.
So here’s a question that I think could help some people… What do you ride and what kind of mileage do you usually get? Cheers!
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My 2005 SV650 gets around 50MPG when I’m riding it on the highways & sparse local roads upstate. That falls off a lot when riding around NYC.
I ride a stock 2002 Suzuki SV650s and get about 52 mpg.
I’ve got a stock ’07 baby ninja that pulls down between 65 and 80 mpg depending on weather, quality of fuel (what’s with this ethanol gunk?), and the way I’m riding.
I ride a 2007 Ninja 650R, and get around 55 mpg mixed city/highway.
My 08 Triumph Bonneville gets between 35 and 40 mpg depending on how hard I ride and whether I have my fly screen on. If I really baby it on long freeway rides it goes up to the mid forties. The mileage is improving as the engine breaks in. This seems to be common with those bikes, that after about 5000 miles, it creeps up in efficiency.
My 99 GSX-r600 does more like 30-33 mpg but I am generally pushing that bike pretty hard. It also has a yoshi pipe and has been rejetted which probably robs some fuel.
ducati 1098 stock, ~33mpg normal city riding.
06 Buell Ulysses, usually around 45-55, over 65 if I take it slow. Doesn’t seem to make much difference if it’s just me on it or 2-up with full luggage.
A Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTS-i. Sure, it’s made in India, and it’s only a 200cc, but that’s my license limit (durned graduated licenses), and since it’s giving close to 50 km/l, translating to ~115 mpg, and a range of ~500miles, and with roads here being 55mph and below I might even keep it as a commuter when I finally (2+ years more) get that Daytona I fell in love with.
2007 Stock Ninja 250 – 65mpg (purely NYC commuting).
Stock 2002 SV650s 35-40mpg not sure what I am doing to get substantially lower mileage then the other SV riders.
2003 Speed Triple ~35mpg
I ride a 2006 Triumph Tiger (955cc), and I regularly get 50mpg, more if I’m not riding the throttle hard. Mostly highway though.
2007 Ninja 650R. I track my fuel consumption closely. (I have a little iPhone app… geek that I am.) My average since late September is 38 mpg.
Highest ever for a fill-up a was around 50… but that was before I passed the break-in period.
My 1993 BMW K75RT usually gets about 43mpg OUT of the city, but in town I normally achieve about 31-34mpg. On long highway trips I’ve been able to get up to 50 mpg, although cruising at 80+mph, I can only get about 40mpg. This bike is kept in top shape, so these numbers are solid. The 2003 HD V-Rod gets about 25mpg in normal city riding and not much better on the highway. This bike’s tank is so small (3.7 gallons) that every 100 miles requires a refill.
2000 YZF600 44 City/58 Highway
Vespa GTS 250: ~65 mpg (best tank: 72 mpg)
I could be getting much better on average if not for the mountain I commute over (no CA freeways for me on that bike) and didn’t drag off the line as much stop lights. Trucks, ‘Stangs and * really don’t seem to like a cute little scooter leaving them behind, but it does amuse me.
Honda 599 (Scorpion exhaust, no re-jet): ~43 mpg (best tank: 48 mpg)
This is my main commuter; mostly freeway riding. That said, my best tank included a couple long canyon rides that were a steady 40-50 mph. City riding with this bike would bring those numbers down big time. I’d opt for the Vespa for that.
“‘Stangs and * really don’t seem to like a cute little scooter leaving them behind, but it does amuse me.”
Lol… Do a burnout and pop a wheelie while you’re blowing them away.