I'm getting 44.5 measured mpg with my 110 front tire, so 45.5 mpg. I cruise at 70mph, and I weigh 180. I'm not the lightest on the throttle, but I'm not drag racing every green light either. This is post ear shave, with GB, and open pipes post GB, running 40/143 jets.
I think I'm actually doing better than before the ear shave! Last year, I was 43-44.
Next tank, I'm going to see how high I can get it. My record last year was 51. Granny riding, here I come!
For a VN to be more fuel efficient ?...go with an FI (fuel injection) system instead of the carbs, and update the antiquated ignition system for a guaranrteed good spark at all RPM ranges.
Ive gotten as much as 59 mpg with my 85, stripped and modded properly....
..a larger diam rear tire might raise me to 64 tops.
Many times I've set out with a full tank to do a gas mileage run, never completed one, it's too much fun playing with the power and revs. So, 44 mpg it is.
I think it would be tough to improve on the ignition, unless it's getting a voltage drop through the stock wiring. There's a wiring and relay mod to handle that, in the electrical sticky posts.
Depends on RPM. If I'm doing around 4K or under, as in a nice, lazy back roads ride, I can get mid 50's MPG.
If I'm doing freeway trip riding where the rpms run along the 5K to 6K (or more) then the mpg drops to 32. When I do that I'm generally mildly loaded down (maybe 35 lbs or so). I weigh 240.
A "naked" bike, one without extras such as luggage rack, engine guard, highway pegs, saddlebags, windshield, then whatever you load in your bags and luggage, and with a lighter rider is bound to get a bit better mileage than a bike with all of the "stuff" on it. Even the RAM mount for the GPS is not light. And there's 60 lbs difference between me and Jason alone, not counting whatever riding gear we may be wearing.
I've never once had the sensation that the bike is struggling though. It seems to just zip its' happy ass right down the road without a worry. But it may be a bit thirstier, though.
Actually, now I'm kind of curious about how much all of those things weigh (bags/highway pegs/engine guard/etc.) but they're installed and that's where they'll stay. I'm not THAT curious to take them all off just to weigh them. But it would be nice to know what the grand total would be.
A lot of junkyards and recycle centers have vehicle scales because they’ll weigh you on the way in and again on the way out and charge you based on the difference. The bike’s dry weight is 483lbs. A gallon of gas weighs roughly 6lbs. You could figure out the weight of the add-ons that way.
In that case it is what it is. If it was a desperate “need to know” I’m sure the operators here would have a “price”. I don’t have much in the way of add-ons on my mind so the only way I could make the bike lighter is by dieting 😉
I get 44 mpg & bike is LOADED, Vetter fairing, saddlebags with rain gear, luggage rack that has my roll along briefcase, LEDS everywhere and the wires to run them, phone mount, GPS, engine guards, spots, fogs and Bab Boy horn.
For the most part I’m in the city. Obviously MPGs are going to suck, I usually top it off when I hit the half tank mark because I’m not necessarily curious to find out how accurate my fuel gauge is. I’m going to pay more attention on my next weekend run out of town out of curiosity. Like I was saying earlier my bike is pretty much stock other than a windshield. I’m tipping the scale at around 215lb.
Something I've never gave a crap about. More interested in how many miles I could go before I hit reserve. Did an average calculation of about 38 mpg once after the motor was broken in. But then I developed a heavy wrist then...
There's just too many variables here. Many who went with an aftermarket exhaust have claimed better mileage, but the stock system is heavy AF, so not too surprising even if they "jetted richer".
Small windscreens seem to help improve mileage, where larger ones not so much. The "laid back" rider position doesn't help. It's not just your weight but your width here.
Luggage rack by itself likely doesn't impact mpg that much (it's like 7 pounds)
Saddle bags may not only add weight but may increase wind resistance , but no one here has a wind tunnel to get figures with, it's actually possible a set of saddle bags could decrease drag....
So, no real numbers to go with across the board for all owners. If it matters to you, make several runs (at least 6) and come up with the average for YOUR bike.
While I generally care a lot more about the joy of riding itself, this discussion of miles per gallon is important to me for two reasons. One, I'm kind of a nerd about numbers. Too, my round trip commute is 76 miles. Two days is 3.45 gallons at 44 miles per gallon I really want to see if I can do it without hitting Reserve! However, that's cutting it very close to the bottom of the reserve as well, unless I can improve my MPG! I don't know if I feel quite that lucky...
I guess the prospect of getting stranded is plenty of motivation to stay off the throttle
Well, when we went to a Gathering at Kentucky Lake soon after I got the Vulcan, we found ourselves running on reserve with no gas stations in sight. Going through Cairo Illinois, every station was closed. (And by closed I mean no longer in business) I nursed that throttle as best I could and luckily once we crossed into Kentucky we found an open station. Bike took 3.1 gallons. So we were nearly running on fumes.
After that...... I always topped off every 80-100 miles.
(And on other long trips I packed a liter bottle of fuel just in case)
This is my first bike. I’m loving it. MPG has been an afterthought at best. I drive an expedition so numbers like 38 and 44 mpg just sound amazing lol. But in all seriousness taking into account what you both said. There’s a million combinations to factor in. I’m in an engineering field so I too like to nerd out on the numbers and the science. I’m curious now so I’ll start taking mental notes
All right, I rode real gently and tucked into the wind. I burn through a tank of gas, but I had to wait for the rain to let up to finally go fill it up again.
148.8 miles with 2.783 gallons for 53.5 MPG. But my smiles per gallon was a lot worse!
At least now I have a baseline, should I make any changes.
I might go down a jet on the mains, because my bike is gutless above 8000, and will not pass redline in 3rd gear. I hear it coughing and spitting at 8500.
I weigh around 240, and found a dramatic difference in MPG based on speed. I could get around 50 MPG at a steady 55 mph. But up that to 75 mph, and it dropped below 35 MPG. I have actually run out of gas in under 100 miles riding at 80 mph on the freeway. That was on the '02, and it had stock jetting, stock exhaust, and a complete stock intake system.
I weigh about 190lbs and in most cases regular to hard riding I get around 48mpg. High speed riding takes it down around 44 or so for me. I have a mostly stock '02 vn750.
Today I did some interstate riding, doing my best to hold 80 mph. GPS shows about 77 for a lot of the trip. I had a side wind for 20 miles, and headwind for 60 miles.
My MPG was 37.1.
I dropped my main jet from 143 to 140 prior to this trip, but I haven't re-baselined with my daily commute.
Speed kills mpg!
EDIT: I have achieved a new low! 34.86 mpg over 61 miles! I spent most of those miles cruising at 90 mph with WOT runs up to 110 mph. That was followed up by 46 mpg for 130 miles at 70 mph.
Interesting reading. I have a different approach. My bike will, on average, require switching to reserve at 130 miles. I then figure I'd better find more fuel within 30 miles. FWIW
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