Gas Mileage- Is your a Sipper or iz it Sooopazz, yo!!

[Kokosun]

Sorry. I don't know what the answer could be, but 26-28mpg means that there is something seriously wrong. Even at the low end, you should be getting 40 mp(US)g. I can't believe that new plugs would make any difference. Problem is ... these kind of issues can be difficult to find. Do you know a mechanic that you trust? I'm guessing that you're actually leaking fuel somehow. It's probably a very slow leak, but when you leave the bike standing for a few hours, you're losing fuel. Since it evaporates as if leaks, there'll be no tell-tale marks on the ground when you return to the bike.

[cadd]

Thanks. I started a new thread about my disappearing gasoline. I attached a link of a video of today's ride as well. Maybe someone watching the video can catch something that I've missed. I don't think it's my riding style that's causing the missing gasoline. So.....no idea. And I don't know any mechanics


http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showt...609#post831609

[mgentz]

I only get in the 30's...

[sharky nrk]

Fuel mileage on these things is really not great for the displacement. I have been using the Ninjette for commuting now since the first of the year and pretty much never see better than 55 mpg on my 30 mile/65 mph avg commute.

I love this little bike and 55 mpg is far better than the 30 mpg by best cage gets but when you see the new Honda 500s averaging 5+ mpg more it does make you scratch your head a bit.

I did pick up 2 or 3 mpg changing from a 14t to a 15t front sprocket in March (and some sanity droning on the slab section) and have been considering a touring windscreen in hopes for another 2 or 3.

I like any mods that can save fuel and make the bike more comfortable for the commute.

[cadd]

Still the same issue! Under 30mpg!!!! Yes, I'm calculating my fuel mileage correctly. Fill up tank. Set trip meter to 0. Ride until 1/2 tank left. Fill up again.

Take miles ridden and divided that by the number of gallons needed to fill up.

Any ideas?!?!

I cleaned the carbs. And changed the plugs.

Petcock isn't leaking. Floats (and float needles) functioning properly.

I have no idea where the gasoline went.

I still smell a slight hint of gasoline in the crankcase (nose to oil fill hole method).

Can you guys do me a favor and put your nose to the oil fill hole and let me know if you smell any gasoline at all?

Or should there be absolutely no gasoline smell at all.

The oil level window appears normal. Right in the middle of the window.

I am stumped!!!

PS - I am going to change the air filter and give it another oil change just to be sure. This time, I'm going to fill the oil to the bottom line of the oil glass window and see if it goes up.

Also, fuel/air adjustment screws are set to 2.5 turns out on both carbs.

Bike runs fine. No hesitation. Rides up to redline strong in the first few gears.

[capt_bugaloo]

What kind of riding do you do? I get lousy mileage usually, but it's because I ride across town for my daily commute, and have to stop and wait at a lot of lights. If I'm out on the highway, I get far better mileage.

[cadd]

Short rides in town. Only 5 mile rides mostly. I guess the motor hasn't had a chance to fully warm up to normal operating temps before I get to my destination.

But even with short trips in stop and go traffic, would that really get me below 30mpg?

What type of fuel mileage are you getting? How many miles are your trips normally?

What are your shift points and what is your cruising rpm?

I normally shift around 7-8k rpm and I normally cruise around 5-6k rpm.

[cadd]

Anyone else who commute (or ride) short distances care to chime in with your gas mileage?

[OregonBob]

I commute in town, approximately 8 miles each way to work and back. I am seeing right around 52-55 mpg... I get about 200 miles to a tank, and when I fill it up, I normally put between 3.5 and 4 gallons in... I could probably get a little better, but I tend to have a lead wrist and enjoy my ride to and from work I did change my sprocket a few months ago to a 15t in the front, and it is just getting into riding weather up here, so I am hoping to get closer to 60 for this summer... I didn't notice much power difference with the new sprocket, but my RPM's dropped about 1000 rpm while traveling at 50mph....

