only 63mpg? How can i increase it

[cbinker]

Ride down hill more.

[choneofakind]

Can you post a video of your 'normal' riding? I'm still having a little trouble wrapping my mind around how you're getting such high numbers without streamline fairings and without cheater coasting methods and without being a danger to yourself. I really don't mean that to sound abrasive, I'm genuinely interested.

[agentbad]

Link to original page on YouTube.

You could always convert it to diesel.

[agentbad]

Is there a diesel conversion kit for the Ninja 250. I know there is for the KLR650.

[scorch]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Can you post a video of your 'normal' riding? I'm still having a little trouble wrapping my mind around how you're getting such high numbers without streamline fairings and without cheater coasting methods and without being a danger to yourself. I really don't mean that to sound abrasive, I'm genuinely interested.

Sure here is a video

Link to original page on YouTube.

[scorch]

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Ninjinsky]

The Quasar designed by Malcolm Newell is aesthetically pleasing.
I had friends in the Cambridge University motorcycle club who were heavily into "feet first" motorcycles many years back.

[Racer x]

Originally Posted by agentbad

Is there a diesel conversion kit for the Ninja 250. I know there is for the KLR650.

That would be cool. Turbo diesel with propane. Just need 21to1 pistons and an injection pump.

http://www.dieselbike.net/kawasaki/kawasaki.htm

[scorch]

i would not mind having a diesel ninja 250. i bet i could get 200 mpg

[scorch]

Originally Posted by greenaero

Good job Ricardo! The taller gearing and clean carbs will help.

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

[agentbad]

Originally Posted by scorch

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

Clean the jets and the passageways they screw into with carb cleaner. Compressed air works well for jets and dirty passageways but small gauge copper wire works well if you don't have a compressor for the tiny holes on the jets. The choke has its own passageway and can't be removed like the pilot and main jets so make sure you clear it out. Make sure you do a good job because pulling the carbs is a pain in the ass without pods and you don't want to have to do it again. If they are really bad you can soak the carb in pinesol. Also make sure the choke is pulling the slide on the side of the carburetor when you use the lever. If it doesn't move it's binding somewhere or stuck.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_...n_the_carbs%3F

[caltony]

Originally Posted by scorch

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

I was going to ask this question in a new thread but I'll ask it here because it involves the hard start problem.

I installed a carb kit on my 250 that came with a larger pilot jet to overcome the cold weather hard start problem....however, I'm in Calif and never ride my Ninja when the temp is below 60f so I never had a cold start problem.

I ride a lot at 50 mph in 6th gear with 15x42 sprockets. Would going back to the stock pilot jet give me any increase in mpg. Right now I'm getting between 60 to 75 mpg riding at 50-60 mph on country roads?

Tony

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by scorch

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

Wit the cold start problem Check that the choke mechanism is working freely and full travel before stripping anything. When it starts full choke should lift the rpm quite a lot like 3-4k (off the top of my head) If it doesn't do that then that may be the cause of the trouble. that said they are warm blooded engines and don't like cold

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by scorch

Sure here is a video....

Those videos do not show the subtle details that @choneofakind was trying to see.

Your goal is moving through this ocean of air and rolling over a surface using the minimum possible energy.
Energy = mechanical work = rolled distance x forward force on rear tire

Keeping a low speed is the best alternative for not developing too high resistance from the air in form of friction and turbulence (air drag).
Those resistive (opposed to your movement) forces consume the energy that the combustion of your fuel provides.

Braking is a resistive force that transform that fuel energy into heat that goes to the atmosphere.
Every time that you apply your brakes, you are wasting fuel that you burned before to impulse your bike up to certain speed.
Try conserving the impulse or momentum of your bike and try braking as little and briefly as possible.

Two other items that are hungry for energy are the chain and the tires.
Those 212 O-rings create a lot of friction against the steel plates if not properly lubricated.
Deformation of the tire carcases is something similar to braking: wasted energy transformed into rubber heat.
Try keeping your tires as inflated as sure (do not exceed shown max pressure) and comfortable (higher pressures make the ride harsher).

