Honda Unicorn 129 mpg/Star Twin Thunder Star 1200 TDI 94 mpg

[firebird74521]

People often quote gas milage for vehicles that are very unrealistic but they think they are really getting that milage. They never actually check their milage. Those peole stating 50MPG around town from their cars get a rude awakening if they actualy check their milage accuratley.Please don't say you getting 50 MPG around town unless you have really checked your milage. Unless you have a hybrid, it isn't going to happen. An average of 4o MPG around town would be difficult for almost any normaly driven vehicle with over 1.5 liter displacment other than special purpose economy cars or very small newer cars driven gently. Driving habits are a big factor in MPG. Nobody is averaging 55 or 60 MPG on the highway under normal driving conditions other than hybrids or the very smallest new cars from any manufacturer. Sometims real milage comparisons can be quite surprising. A brother once bragged about the great milage in his new 1994 Corrola with auto tranmission . He also had on older 1985 Mustang 2.3 LT 4 cylinder 4 speed standard. He and his wife went on a long trip and took both cars. He filled both to the top of the filler neck when starting the trip, 260 miles later they gassed up, again to the top of the filler neck. It cost the Corrolla $4 more than the Mustang?? Suprise, shock was more like it. Around town the Corrolla would get much better MPG than the Mustang but on the long highway trip the old 4 cyl Mustang easily beat the new Corrolla in MPG. Motor cycles don't get nearly the milage they could if they are any kind of sport bike. A GSXR 750 gets much less MPG than a Suzuki Swift. MPG is not a consideration when high performace is required. Some bikes in the 250Cc and smaller can achieve well over 60MPG and much more but very few highway capable bikes are going to get more unless driven very gently. As soon as you crack the throttle open milage dissapears fast. I once drove a 1970 Norton 750 at full throttle with a measured one gallon in the tank. It was 3AM on new pavement. It went just over 12 miles.!!How you drive makes a huge difference in milage and real MPG testing can be quite surprising and often humiliating.

[Project84]

When newbs join the site and bring up 2 year old topics, to which they add zero relative information, it...

Originally Posted by firebird74521

... can be quite surprising and often humiliating.

Welcome?

[theholycow]

firebird74521, most here measure their fuel economy accurately, and plenty of people on this site can get 50-60MPG from a Civic VX. djenyc's claim of over 50MPG from his VX around town is not implausible or even unlikely. That's only 30% better than the car's 39MPG EPA city estimate. Are you aware that the VX is, as you say, a "special purpose economy car"?

I manage to squeeze 38-42MPG from a 2008 VW Rabbit, a 3000 pound car equipped with a 2.5 liter I5 engine, in mixed highway (40%) and town (60%) driving. It is, as you say, "difficult".

As you said, "how you drive makes a huge difference" truly; and this site is about that exact topic. Most people here intend to combine that with "real MPG testing" to create results that are "quite surprising".

Welcome to the site. It takes an open mind to use our techniques and priorities, but it pays off in improbable fuel economy.

[kamesama980]

Always take motorcycle mileage ratings with a grain of salt. from the EPAs own website http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp

"The EPA also does not test motorcycles or four wheel vehicles that are not legal for highway driving..."

that means the economy ratings are good for a lot less than for cars (at least cars, being tested by the same guys, are OK for comparisons to eachother)

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by kamesama980

Always take motorcycle mileage ratings with a grain of salt. from the EPAs own website http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp

"The EPA also does not test motorcycles or four wheel vehicles that are not legal for highway driving..."

It bothers me a lot, there are no good official FE figures for motorcycles. When we chose our bikes we had to do a long research on the 'net for the users' experience. And most of them rides their bikes in a very different manner than I do

But in the end, we did not go wrong with them Both of our bikes are capable of exceeding 80mpg (once I've even got close to 100 with Teresa - not bad for a full-fledged 650 she's no sport bike though, I must admit ), they just need different approaches

[fowljesse]

One day, I'd like to build a Moped like the ones I saw in Hawai'i; capable of 80mph, and still "49cc". Okay, they were bored, I don't know how much, but they probably still got 100mpg. I saw one Honda Elite capable of sustained racing at over 100mph.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Maybe we want to compile a chart, based on admittedly anecdotal experience, of motorcycle gas mileage, so people might get a real-world idea of what to expect...

...just a thought...

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by JoeBob

Maybe we want to compile a chart, based on admittedly anecdotal experience, of motorcycle gas mileage, so people might get a real-world idea of what to expect...

...just a thought...

It's much harder to determine the FE of a vehicle type based on user experience. More real than a standard test, but varies widely due to the different circumstances and drive styles. And it's especially true for motorcycles, many of them are for joy rides only and for many people a joy ride means wringing the hell out of these bikes...

...just another thoght...

It would still be useful, I agree.