[sharky nrk]

^^ I noticed the change in the bikes pep a bit when going to the 15t and picked up a few mpg. Going to go just one step further a bit on the commuter to a 44 or 43 rear with the 15t to try and grab a few more. My commute is avg speed of 60+ mph for over 30 miles so dropping that rpm makes it much more pleasant.

[rasta]

How do some of you get so low? I bang the **** outta my throttle, and still get about 190 miles on a full tank.

[mgentz]

well....my bike is not quite like yours....

[rasta]

Originally Posted by mgentz

well....my bike is not quite like yours....

Whyyy not? Pregen?

[mgentz]

2009 250R...but I have done a few things to it. I plan on losing some weight to help some as well.

yep...fat a$$

[cadd]

Up to 41mpg now! That's a huge improvement considering it went from 27 (when I first purchased the bike with 1,000 on the odo) to 36 to 41. It's also warming up out there.

I also modified my riding to see if it'll help with the mpg. I try to only take the bike out for trips that are >10 miles (for short trips in town, I drive).

I also started shifting up to 6th gear quicker. Shifting at 5-6k rpm. I normally travel on roads with 45-55mph limits.

Does it sound reasonable to be cruising in 6th gear at those speeds with light traffic? I'm below 6k rpm when traveling at 45mph in 6th.

[broilmebk]

Originally Posted by cadd

..Does it sound reasonable to be cruising in 6th gear at those speeds with light traffic? I'm below 6k rpm when traveling at 45mph in 6th.

The only problem I see with it is that you're below the power range so unless you downshifted very quickly, you'd have a hard time accelerating out of some trouble or whatever.

[Bob2010]

Originally Posted by rasta

How do some of you get so low? I bang the **** outta my throttle, and still get about 190 miles on a full tank.

X2

[broilmebk]

Originally Posted by rasta

How do some of you get so low? I bang the **** outta my throttle, and still get about 190 miles on a full tank.

Originally Posted by Bob2010

X2

190 on a full tank is pretty low. Those below 40mpg I would think is losing fuel somehow.

[rasta]

Well, I refill at 190 miles. I'm sure I can go further, I just don't really see much point to pushing it

[Bob2010]

I usually stuff $12-13 of gas at $3.89/gal when the gauge says E I'm usually around 190miles I just don't like to keep worrying about refilling mid-ride.
So it's not too bad. Going off what I pay each time to fill it it's about 57 mpg

[rasta]

So I actually paid attention to how much gas I put in this morning. I was at my typical 190 miles; and was only able to fill up 3.8 gallons, which is 50 mpg. So using some difficult mathematics, I hypothesize that I should be able to get around 240 miles on my full tank, right?

[N-m]

Originally Posted by rasta

So I actually paid attention to how much gas I put in this morning. I was at my typical 190 miles; and was only able to fill up 3.8 gallons, which is 50 mpg. So using some difficult mathematics, I hypothesize that I should be able to get around 240 miles on my full tank, right?

That doesn't sound right but let me clarify what I know.

I have an '06 with low miles and not one but two fairing holes in the tank. I have patched these but not completely eliminated the problem so I know I don't have consistent levels of gas but I do try. Since I can't completely fill the tank I have only been getting about 200 miles out of a tank.

While running my commute on the interstate for a nearly volunteer type pay job I was running significantly less than the posted 70 mph. I have yet to mount a gps so I don't know how much the speedo is off but I suspect it could be as much as 10 mph at times. I was also shifting as easily as possible, nowhere near the red line. Those factors put me at running a sustained 60 to 65 mph, only jumping on the throttle in a rare event. While doing this I think I actually got over 70 mpg one time but probably averaged in the 60 mpg range most of the time. Tire inflation has been the spec found on the tire or a little higher and if the odometer is correct the bike had around 4,000 miles on it when I got it.