Finally, strong accelerations require a throttle opened wider as more fuel is needed for a higher impulsing force.
Combine that with the braking waste and it becomes clear that the route of least traffic and stops-goes will save you money (and danger), even if a little faster and/or longer.

[Hero Danny]

I personally would never sacrifice turning my Ninja into something different to get better fuel efficiency. I mean, if you ride 1000 miles a month, and you are able to get twice the mileage then you are only saving 7 gallons at most a month, which translates to around $20-$25 depending on how much gas costs where you live. I know that 20 a month will average to roughly $250 a year, but to me it isn't worth it to make your ninja look (No offense greenaero) terrible (in my opinion!!).

Again, I know this is a increase mileage thread, so I am not trying to hijack it or anything, But I think what we are trying to figure out is the best way to get mileage increase for cheap money and without modifying the looks of our bikes....

Just as a disclaimer I didn't read through the whole thread, so I am sorry if this was already established and I am just redundant now. lol

[caltony]

I tried some hijacking on this thread earlier in the day asking about the increase in mpg by decreasing the size of the primary jet back to the stock size. Like others, I do have an interest in increasing my mpg. Not so much because of the gas savings but it's just how I like to set up some of my bikes. At 50 mph in high gear I want the highest mpg that I can get at that speed. I set my Ninja up with 15x42 sprockets because that set up enabled me to cruise at 50mph in 6th at just barely above an idle. Where I usually ride I can go for hours without even seeing another vehicle on the road so I can maintain a constant uninterrupted speed. My 250 has Yosh pipes, larger main jets and pods so when I do want to forget about mpg I can wind out 3rd,4th and fifth get 35mpg and think that's what it should be getting when I do that.

That's the way I have setup a couple of my bikes. It suites my needs.

When I looked at the greenaero posts i had exactly the opposite thought. I thought the photos looked great.

Tony

[capt_bugaloo]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

The Quasar designed by Malcolm Newell is aesthetically pleasing.

Hmmm... I think your dictionary must have a different definition for 'aesthetic' than mine.

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I personally would never sacrifice turning my Ninja into something different to get better fuel efficiency. I mean, if you ride 1000 miles a month, and you are able to get twice the mileage then you are only saving 7 gallons at most a month, which translates to around $20-$25 depending on how much gas costs where you live. I know that 20 a month will average to roughly $250 a year, but to me it isn't worth it to make your ninja look (No offense greenaero) terrible (in my opinion!!).

Again, I know this is a increase mileage thread, so I am not trying to hijack it or anything, But I think what we are trying to figure out is the best way to get mileage increase for cheap money and without modifying the looks of our bikes....

Just as a disclaimer I didn't read through the whole thread, so I am sorry if this was already established and I am just redundant now. lol

@ Hero Danny , I think you are underestmating the effect of doubling your fuel economy. Let's compare a moto averaging 50 mpg going 1000 miles per month vs a moto averaging 100 mpg going the same distance. The 50mpg bike uses 20 gallons of gasoline/month compared to 10 gallons /month for the 100mpg bike. Gasoline is at over $4/gallon here in the SF Bay Area and many other parts of the country. the cost savings is over $40/month and an annual savings of over $480. Pretty significant for me particularly since I'm doing it with a moto that has cost me about $1300 to create ( including the moto) . My moto has already paid for itself in less than 3 years.
For me getting maximum fuel economy is about more than just saving money. I save fuel to help protect our fragile environment and help prevent our country from sending our dollars to foreign countries that hate us and use the funds to sponsor terrorist acts against us.
Agreed that radical streamlining is not for everyone but we can all do our part to make things better for everyone and our children.

[Ninjinsky]

I would be very interested to see what mileage Greenaero would now get out of a stock Ninja with tall gearing. Having honed his riding technique.
I would imagine pretty good and some way into 3 figures.
Its not like the stock Ninja has the aerodynamics of a garden shed.

