Loosin the fight in a war on fuel...

Message

biff · #1 Post by **biff** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:28 pm

I have a VN 1500 classic w/carb. I love this bike but the gas milage is as bad as a large car. I'v gotten 108 miles out of it from pump to putter on the regular tank. That's 24 miles a gallon! I'm loosin the fight, I'm close to giving up and putting the factory pipes back on. I really don't want to, but my comute is 40miles each way and I'm not saving a dime in fuel... I'm fillin up every day before work.SO...any tips on how to correct the gas milage before I quit back to factory pipes?

ZooTech · #2 Post by **ZooTech** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:40 pm

The pipes shouldn't be causing your mileage to go down. It's that twisty thing on the end of the right handlebar!

Seriously, though, either ya need to go easy on the throttle or your jetting is off and you're running too rich. I'm getting far better mileage than that with a massaged version of your engine.

< I Fly > · #3 Post by **< I Fly >** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:47 pm

I would suggest not using a big cruiser as a commuter!
They just aren't meant for the daily grind.

Get a small sportbike for that.

biff · #4 Post by **biff** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:01 pm

I'm not crawling but I'm no speed demon. I do think the jetting has to be bad. I get some serious backfires after the bike sits for a few minutes, I think it is running to rich.

ZooTech · #5 Post by **ZooTech** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:37 pm

VulcanNasty wrote:I'm not crawling but I'm no speed demon. I do think the jetting has to be bad. I get some serious backfires after the bike sits for a few minutes, I think it is running to rich.

You should go have your bike analyzed with an EGA and a dyno. You should be getting mid 40's if you ride hard, low 50's if you take 'er easy.

biff · #6 Post by **biff** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:42 pm

What kind of cost would I be looking at for a Dyno run? 75.00-100.00? More?

ZooTech · #7 Post by **ZooTech** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:51 pm

It varies place to place. The shop that does it near me charges $150 minimum, $250 maximum. That's with half a dozen passes on the dyno plus tuning with EGA. Your bike likely needs a smaller jet in the carb. Do you have aftermarket needles or air intake on the bike?

desper · #8 Post by **desper** » Sat May 06, 2006 5:55 am

< I Fly > wrote:I would suggest not using a big cruiser as a commuter!
They just aren't meant for the daily grind.

Get a small sportbike for that.

I don't understand your logic here. What do you think makes a sport bike better for 'the daily grind'?

#9 Post by **bok** » Sat May 06, 2006 6:29 am

i think his logic is that something like an ex250 will get about 70mpg or so, for a commuter that is just sick...but if it's not the bike you want it makes no sense...i commute on my shadow 750 and it costs me a lot less than my car does. Once you diagnose your possible mechanical problem you should get way better milage on your "big cruiser" probably mid 40s (guessing)

desper · #10 Post by **desper** » Sat May 06, 2006 7:17 am

I understand that a smaller bike gets better fuel efficiency... I was just asking what that has to do with it being a sportbike or a cruiser.

With my vstar 650, I am now paying $20 bucks a week to commute to work... as opposed to $120 in the cage(way more for gas + parking fee) thats savings of about $400/mnth!