Gas mileage, What the hell!?

[2001_Kat600_rider]

Ok so here is the deal. I got my bike in May all stock. Initially it was hard to start at times but after a few cycles of Seafoam it was much better. I also changed the spark plugs and switch to the synthetic blend oil. In the end it ran fine but my gas mileage was in the mid 30s, higher range cruising around town, lower if I ran it hard.

So to address the issue I took it to a local bike shop and have them check it out. In the end they found a few vacuum leaks and torn rubber in the carbs I think, all of which were rectified. They also cleaned the carbs. I also had a Holeshot 5 degree ignition advancer and a Hindle slip on installed.

End result, the bike runs much better. It's starts a lot easier, sounds fantastic and there is a slight improvement in throttle response. BUT my gas mileage is basically the same. What is up with that?

I'm about to take it back and have them look further into it. However, before doing so is there anything else I can look into myself since they took care of the carbs which was my main reason for taking it to the shop in the first place?

I would be happy with mileage in the 40s. Is this wishful thinking or should I just be happy with this poor mileage on a pretty much stock bike?

[Kreylyn]

Ok so here is the deal. I got my bike in May all stock. Initially it was hard to start at times but after a few cycles of Seafoam it was much better. I also changed the spark plugs and switch to the synthetic blend oil. In the end it ran fine but my gas mileage was in the mid 30s, higher range cruising around town, lower if I ran it hard.

So to address the issue I took it to a local bike shop and have them check it out. In the end they found a few vacuum leaks and torn rubber in the carbs I think, all of which were rectified. They also cleaned the carbs. I also had a Holeshot 5 degree ignition advancer and a Hindle slip on installed.

End result, the bike runs much better. It's starts a lot easier, sounds fantastic and there is a slight improvement in throttle response. BUT my gas mileage is basically the same. What is up with that?

I'm about to take it back and have them look further into it. However, before doing so is there anything else I can look into myself since they took care of the carbs which was my main reason for taking it to the shop in the first place?

I would be happy with mileage in the 40s. Is this wishful thinking or should I just be happy with this poor mileage on a pretty much stock bike?

40-42 is real good milage with very mild throttle and little speed change. IE... highway riding at around 55 mph.

More throttle or stop and go = less. Odometer readings are comonly wrong for actual milage as well, so your exact numbers may also be off on the mpg your actually getting.

Krey

[HemiKat]

Doesnt sound to me like you are doing that bad... I accurately calculated the milage on my 750 and only got around 30mpg when I beat on her like I normally do. Doing my best to conserve fuel I got between 40-45mpg. Riding style has a lot to do with milage.

[mstngsrule68]

you should be about the 40's

[phantasm]

use a gps to get an acurate reading on milage. you may be getting better than you think.

[cintidude04]

When I was at the rally I averaged 33 mpg with my spirited riding. Calculation done with Gps.

[Mojoe]

how do you ride? what do you do at stop light with that new hindle? I am betting you rev the bike a bit more with it on. I am betting you shift a bit later than usual with it installed, so you can enjoy the new sound. in short, you may just run your bike a wee bit "harder" with the new toys installed.

my 1100....never saw 40mpg. if I averaged it all out, 30ish is probably realistic. reason: I like to make noise and run my bike a bit more aggressively. this doesn't mean faster....it means more compression on downshifts, a bit higher rpm on upshifts, and a lot of throttle blipping at the lights....just cuz I like to make noise. that noise consumes more gas.

[05RedKat600]

how do you ride? what do you do at stop light with that new hindle? I am betting you rev the bike a bit more with it on. I am betting you shift a bit later than usual with it installed, so you can enjoy the new sound. in short, you may just run your bike a wee bit "harder" with the new toys installed.

my 1100....never saw 40mpg. if I averaged it all out, 30ish is probably realistic. reason: I like to make noise and run my bike a bit more aggressively. this doesn't mean faster....it means more compression on downshifts, a bit higher rpm on upshifts, and a lot of throttle blipping at the lights....just cuz I like to make noise. that noise consumes more gas.

This! I just installed a Delkevic Tri Oval on mine. Let's just say the shifts are a bit higher RPM than the stock bazooka.

[jetmerritt]

06 - 600

I used to get 250Km on 15L, feel free to factor that into any measurement you want. That was the uncorrected odometer reading which I would assume was out about 5% lower than actual.

I had an Ivan's jet kit, ignition advancer NGK iridium plugs and a Yoshi RS-3. Also was running super premium gas.

[2001_Kat600_rider]

correct mileage approximately 44 miles per gallon!!! How did I do it?

OK so after all the advice above I decided to do the mileage check again making a conscious effort to try the "easy riding" method". That meant taking it easy with the throttle, 75mph (120kph) cruising on the highway, keeping the RPMs down around 6000 or 7000 and minimal throttle blipping at lights : ).

It took me two days to use up the complete tank including the reserve. The trips had a little bit of everything, some highway, around town riding and some back roads trips. I puttered out with 277 miles (445 km) on the trip clock. I decided to use 235 miles (378km) in my calculations estimating that the trip clock is overstated by about 15%.

Tank capacity is 5.3 gallons or 20 litres which means I get roughly 44 miles per gallon.

So if my calculation is right I have nothing to complain about. I can't believe the "easy riding" made such a difference.

[everready]

correct mileage approximately 44 miles per gallon!!! How did I do it?

OK so after all the advice above I decided to do the mileage check again making a conscious effort to try the "easy riding" method". That meant taking it easy with the throttle, 75mph (120kph) cruising on the highway, keeping the RPMs down around 6000 or 7000 and minimal throttle blipping at lights : ).

It took me two days to use up the complete tank including the reserve. The trips had a little bit of everything, some highway, around town riding and some back roads trips. I puttered out with 277 miles (445 km) on the trip clock. I decided to use 235 miles (378km) in my calculations estimating that the trip clock is overstated by about 15%.

Tank capacity is 5.3 gallons or 20 litres which means I get roughly 44 miles per gallon.

So if my calculation is right I have nothing to complain about. I can't believe the "easy riding" made such a difference.

Well I guess I'm going to have to try that. Because I think I'm getting around 27 mph. It is very hard to "ride easy" though, don't ya think?

Al

[Wild-Bill]

If you want to see just how far you can get on a gallon of gas, top off the tank just before you get on the highway, take your time getting up to around 60 (shifting around 6k rpm or so) and keep her steady at 60 for about 100 miles. Gas up at the first station you get to after exiting the highway.

I did that once on my 750 while coming home from a camp out with the scouts. I kept the speed down and went massively easy on the throttle because it was raining cats and dogs. (Oh, I spent the whole ride hunched behind the windscreen, too.) I ended up with 48 mpg on a '96 750. (A post Kat should do even better than that.) Normally I got around 35 mpg.

[jkurzz]

i get 40mpg on my 90 kat 750 pretty much every week. i drive 70 miles a da just to and from work and that gets me 2 days of driving but i still love the $12 to fill it back up

[hardlydangerous]

if you have a smart phone use a fuel app.
its the most accurate way to keep track of fuel mileage.

[Wreckie29]

I get about 36mpg with my spirited riding and when I ride easy about 45mpg its weird how a small change makes a big difference.
When I ride alone as apposed to with friends its different too.
And if I ride doubles its better than solo, even though it has more weight.