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

I would be very interested to see what mileage Greenaero would now get out of a stock Ninja with tall gearing. Having honed his riding technique.
I would imagine pretty good and some way into 3 figures.
Its not like the stock Ninja has the aerodynamics of a garden shed.

With my "Silveraero" 2005 Ninjette/Aerotrunk bike I'm doing that. It's a stock 2005 EX250 that I have raised the gearing ( to 15/37) , faired in the front wheel and bungee-cord mounted the aerotrunk on. So far I've gotten a best tankfill average of 111 mpg.

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by scorch

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

As others mentioned clean out all jets and passages. Check the sizes of your jets to ensure that they are stock sized. I run mine with the stock jets and it works well for most conditions. My friend Alan has done some testing and has gone a size or 2 on his main jets. Without good testing equipment I'm reluctant to go too lean and burn a piston.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by greenaero

With my "Silveraero" 2005 Ninjette/Aerotrunk bike I'm doing that. It's a stock 2005 EX250 that I have raised the gearing ( to 15/37) , faired in the front wheel and bungee-cord mounted the aerotrunk on. So far I've gotten a best tankfill average of 111 mpg.

Yes but what I was suggesting is that you would now get close to that anyway without all the Rube Goldberg stuff tacked on.

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by scorch

Is there anything i need to do with the carbs?

One thing that bugs me is that my 02 ninja is hard to start when its cold. Quite a beast, and can take 20 cranks to really get her going. In warm temps its fine starting.

Im thinking that if i pull the jets and clean them that might work. What else should i look for?

Carbs are only part of the equation.
An old, dirty, compressed and restrictive air filter can also cause hard starts and bad mpg. How's yours and when was the last time it was replaced? (I've seen the filter on your '08 before and it wasn't pretty)

Iridium spark plugs can improve colds starts and idling problems. By providing a better, bigger spark, you utilize/burn fuel better. They will also last twice as long as normal plugs. https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=846592

Full synthetic oil is a no brainer.

Correct tire pressure is also a contributor. Less rolling resistance helps improve mpg as well.

Add a little Star Tron Fuel Treatment on your next fill up. (especially in the winter)

[cbinker]

no offense, but one cannot judge the riding by a sped up video .

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

Yes but what I was suggesting is that you would now get close to that anyway without all the Rube Goldberg stuff tacked on.

It is possible to get 100 mpg with only taller gearing and a better windscreen but one would have to limit speed so much that for me it isn't practical ( or fun). Stock motorcycles are not very aerodynamic so additional enhancements like the enclosed front wheel and the aerotrunk allow one to ride at higher speeds and still get great fuel economy.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by greenaero

It is possible to get 100 mpg with only taller gearing and a better windscreen but one would have to limit speed so much that for me it isn't practical ( or fun). Stock motorcycles are not very aerodynamic so additional enhancements like the enclosed front wheel and the aerotrunk allow one to ride at higher speeds and still get great fuel economy.

Might be fun if you can find a local technical institution that has a wind tunnel. You could talk them into a student project comparing your bike to a friend with a stock Ninja. Anything "green" tends to get a good hearing from colleges.
Could even get an article in the local paper.
Just a thought.

[Hero Danny]

I hear what you are saying, save the environment. But I think getting 60MPG is doing the environment plenty good. You know how many SUV style vehicles are out there? It's sickening. And they all get under 20 highway.

For me, again, this is me personally speaking. I think the stock look for the bike is very nice looking and wouldn't sacrifice the way it looks to make it more "aerodynamic" The fuel savings and pretending to be an environmental hero like all these Prius drivers wouldn't be at all worth it. One problem I really have with that whole "save the environment" approach is that most of the times those people are hypocrites.

For instance, Aero, do you ever take your bike on meaningless road trips? Or how about just random rides around the town. Sure you are saving gas mileage, hell you could travel the entire country on 20 gallons. But it doesn't matter. Because if you are traveling that whole distance for fun (a road trip) then you still wasted 20 gallons of gas from the environment.

Again though, I'm not going to use this against you, I just ask you don't use it against me either. The environment argument is off limits here.

