Premium gas vs regular

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Whitedog, get a two liter bottle and fill it with gas and put it in your top case and go ride the bike until it runs out of gas.  Put the two liters in the tank and go fill it at the nearest gas station.  With luck you won't have to go to far to get gas.  Add 1/2 gallon to what you put in and that will be approximately what your tank holds.

As far as mileage, what do your spark plugs look like?  It sounds like you have a rich mixture, possibly caused by a funky engine temperature sensor.

[White Dog]

So I can conclude I have about 1/2 gallon in the tank when the pump quits pumping?  Edging closer to that 5.2 gallon tank.


I have not examined the plugs.  Based on paperwork that came with the bike, a previous owner went thru the bike at 22K miles, doing replacements and/or maintenance, assuming the speedo is the OEM.  I have something in excess of 31K now, so my assumption are the plugs are good.  But, I'll look at them.


Where is the engine temperature sensor located and how would I test it for proper function?


Maybe you get a better grade of gas than I do.  All our gas in NC comes thru the Colonial Pipeline from Louisiana area.  Have no idea if ethanol is added there or here.  I've heard of some truck tankers using the "slosh method" for fuel additives. I've been paying for 100% gas now for about a year in both Beemers.  My Honda cycles run fine on 10% ethanol regular.

[BrickMW]

I class myself as a "conservative rider."  No excessive speed, no jack-rabbit starts... Incidentally, my R1100RT gets much better MPG than the K75 and I do ride the R1100 fairly aggressively.

Probably more of a correlation than an incidental anomaly.. try flogging the K for a few tanks and see if the mpg's don't go up.
As backward as it seems, there is a linear relationship between the tach and the mpg.
3K's = 30's mpg
4K's = 40's mpg
5k's = 50's mpg (appropriate yeehaa levels also obtained in this range)


Nothing about my riding style is in the interest of saving fuel or tires for that matter, but I get 50-55mpg consistently, mostly running 97 Chevron lately at about 10-15 gal per week.

[Laitch]

As backward as it seems, there is a linear relationship between the tach and the mpg.
3K's = 30's mpg
4K's = 40's mpg
5k's = 50's mpg (appropriate yeehaa levels also obtained in this range)

When I ride at 65mph-75mph for long distances, the mpg rate is at or below the low end of my scale.

[BrickMW]

When I ride at 65mph-75mph for long distances, the mpg rate is at or below the low end of my scale.

Well, you either lack a wind screen, or your moto leaks fuel at high speeds. :giggles


Actually, I would agree with you Laitch. I get my best mpg during everyday, short 10-20 mile trips, stop and go, up and down through 4 (mostly 3) gears. Technique I picked up here at the world famous motobrick.com


I used to cruise around in overdrive thinking 40mpg was amazing. Dropped 5th gear, gained 10mpg... go figure.

[Laitch]

I get my best mpg during everyday, short 10-20 mile trips, stop and go, up and down through 4 (mostly 3) gears. Technique I picked up here at the world famous motobrick.com

It's not the duration of the trips, it's the speed during them. Over 65mph the mpg drops by 5% or so.

To clarify, it isn't that I lack a windscreen, Brick. I prefer riding without one. I like the sound of bird, insect and debris impacts on my riding jacket and helmet.  Riding in a swarm of locusts or love bugs is challenging; however, bug gore congealing on gear is a badge of honor.  :yes

[The Mighty Gryphon]

...bug gore congealing on gear is a badge of honor.  :yes

Not to mention a significant source of protein during the interminable Vermont winter.

[Laitch]

Not to mention a significant source of protein during the interminable Vermont winter.

:hehehe I peel it off, dry it and sell it as jerky at the winter farmers market.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

As far as MPG, I get a consistent 45mpg at engine speeds up to 5000rpm above that it begins to drop to a fairly consistent 38-40mpg at engine speeds above 6500rpm in 5th gear.  This is true on both of my K75's, the RT with a barn door fairing/windshield as well as the K75S which is nearly naked with a cut down windshield.

Whitedog, you do not have 1/2 gallon of gas in the tank when it runs out of gas, the tank is EMPTY as in "there is no gas at all in it".  The half gallon I mentioned is the gas from the two liter bottle that you put in so you could get to a gas station after you ran the tank dry. 

I have to go now before my head explodes.

[Laitch]

I have to go now before my head explodes.

Are you sure?

A video of that will get a lot of YouTube hits and might even pay for quite a few Techron  treatments.

[bizzaro]

I just ran 122 miles and almost never got above 3rd gear.  Some 4th.  RPM up to 7K+ and mph avg. 60 to 90 mph.on mostly rural highways.  38+mpg is what I got.

I rode with a friend from work this Summer that has a Honda exciter or rebel, 250CC bike so I drove like your Grandma.  My MPG was 52+mpg. Lots of 5th and not much throttle.


 MY average is 42+mpg at my normal driving speeds and gear selection. Commuting and just above speed limit travel on rural roads. Through towns n highway speeds 55 to 70.

I don't run enough ethyl gas to know how it affects my gas mileage,(the original thread theme). But I swear that when I put the high test ethyl in (93 octane) Greta runs better.  But my brain won't accept that, so I stick to 91 octane non-ethtyl.   If you can trust the suppliers and the "independent" agents of non-ethyl gas.  Of which I am always suspicious, my paranoid nature, and the integrity of the tanks supplying the fuel from these older independent fuel retailers.............................Prolly another thread in that query/statement? :dunno

[White Dog]

Oh, Mighty Gryphon, hold onto your head.  I'll be sure to post my tank capacity but it will be several weeks before I know.

[Blue]

My home gas station from 2008.

[alabrew]

I get the best mpg on the '05 K12LT ~ 45, the 91' K100RS 4V yields ~ 40 (and I ride it most aggressively) and the '85 K100 Standard (no shield) is ~ 38. I feel like a sail on the '85 with it's upright seating position. My weekly route is the same for all bikes, I'm primarily a commuter, and I run Shell or Chevron Premium. I used to run Regular in the '02 K12LT as it started better on Regular when it was winter - not that we get much of one here in Alabama the Beautiful, but I worked Second shift and would get on to go home between 10 pm and 2 am. My rule was, if it were above 40 degrees when I left home at 1 pm, I would ride. It might be below freezing when I left work for home (heated vest are NICE! and the heated seat doesn't hurt either =-}). The '05 K12LT doesn't seem to have the same issue but I no longer work Second shift to know.

[stevendlarson@hotmail.com]

Maybe you need to go on a diet or something.  Lose some weight maybe.  I dunno. :hehehe