| Author | Message | ||
     Juniorkirk |
It's been awhile since i've been out here in Cali with my bike now, and i'm just wondering why is it that NOW i'm only getting on average 45-47 mpg while in Iowa i was getting 52-55 mpg? Is it the air density or what? I've always been puzzled by this drop in mileage. And to say its cause i ride faster out here in Cali, yes i do, but i did a test on a few tanks, road her nice and steady and didn't go faster than speeds i would in Iowa and i still average the 45-47mpg, and got 49mpg once when i road the $hit out of her up at Palomar Mtn. WTF?!?! | ||
| Dooley |
Yea, I live in warner springs, but used to live in SD and work on Palomar...Commuted daily, I never got better than 50 mpg on my 9, about 45-47 on the average..I have a 12 now and have not tested the mpg, hopefully its not much worse.....you still ride palomar? | ||
| Nik |
California gas... although recently my mileage has dropped from 45-49 to 40-45 with no apparent cause. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
ya, was there just last thursday and saturday. Love it up there. Fun ride, and great people always riding up there. | ||
| Froggy |
Different areas have different formulations of gas. Also some areas switch blends depending on the time of the year, I don't know what they do and when in Iowa. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
I was doing some searching online awhile back and i found that adding Pure Acetone to your gas in a car gives you better gas mileage. Would doing this to a buell hurt it any? My guess is it shouldn't be too much of a deal in small quantities, but thought i would ask before i tried anything that might be stupid to my bike. Right now, i want to see how good of gas mileage i can get out of the ol' girl | ||
| Court |
I've never kept track of mileage on anything . . . my thinking that, car or bike, once I own it I own it . . . but I do notice that changing the grade of fuel in one of my cars (it requires Premium) makes a huge change in fuel mileage. On the bike . . . well, at $5 a tank . . I just don't keep track but maybe I should check sometime. Try changing fuel grades (I always run Premium in my bikes) and see what happens. I'd darn sure not put Acetone in the tank. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
My bike doesn't see anything less than 91 octane premium fuel. I wish i could find a place nearby that sells 93 octane but i havent been able to find any place that goes that high. I know in iowa they are usually 93 octane, but i had to fill up with 91 once in awhile, but out here, it's the opposite, only 91 and no 93 | ||
| Jaimec |
If your bike requires 91 octane and it is available in your area, then putting in 93 octane is only wasting your money. This has been beaten to DEATH here in BadWeb.  | ||
| Swordsman |
As finicky as Cali is about their emissions, I'd bet their gas formula has everything to do with it. Probably more ethanol. ~SM | ||
| Jaimec |
I believe California oxygenates their gas year-round. MOST states only do it in the winter months. | ||
| Bueller83 |
Well they only sell 93 here in FL i have never seen 91 | ||
| Juniorkirk |
thats what iowa is like, same price as 91 if you find it in iowa, but i always ran the 93, made the engine run better | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
California indeed uses multiple gasoline formulas. I live in the Fresno area, and am in the automotive business. During every fog season, tons of customers come in questioning their sudden drop in fuel economy. Fuel related. Its the cost of clean air. Welcome to California, ruled by CARB. (California Air Resources Board.) | ||
| Growl |
If you have an 2007 or earlier, sudden gas mileage reduction might indicate time for a TPS reset. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
JUST had the tps done about a week ago, and i'm getting the same gas mileage as i was before. It runs better now since i haven't had it reset since before i came out here from iowa. The only thing i have noticed with the reset is the throttle response is better.....thats it. | ||
| Davidoforlando |
Let me just add this comment. My '08 XB12R FIREBOLT GETS 35 miles to the gallon TOPS.. the little fuel light comes on religously at 105 miles. I always use 93 octane. So if you get 40, 45, 50 etc don't not complain. I've had the dealer look at it three time.. called Buell cust serve... complaining ... to no avail. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
I'm far from complaining, i've always just wondered why it has dropped. I still love that im AVERAGING 45 mpg, even when i rape the shit out of her, she still gets an average of 45 mpg | ||
| Spdrxb |
Have u guys ever looked to see if your odometer is accurate.Last year I was riding with some buds on a trip and at every gas stop my mileage was reading 10-18 miles lower than they were. The other bikes are not Buells just a thought but i think the odometer is not accurate. maybe we actually are getting better mileage than u think? My light always comes on after highway miles at approx 120 miles. | ||
| Froggy |
Buell's have one of the most accurate odometers on a motorcycle. Most Japanese bikes are grossly inaccurate over 50. Check your odometer against a GPS if you have any doubts. | ||
| Spdrxb |
So is 120-125ish miles average for fuel light to come on? after highway mileage traveling at 70-75mph | ||
| Froggy |
125 / 3.1 for your bike, thats about 40mpg. A little low, but I bet that with some tweaks to your riding you can get it to around 50. I have gotten 75mpg once on my XB12, so I know it can be done  | ||
| Juniorkirk |
i've noticed that when im on the freeway mine will come on at about 120 miles. But if i ride her nicer the light doesnt come on until about 130-140. every time i'm at the pump and when im done filling up i ALWAYS check my gas mileage. I know for a fact that my speedo is off by about 5 mph. And i have done THREE gps comparisons, so i know my speedo is off. It says 40 on the speedo, and all the gps say 35, and even a few of those "watch your speed" radars they setup on the road too. and how the hell do you get 75mpg? fill up at the top of a mountain and coast downhill at idle for 90 miles?! | ||
| Froggy |
Juniorkick the Odometer is still spot on despite what the speedometer said, thats what I was talking about before. As for 75MPG, I was fully loaded up coming home from Buelltoberfest 2, so I suspect aerodynamics played a roll too.  XL1200R has also gotten similar mileage out of his XB12R with hard bags on the trip too. | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
This guy's issues are due to California's reformulated gasoline. From experience, it results in an MPG loss of 10-12%. His bike has never been run on this "funny gas" before, hence the drop. |
