Poor fuel economy

I'm getting very poor economy at the moment. Last fill up (and it's a bit better than usual) was 11.45l after 211km.

That works out at 52 mpg imperial or 62.5 us. 5.43 litres/100km.

It doesn't sound too bad but that's really taking it easy; 100km/h max on the motorway and 80 km/h max on regular roads on a regular 40mile / 65km run I do several times a week.

Aren't you riding an '04 Silver Wing, the earlier model years were known for their heavier fuel consumption compared with the '08 onwards models with O2 sensors and improved fuel economy.

The oily hands fraternity on here will likely recommend some tinkering, an easier no hassle option would be buying the smallest bottle of Fuel Injector Cleaner and giving a dose to the next couple of tanks of fuel and seeing if your fuel economy improves.

I guess the question is: Is that mpg you’re getting substantially worse than what you got in the past? I have a 2003 (so no O2 sensor) and I generally get ~ 48 with occasions of ~ 50 mpg and not much better than that (don’t really care actually, as it’s a fun bike, not a commuter). That’s with getting on it from a light and running on the highway ~ 65-75 mph and around town maybe 50 mph or so.

I get 45 max try replacing your plugs I had one not firing and didn't notice replaced new ones and rides like a champ

I like the storage - I don't drive a car and it's my shopping trolley - but driving it like it's a 125 is getting me down.

Maybe I need to look out for a later machine. It is 04 and it has 58,000 miles / 93,000 km on it. The front disk is at it's limit which suggests to me that it was ridden hard for a fair bit of that 58k. It has a little burble sometimes during pick-up. The clutch is a little bit rough after some damage to the drum.

My 2012 will get close to 62 IF I baby it. Usually it hovers around 55 MPG US. So yours sounds completely acceptable, unless I am not reading your post properly.

On my '02 Swing400, I'd get around 42-45mpg. On my '06, fuel economy improves; 57mpg.

11.45L for 211km works out to 43~mpg no?

My 2001 is so poor on fuel I don't bother counting. Regular air filter and plugs help a bit. Also a bottle of injector cleaner occasionally.

Count your blessings people.
My pocket rocket Honda VFR1200DCT averages 38 mpg imp. un-modified, hard or soft riding!
Ok, worth every drop on a sunny day....

Be safe, be seen!

I gave it a sustained 120km run for 80km this morning and it was much improved this evening. Nicer all round.

For comparison purposes, my sixty year-old 600cc BMW gives 70mpg at 70mph. The three and a half gallon tank gives me three hours running and a half hour reserve.

I have 2 Honda ST1100 motorcycles and they get ~ 50 mpg on average. They also run a little lower in the rpm range at highway speed (maybe near 4000 at 70 or so mph) whereas the SWing at the same speed is at 5400 rpm (with 26 gram Dr. Pulley sliders) so I assume if the engine speed is higher it in part determines the mpg.

JohnyC wrote:

Count your blessings people.
My pocket rocket Honda VFR1200DCT averages 38 mpg imp. un-modified, hard or soft riding!
Ok, worth every drop on a sunny day....

Be safe, be seen!

Ha ha! My ST1300 and MT-10 do about the same, but I don't bother with straight roads. We also don't talk about tyre life...