Am I keeping my bike from getting good gas mileage?

[KatanaEvolution]

Does the riding position on the kat affect the gas mileage? IE, am I creating excessive drag sitting upright?

[woobie]

If your 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide you might be .

Honestly I doubt it would make a huge difference "tucking in" all the time, although it would no doubt draw some unwanted attention from the police if it looks like your "racing" everywhere.

[allblackkat]

I would seriously doubt it...

Though not on the Kat this past weekend, my wife and I rode our bikes out of town (130 miles or so) and I was upright the entire time and averaged 47-48 mpg on the R1.... I was suprised at such good mileage.

[PitMan]

My '92 750 gets around 35 mpg , but it's got a Yoshi
exhaust and tuned jet kit, k&n filter. I ride upright all the time rarely tuck in, except on the interstatesometimes. Your probably getting as good
of MPG as your going to get.

[madkatana]

Above 60mph you can create a draft but I don't think it would eat up that much more gasahol...

[KatanaSoldier]

On my Kat, if I take it easy, it gets over 47MPG. Now if I gun it all the time, less of course. Just like the stang.

[JaxKat]

I actually made 49 MPG riding 2up with my wife ... I am 6'3" tall and sit upright... But my wife sits up higher than me ... I believe it was the nice flowing roads through the Laurel Mountains, with no stop an go traffic on it that saved the gas ... :P

[persing66]

Honestly I doubt it would make a huge difference "tucking in" all the time, although it would no doubt draw some unwanted attention from the police if it looks like your "racing" everywhere.

You also look like an idiot tucking in at 20 mph too. Even on highway I really don't think tucking will help on mpg

[Cobra94]

With the coefficient of drag a bike has you maybe increasing it by a percent or two at most sitting upright. Also, it's not like you're always going 100mph the whole time you ride so on average it's not affecting it too much.

[stickygreen]

You also look like an idiot tucking in at 20 mph too. Even on highway I really don't think tucking will help on mpg

hate going OT but i saw a guy the other day doing about 30 in a 25 on a gixxer
he was all the way on the tank with his feet dangling off the rear pegs .. classic !

[The CyberPoet]

The biggest factors in your fuel mileage are:

1. Gear selection and shift-points.
2. Highest "cruise" speed attained (someone doing 95 on a typical Kat sucks down a third more fuel per distance than someone doing a rock-solid 60).
3. Chain lube, chain & sprocket conditions (15% can go down the drain right there).
4. Red-light/green-light behaviors. Do you slow down a little early and then roll through the intersection, or do you zoom up to the last 100 feet, come to a full stop, and then rip back up to speed?
5. Tire condition & tire pressures. Tire pressure relates directly to rolling resistance.
6. Oil, and how it affects pumping losses. Different oils have different resistances to pumping (even at the same viscosity).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Nero]

You also look like an idiot tucking in at 20 mph too. Even on highway I really don't think tucking will help on mpg

I tucked alot when I was a kid, but I was young and just experimenting really.

[tnvatdreamland]

Re: Am I keeping my bike from getting good gas mileage?

Does the riding position on the kat affect the gas mileage? IE, am I creating excessive drag sitting upright?

[KatanaEvolution]

I may have underestimated the amount of fuel in my tank. I don't think it was a full 3 gallons, it was 2.8. My kat has a busa shock on it and it sits up tall and leans for miles before it settles on the stand.

Since the bike leans so much it reached the neck of the fuel tank sooner allowing me to fill it with less fuel.

When I filled up this last time I sat on the bike and kept it upright and put more fuel in it.

The I put 100 miles I put on it was also before the red section on the tank.

Do you guys consider the mileage on a tank just the white section, or the combination of the white and red?

[Nero]

I go from totally topped-off to bone-dry.