| Author | Message | ||
     Jk651 |
On my first tank with the Uly I got 51.2mpg, which made me quite happy, considering I hadn't exactly been easy on the throttle the whole time. I typically average around 40 with my TDM, and that's being gentle with my right hand. But on Sunday my wife (who is 6 months pregnant BTW) and I rode to Lake Tahoe, all the way around the lake and back home. Over all it was a 224 mile ride. I started on a full tank, the low fuel light didn't come on until 196 miles, I was starting to wonder if it even worked. I filled up at 216.6 miles and it took 3.775 gallons. That's 57.3 mpg. Not bad for 2 up riding. I was generally easy with the acceleration, but at 1 point I did a little bit of an unintentional wheelie while accelerating up a hill trying to get in front of Harley before we got into the real twisties. I am really pleased with the bike right now. Had we done the drive in my 01 Suburban with the 8.1 liter I would have used about 21 gallons of gas. Had we done it on the TDM probably about 5.5 gallons, and the TDM only has like a 4 gallon tank. I would have had to buy gas in Tahoe where it's about 70 cents more per gallon than where I filled up 1.4 miles from home on the return trip. | ||
| Treefrog |
Mine always seems to get better mileage while loaded down having its neck rung than cruising with no bags. 4000-5000 rpms with 300lbs on top of it puts it in its happy place. Glad you are enjoying it. | ||
| Buewulf |
That is damn good. I don't know what your average speed was, but I don't get anywhere near that - low to mid-40s typically. Most of my riding is at higher speeds between 70 and 85 mph, and it is always solo. If I could go 200 miles on a tank without sweating, I would appreciate the bike much more. Maybe I need to put a mannequin on the back. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I used to get that kind of mileage with my 07 Uly- until I installed an 09 engine. Now the best I can do is high 40's. I never saw an explanation for the drop in mileage with the 08-up XB's, but I'm convinced it has to be the improved oiling system. The 08-up oil pump moves a lot more oil under higher pressure which undoubtedly adds parasitic drag to the engine. It runs just as strong, but there's a definite reduction in fuel mileage. I could routinely go 180 miles before the low fuel light came on with the 07 engine; now I rarely make it to 150. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I agree with the oiling system idea. My X1 gets over 50 all the time. My 2008 XB12X gets low to mid 40's I only got over 50 once on my uly and it was like 50.5! Another theory I was mulling over for the 2008 and up fuel consumption is perhaps they are "jetting" them more rich to let them run cooler? | ||
| Froggy |
It is the fueling, properly mapped it will get the same fuel economy. Stock vs Stock the 06/07 is better, but both bikes tuned correctly will yield comparable numbers. | ||
| Orangeulius |
Yep, big difference from my 06 to my 08. Lost about 8-10 mpg. Also runs hotter. Saving my $ for an EBR ECM. Still love my Uly though. | ||
| Jk651 |
The ride went something like this: 50 miles of freeway at 55-75mph into Reno, 15 miles of uphill grade from 4000 feet to 8500 feet, then 5 miles of downgrade to around 6500 feet. About 80 miles around the lake. Speed limits of 25 to 35 through about 5 different towns with some stop and go and a few traffic lights, speed limits of 35 to 55 mph between towns with very little stopping, 5 miles of uphill then 15 downhill, and freeway back home. I think my bike is running on the lean side, which I think would help with economy so long as it's not too lean. I'm just sort of going on instinct with that thought. It came with a modded muffler, it looks like pictures on the special ops website with 2 outlets on the rear of the can, and I drilled holes in the airbox lid, both of which would probably lean it out a bit, but on the other hand I live at 4500 feet, so that should richen it up some. I know they get hot, but it seemed silly hot to me. No spark knock, but the frame on the right side was so hot that it hurt, even through my pants. Not just uncomfortable, straight up painful. I fully expected a full on burn with a blister on the inside of my thigh when I got my pants off, but apparently it wasn't quite that hot. When my USB cable comes, hopefully by this weekend, I'll use ECM spy and check the AFV. If I understand correctly, that should give me some indication of whether it's rich or lean. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
High altitude is supposed to help too for some reason I can't fathom. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
... also I'm surprised that the 2008 runs hotter. all this time I thought they set it up to run fatty/cooler. Living a lie! | ||
| Zac4mac |
I live just north of Denver, 5000' ASL. My 09, solo, Outdoorsman(Hepco Junior) 50 psi in tires - 43 mpg rain or shine. As far as heat, do you have the Comfort Kit? Pretty sure you can still order it thru HD or Al & Joanne. When you set up in ECMSpy, look at timing. I dropped idle/lo-speed timing on Loretta by over 10 degrees, smoothed out and quit turning the headers orange-red at idle. Get the comfort kit and polish the inside of the heat-shield for the rear pipe. I still have to "un-pinch" my knees but it's a lot cooler polished. I also have an 08 1125R but ride the Uly 6x the time I ride the Hot-Rod(Loretta). Z | ||
| Froggy |
Z, must be why you keep dumping the Uly! | ||
| Jk651 |
