Alright, I just rode all weekend. I did a 600 mile ride on the hawk. First off, it wasnt so bad after I fixed the seat with some foam and duck tape. Anyways...

Averaging 80-85 on the freeway with my girl on the back I was getting 30-33 mpg.

Where do I start? I know something isnt right, even for a hawk thats low. I have a california bike with jardine full pipes, and have no clue if the jetting is stock...

Any ideas on how to make this thing a little less thirsty?

 

Is she a big girl?

 

Nope, small tank bag and my girl weighs about 130, and I weigh about 170.

 

130 isn't bad, although I prefer petite girls in the 98-105 lb. class. But that's beside the point.

Seriously, guys are all over the map on reported mpg. Many get worse than 33mpg riding by themselves. I get mid forties cruising 75-80 mph and I've gotten over 50 mpg going 60-65.

Guys with later model year VTRs seem to get better mileage. A larger rear or smaller front sprocket will knock your mpg down a bit, esp. if you're going 85 mph.

What year is your bike and how is it set up?

 

I got 27mpg today... no bueno. I did have a constant 20-30mph head wind though... sometimes gusting to 40 while doin' 110 for ~10 mins. (playing catch up)

 

bike is a '98, cali bike (i think that hurts mpg), -1/+2 sprocket, fullpipe, and thats all i know. Only had it about 2 weeks and put 1200 miles on her.

Im just amazed at how bad the mileage on this thing is.

Gotta be some mods to fix it up a little. I was thinkin about doin a k&n jetting and removing all the smog crap. I think i could prolly do all that myself.

 

Shortlived;

I don't know, man. with +2 rear and -1 front (which lowers your gearing over 11%), going 85 mph with 300 lbs of people onboard? Low 30s mpg isn't just the best I'd expect from the VTR, but about as good as I'd expect from any 100+ horsepower bike.

If you went with stock sprockets, or at least the stock front one, and you backed off to a nice and steady 70-75 mph and were riding alone, you'd probably get up over 40 mpg. Literbikes just don't do much better than that.

 

with the gearing change and doing 85, what did you expect to get out of Honda's largest carbs?

 

An honest answer. Which u apperently gave me. SO! Hows this sound, +1 on the front, and have the carbs jetted. Sound optimal??

 

Found these figures in the Oct. '06 Motorcyclist Magazine;

Average fuel mileage (Not just highway, and without passenger)

CBR1000RR 37 mpg

ZX-10R 40 mpg

GSX-R1000 36 mpg

YZF-R1 36 mpg

 

Well, those arent big twins... Those are all 4s, 4s get better mileage. So, I guess mine aint all that bad considering the gearing.

 

If the bike is running good now, I don't know that rejetting would help mileage any.

I think the larger sprocket and backing off the speed a bit would. I haven't checked the hywy mpg on my VTR lately, but compared to my 13-14 mpg F150, I'm happy with it.

If you keep it under 4500 rpm in 6th, I think you'll get better mileage. And of course you'll always spend more on gas when you're riding two up.

 

Honestly not much can be done except get back to stock gearing or taller, Ign advance would help, but there is not enough flywheel to keep the bike from jerking at low RPM.

 

I was just thinking this AM about how lucky I am...

I think that my 03' is a one off.....She gets 180 miles per tank. I ran by 155 miles before my RLOD came on this AM...

I have never gotten less than 40 MPG and have gotten as high as 48 MPG...

 

I got 45mpg at 90mph for a trip around lake michigan. It seems awfully low to get 33mpg. The other thing that must be considered is if you have a speedo healer. If you don't, then it is really bad. Your actual mileage would be considerably less then what you showed.

 

go back to stock gearing and do the speed limit or a little above and you should get mid 30s at least. Jetting makes a difference too. If you have bigger jets, you will use more fuel.

 

Damn. That's the highest I have ever seen. What's your gearing?

 

I just filled mine up last night, 42 mpg so I cannot complain - this is stock jetting, K&N and shimmed needles. My old '92 Nighthawk 750 was 57 consistently and dropped to 50 when I put a step up jet kit in it.

 

Stock, Everything is stock "I believe" except I have Jardine high mounts......

 

Depends on how you twist the throttle, I have gotten down into the high 20's in MPG and up into the mid 40's. If I kept to the speed limit I am sure I'd get up into the 50's.

 

+1

 

^^^ I agree. I have a 80 mile round trip commute. I made a bonehead decision and bought an all wheel drive 4.7L dakota in november.... It gets a whopping 11-12mpg on the highway .

 

IIMHO it's for fun, if you want mileage buy a mileage bike.

My Supermoto only has a 2 gallon tank with no reserve. I am lucky to get 85 miles on a tank, but i really could care less. Its about the fun not the mileage for me.

I suppose it really depends on where you live and how far you ride non-stop. Here in the mountains in the south east we usually stop for gas and a drink in less tha 75 miles anyway, so no big deal on mileage other than the cost of course.

I rarely run in 5th or 6th gear (stock sprockets) and get dead on 32 MPG with Jet kit, filter and Jarrdines.

32 is way better than my trucks 16-18MPG

 

Wow, my nearly 6000 lb Avalanche Z71 4x4 V8 gets up to 21 on a good highway trip, more like 15 in normal mixed driving. I'm kinda wishing I kept my 75 mpg Suzuki DR200se dual sport but the DR350se should be in the 60s and has a lot more *****!