I work with a very knowledgeable mechanic that specifies anything Kawasaki as his first love and is the second or third person I have met in my life that is truly mechanically inclined. You can see I do not hand that title out willy nilly. He has told me the engines we are running like to be babied somewhat if you want a long life out of them and will not go 50,000 miles on average if you run them at or near the redline all the time, which is how many people around here do since they think they have a small sport bike. Roll all this together and you could be overworking your already overworked engine and have a terrible commute that works against high efficiency.

I truly believe you have to make sure what you have running is running in tip top shape and ride consistently, whether at the low, medium or high output range. and then you have to monitor it. One tank does not get it. I am talking about months of monitoring if you really want to know what is going on. Still can't wring better efficiency out of it? Change one thing at a time and then monitor that for a period of time before changing anything else.

The short answer - If you begin looking into your bike and riding habits you can get better gas mileage.

[N-m]

Originally Posted by kkim

thanks for adding the poll, Alex.

to accurately calculate gas mileage-

1) fill tank to the top

2) zero trip meter

3) at the next fillup, fill to the same fill mark as you did previously

4) check your trip meter mileage reading

5) divide the number of miles from your trip meter by the number of gallons you just filled into our bike and that will give you miles/gallon

I usually write down the trip meter reading on the sales receipt form buying the gas. You'll have the miles and gallons on that piece of paper to calculate later. Reset you trip meter and you're ready to do it all over the next time you fill the tank.

check your MPG at least a couple of times to get a good idea of what your average mileage is. There can be one time readings that are way high or low, depending on where the error was made, if any.

What is defined as "the top?"

Thanks for the info. I would also suggest riding as consistently as possible. If you ride easy or hard don't change that up for a day, pick a pace and stay with it. I know its hard on a bike but taking the same route will also make things more consistent. I do love to wonder around on a beautiful day as well.

[rasta]

That's a really long post, but I used mathematics:

190 miles/3.8 gallons = 50 mpg

Newgen gas tanks have a capacity of 4.8 gallons.

50 mpg x 4.8 gallons = 240 miles (give or take)

[menikmati]

Originally Posted by rasta

That's a really long post, but I used mathematics:

190 miles/3.8 gallons = 50 mpg

Newgen gas tanks have a capacity of 4.8 gallons.

50 mpg x 4.8 gallons = 240 miles (give or take)

This is assuming you fill it to the brim with the bike upright and avoid the air pocket towards the top.

That MPG is also the average MPG of that tank, there will be instances where your MPG will fluctuate throughout the course of a tank of gas.

That being said, I would try not to push 200 miles. I regularly get around 55 MPG and I have ran out of gas twice at approximately 220 miles due to fluctuating riding habits.

[rasta]

I wish our fuel gauges were more accurate

[menikmati]

My fuel gauge reads as follows:

Full tank - Full meter
Half tank- Full meter
No gas - Half meter

Praise the trip odometer.

[rasta]

What's annoying is the gauge pointing at empty, then realizing you still have a gallon left in the tank

[N-m]

That's why I started carrying one of these. When the tank is dry I have to make it to the next quick mart. Expensive but durable and they can be mounted in any position w/o leaking. Piece of mind is not always cheap.

https://rotopax.com/1-Gallon-Gasoline.html

[sharky nrk]

I just use 50 mpg as my estimate and reset my odo and fill up based on how much fuel I put in. I almost never fill it up completely as I try and pay with a $10 bill and the fuel sending unit is on its way out so sometimes it reads nothing or half or full or whatever and I am too lazy to take the sending unit off the race bike and swap it.

[greenaero]

@cadd, it sounds like you have a leaking petcock and /or carb float valve problems that are causing fuel to get into your crankcase. You need to get this fixed ASAP before seroios damage is done from the oil dilution. I would suspect that your carb jets and needles have been changed for more"performance".

[cadd]

Originally Posted by greenaero

@cadd, it sounds like you have a leaking petcock and /or carb float valve problems that are causing fuel to get into your crankcase. You need to get this fixed ASAP before seroios damage is done from the oil dilution. I would suspect that your carb jets and needles have been changed for more"performance".

