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Archive through March 04, 2009Hughlysses30 03-04-09  01:23 pm
         

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407guy
Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

2008 XB12XT, about 4,000 miles. Only getting about 38mpg average. Not pleased with this only because of the numbers "listed" by Buell. It's not even close - I could live within 10% of the estimated numbers. I'm about 20% or more away...
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Court
Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

The single most effective thing you can do is contact the feds . . . Buell has nearly no say in the estimated mileage figures and the feds have a pretty bizarre concept themselves. . . . but me mindful, this is the same group of geniuses who consider December 1 to be the last day of November????

If you want to see them at their best. . . buy a Smart Car . . they don't approach the mileage.

I'd also suspect the XB motor will improve a bit with time.
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Swordsman
Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:20 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Smart car.... nice example. It's very fitting because, just like the Buells, so what if the MPG isn't all it was cracked up to be, and maybe it could be smoother (Smart transmissions are notoriously jerky)? It's still a cool piece of machinery!

~SM
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Sam_07
Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:29 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

File a complaint with NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)about the poor fuel mileage.

http://www.safercar.gov/

The more complaints the more likely Buell will create a solution. Coughing/Surging are safety related items.

(Message edited by sam_07 on March 04, 2009)
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Court
Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:38 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Be certain, lest you shoot the messenger, to specify that Buell complied FULLY with the federally mandated testing and promulgation procedures and that your complaint is with the feds for not having a realistic procedure.

The Buell figures are, as cited, much more accurate than the Smart Car or my Ford F-150.
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Swordsman
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 09:41 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I guess the strangest thing to me about the new Buell FI is that real world fuel economy seems to have decreased, but overall performance has remained the same. What exactly were they trying to achieve?

~SM
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Spacecapsule1
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 10:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Yes, I too would like an answer to Swordsman's question.
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Court
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 11:14 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I've never kept track of the mileage on my bike but there have been some interesting changes in the way the feds derive these figures. These changes went into effect in 2008. I need to learn more about how motorcycle figures are derived. I know Buell does not do them I am eager to see who does and how.



quote:

How Vehicle Testing Is Changed

Since the EPA began gathering mileage ratings in the 1970s, it has not provided figures derived from real-world driving.

Instead, the numbers stem from laboratory testing required by law to measure vehicle emissions. Basically, government officials measure the amount of carbon expelled in a vehicle's exhaust during testing to deduct how much fuel has been consumed. (This system came about after auto companies complained about the cost and burden of having to do an additional test just for fuel economy.)

During testing, new vehicles—usually pre-production models—are "driven" on a dynamometer so wheels rotate as they would on a road. But there's no wind or other weather conditions in the laboratory.

There also are no changes in road grade, and the test driver must follow a strict "schedule" of accelerator and speed situations that are meant to mimic real-world driving.

The results are then put into a complicated formula to derive the mileage artificially. This formula was adjusted once before—in the 1980s—to decrease mileage figures and better reflect real driving conditions.

This time, the EPA is adding new testing to account for drivers accelerating more quickly than in previous tests, driving at higher speeds and using air conditioning. It also is taking into account lower outside temperatures. All these factors can lower a vehicle's fuel economy.

Note, however, that even the new EPA figures are estimates and do not necessarily indicate the exact mileage every driver will get.

Mileage is affected by driver habits, weather, the use of power-draining accessories, terrain, the condition of a vehicle, even tire pressure.


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Boltrider
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 11:40 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Makes me wonder what the EPA mileage will be for some of the new hybrids.
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Xbgeorge
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 12:13 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I am not too worried about the millage of the bike. Around 40 is better than my modified Jeep (10-12 mpg). My main concern is the dangerous stumble (feels more like cutting out) while making slow turns. As any rider knows the power of the bike keeps us upright during a lean. When that power is suddenly taken away, the bike wants to lay down. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times this has happened to me. It is down right scary, especially when riding two up.

I love my Buell. It is a great looking bike and runs very well in all other situations. But this cutting out problem has made me change the way I ride. When everybody else just pulls off, I have to over rev the motor to prevent the problem. It makes me look like the new guy, trying to learn to use the clutch.

This is an issue that Buell should take care of.
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Xbrfirebolt
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 03:54 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I don't have a problem with the mileage not being close to the estimated mileage figures. Mine has always been with the way it tries to die when trying to take off from a stop. It has a bad flat spot off idle. I have to bring the rpm up to 2,000 rpm or above to try to take off or it stumbles, or dies. The ECU was flashed with the fix back in May of '08. It didn't help the stumble/flat spot, but it did lower my mpg. It also started pinging when accelerating quickly to get on the freeway after the flash. I'm taking mine back to the dealer again to try and get it resolved.

I still enjoy my Buell, but could be much happier with a better throttle response.
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Ourdee
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 05:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Mine never stumbles in a corner, I don't go that slow.
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Spacecapsule1
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 06:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

sarcasm aside, it isn't funny when you roll into the middle of an intersection and you get the pop-cough-stall routine. It's happened to me over and over

Making a 90 degree turn with the same event happening doesn't fair any better. It too has happened to me several times.
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Dipstick
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 07:11 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I have an 08 12S, a Special Ops exhaust with no other mods except a K&N filter stopped that low RPM stumble on mine. (after it's warmed up) At the 10,000 mi service the plugs were fine, the front was a dark tan and the rear was a very dark tan. The 08 ECM seems to learn the new exhaust and adjusts the mixture accordingly. The sound is the finest music I've ever heard from any V twin.
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Boltrider
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 08:28 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I've seen a few people post now about how a Drummer pipe, or Special Ops etc and a K&N or open air box cured the bad stumbling down low. I believe they are riding '08+ XB's also.
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Paint_shaker
Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 08:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

The Spec Ops pipe helped with some of the issues, the ecmyspy tuning has helped even more. Either that, or I am just used to it by now. BY the way, I rarely if every spend any time below 3000 RPM (this includes taking off from a stop).
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