No comfort kit yet. I think it's on my list of things to do, but I'm going to start with header wrap and see how that works. When I ride, I really squeeze with my legs too. It's a habit from my motocross and supercross days, and I just find it more natural than to force my legs open. | ||
| Prior |
Zac, 50 psi in the tires? I get into the 40s and don't like how the bike feels- that's high! I average 40 or so on my 09, much of it around town commuting etc (5 mile ride to work isn't made for breaking mileage records). With non-ethanol gas, I've gotten up to 50 mpg riding pretty hard. Reep and I found some truly magic gas in Franklin, NC the other weekend- up to 180 miles on a tank and still didn't kick to reserve... (Message edited by awprior on June 09, 2012) | ||
| Arry |
Jk, I was thinking about header wrap, so I hope you give your impression after you do it. I think the comfort kit scoop forces a little more HOT air to blast through the small gap between the forward, right side of the seat and the frame. Something to block that gap seems to help. | ||
| Jk651 |
It will probably be a few weeks before I get to the header wrap, but I'll definitely share my thoughts. I'm planning on using this stuff here: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DEI-010129/?rtype=10  | ||
| Buewulf |
High altitude is supposed to help too for some reason I can't fathom. Less air to breathe per cycle means you need less fuel to mix with it. I got noticeably better fuel economy on all my vehicles when I lived in Colorado | ||
| Tempest766 |
I live in western PA and I'm lucky to get 39mpg on my 2008 xb12xt highway cruising. It has the 2009 ECM firmware in it (wasn't my choice but the harley dealership did it anyway). 10500 miles on it and I recently changed the plugs and fluids so I'm getting a very consistent 38-39mpg now. I've also noted that on warm days (upper 80s and above) the thing pings around 4000rpm even with 93octane gas in it. nowhere near the power it had before the dealership replaced the ecm and put the newer firmware in it. | ||
| Easttroy |
I get 40+ MPG with the EBR ECM for my drummer. I've gotten as much as 55 MPG with this configuration just cruising around at highway speed. Most of the time MPG depends on the angular momentum of my wrist at any given time. (Message edited by easttroy on June 13, 2012) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's sucky. My 2008 never pings at all until I lean on it with 89 octane gas. On 92 octane, never pings. | ||
| Arry |
My uly was pinging a little a couple of weeks ago. I'm thinking that I got some "premium" that wasn't. Also, iF you're filling at a pump that uses 1 hose for all grades, you're probably getting some regular with your premium. | ||
| Oddjobb |
I ride a 2006 Uly and I have never gotten above about 44. . . I do have a Hawk performance muffler which I had him install at his house and tune my ecm while I was there. I dont know if that makes a big difference. I rode cross country last year and about 44 was the best I could manage. I wish I was getting in the mid 50's! | ||
| Rdkingryder |
Odd, I think he's using Imperial gallons since I've only hit 50mpg once. Usually mid 40's. Last tank was 128 miles, used 2.8 gallons. Pretty consistant as it's my commute. | ||
| Froggy |
If we are going by imperial gallons, I've bested at 90mpg  | ||
| Johnshore |
My 06 Uly all stock except k&n air filter always got 50-53 MPG til the exhaust actuator broke and I wired the exhaust valve open. It went down to 47-50 MPG. Check it every tank. I always fill it and run it till the light comes on. | ||
| Jk651 |
I got out my GPS the other day and discovered that the speedo and odometer are off by about 7%. You can deduct 7% from the mileage that I posted, which takes me down to 53.3 MPG. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
7% seems a bit more than the usual amount of error margin. Were you driving on a straight road? | ||
| Jk651 |
On a straight flat stretch of interstate with a very long line of sight. 100 on the speedo showed 93 on the gps. 65 on the speedometer shows about 60.5 on the gps. On a side note, once you pass 110 the front end seems a little light and twitchy, is that normal? | ||
| Froggy |
Tires can be a factor, I put Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs on my 1125CR and the speedometer went from spot on to 10% off. | ||
| Jk651 |
Interesting thought about the tires. The rear tire is nearing the end of it's life. A smaller tire would make the speedometer read fast. It has street tires on it right now and I was going to go back to dual sport tires when the current tires wear out, but the front tire has lots of life in it still and a motorcycle store in Reno has a rear street tire in Uly size for $69.95 on clearance and that includes mounting and balancing if I bring them the wheel. Not sure what to do. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Not to be too much of an ••••••........ However, in our opinion three places not to skimp on a bike: Tires Brakes Rider and Passengar Gear YRMV | ||
| Jk651 |
I agree about not skimping, but sometimes a good deal and skimping are not the same thing. It's a name brand tire. Michelin or Pirelli, it was a while ago that I saw it there. They may not even have it any more. It was a good tire regardless. | ||
| Uly_man |
The MPG you can get out of this bike or anything else for that matter depends on many things. You could run the same bike, rider, setup over the same distance and get one result. Two hours later with the same setup, on the same ride and rider it might not be the same. There is no way in this world that you can put a fixed mpg on anything because there are so many factors to consider in the real world. |