Petcock is NOT leaking at all. Float needles are clean and has a full seal. I tested them with water (when I took the carbs out). Yet, every 100 mile I put on the bike, the oil level increases a little.

I still can't figure out what's wrong. I have a thread about the piss poor mileage along with the increase oil level here. But still no resolution. My trip meter shows 100 miles. I have 1/4 tank left according to the fuel gauge. I'll probably get 30 - 40 miles more before I'm bone dry

[greenaero]

Ah yes, sorry to be redundant, I'll check your other thread and see if I can be more helpful.

[Animoto]

So I bought my 2012 ninja 250 3 weeks ago. About 3k miles and have put 400 miles just riding around for fun. I filled up about 3 or 4 times now which was enough for me to begin to question my gas mileage. I been reading today about filling up becaUse each times I have maxed at 3/4 of a tank and couldn't figure out why, to be honest the tank said empty but it would barely hit 3.5 galons before it looked full but people say to fill it up to the metal piece while sitting on it to level the bike. so im going to try that.

Now ill admit I have been hitting the throttle a bit hard lately just to get up to speed quickly for fun and I know that kills my gas milage. But I went from 3/4 to border line empty in ~110 miles. Im going to stop the joy speed for a while to see if I an get the ~200 miles tank I keep
Hearing about.

Should I wait until the gas warning light comes on and track my gas milage that way, to get a true average?
Im I filling up too soon, it was pretty near empty.
Around what rpms do you guys upshift for good milage, I read 8-10k is best.
And its all riding around town, got on the highway tWice but its really windy I felt I was going to fall so I wont be doing much of that for now.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Animoto

...........

Should I wait until the gas warning light comes on and track my gas milage that way, to get a true average?
Im I filling up too soon, it was pretty near empty.
Around what rpms do you guys upshift for good milage, I read 8-10k is best............

In order to get a more accurate estimate, you need to start collecting the receipts at the pumps or just make a note of the miles traveled between stops for fuel and the volume of fuel delivered by the pumps.

After several times, you add the gallons and the miles and divide those values.
The fuel gauge of the new-gens is known for being way off, use it just as a gross reference.

You hear about the 180~200 miles mark because that is the mileage after which we all need to stop for gas to be safe (except the hypermiler members ).

This thread will give you an idea of what makes +100 mpg possible:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=95197

What saves gasoline is not the rpm's at which you upshift, but how you manage the energy stored in that liquid.
Sustained high speeds, strong accelerations and short trips are the real killers, considering that the machine is in optimum conditions.

If you are rolling with a poorly lubricated chain, with a slipping clutch, with dragging brakes, with out-of-adjustment carburetors, with dirty air filter, with under-pressurized tires and with non-calibrated valves, you will be burning extra fuel just to deal with those issues.

[Alex]

/merged

[Animoto]

Thanx for the reply, appreciate the info.

[SpidermanGeek]

Originally Posted by cadd

Anyone else who commute (or ride) short distances care to chime in with your gas mileage?

Wife takes it to her work. 5 miles each way. I'll hop on for a rip around town in the evenings.

Been averaging mid-40's, although mileage has been getting increasingly better since switching to synthetic oil, shimming the needles and removing the snorkle. Wife's increased riding experience is probably helping too.

[broilmebk]

Originally Posted by SpidermanGeek

Wife takes it to her work. 5 miles each way. I'll hop on for a rip around town in the evenings.

Been averaging mid-40's, although mileage has been getting increasingly better since switching to synthetic oil, shimming the needles and removing the snorkle. Wife's increased riding experience is probably helping too.

My mileage bumped up a solid 6 mpg after shimming and removing the snorkle. I thought the first fill up was a fluke. Ecstatic to see it every time.

[RadenRider26]

not sure about mpg but i will drive 300 km on a full tank ( from top till it hit the red empty line) so I'm sure on a full tank till i complete run out of fuel i could get 350 km out of a full tank.