As for the looks. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So it's all preference, but I do think that the majority of people would think the stock ninja look is better than the "modified fuel efficient look". Again though, I won't even use that argument against you because it is all subjective.

Lastly, the personal gain. Gas where I live varies from 3.20 - 3.60 a gallon, so let's average that to about $3.40... Now let's say I get 50 MPG and you get 100 MPG to make life easier, even though we both get better MPG than that.

I will use double the mileage, so in 1,000 miles you will use only 10 gallons and I will use 20 gallons. This means that you will save on average $34 a month over me. Which again, is $408 of annual gas savings. Which I will admit is a decent chunk of change.

Perhaps I am saying this too late, but I just wanted to let you know greenaero, that I respect you and I respect your bike and I respect what you do. I am just showing you how the average 250 rider probably thinks. Since you obviously are the extreme.

Anyway, I don't ride that much, I live in MA so I don't have beautiful rural roads that I can ride on for hours on end. So I will most likely only do about 200-300 miles on my bike a month at best... unfortunately... So my fuel savings if I do what you do, would only be a measly ~$10 a month. Which is just above $100 a year... which just is not worth it for me personally.

I'm not an idiot, (despite the impression I've left on everyone) I do realize the importance of gas mileage, and would obviously adjust, tweak, add, remove anything that would help my mileage out as long as I don't have to sacrifice a bunch of performance or the appearance of my bike.

60 MPG is impressive, maybe not for a ninja 250, but impressive in the vast world of motorists, and I am completely happy with that. As for you greeaero, keep doing what you doing man. I like to read about you and how you made your accomplishments with your bike. It's hard to believe you get close to 150 MPG on your bike. Very impressive feat.

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

...... I am just showing you how the average 250 rider probably thinks.

Me thinks the Ninja 250 is waayy cheaper than a therapist. As far as my MPG goes...well, sometimes I ride like a nut, sometimes I don't

[scorch]

Originally Posted by greenaero

It is possible to get 100 mpg with only taller gearing and a better windscreen but one would have to limit speed so much that for me it isn't practical ( or fun). Stock motorcycles are not very aerodynamic so additional enhancements like the enclosed front wheel and the aerotrunk allow one to ride at higher speeds and still get great fuel economy.

Does a front fender that is enclosed really make such a big impact on mpg? It seems like it could be fairly easy to make.

I do have a pretty large windscreen, i wish it didnt just move up , and moved a little back so it was more aerodynamic.

[scorch]

Originally Posted by DaBlue1

Carbs are only part of the equation.
An old, dirty, compressed and restrictive air filter can also cause hard starts and bad mpg. How's yours and when was the last time it was replaced? (I've seen the filter on your '08 before and it wasn't pretty)

Iridium spark plugs can improve colds starts and idling problems. By providing a better, bigger spark, you utilize/burn fuel better. They will also last twice as long as normal plugs. https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=846592

Full synthetic oil is a no brainer.

Correct tire pressure is also a contributor. Less rolling resistance helps improve mpg as well.

Add a little Star Tron Fuel Treatment on your next fill up. (especially in the winter)

the last time i looked at my filter it looked pretty good, it was about 5k ago. I replaced the sparkplugs and changed the oil pretty recently too. I need to put in better sparkplugs in a few more thousand miles. Alot of times if these sparkplugs are working i wont change them yet. But ive considered getting an after market air filter. But even on my 08, i have not changed the air filter in 80k miles.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I think the stock look for the bike is very nice looking and wouldn't sacrifice the way it looks to make it more "aerodynamic" The fuel savings and pretending to be an environmental hero like all these Prius drivers wouldn't be at all worth it. One problem I really have with that whole "save the environment" approach is that most of the times those people are hypocrites.

For instance, Aero, do you ever take your bike on meaningless road trips? Or how about just random rides around the town. Sure you are saving gas mileage, hell you could travel the entire country on 20 gallons. But it doesn't matter. Because if you are traveling that whole distance for fun (a road trip) then you still wasted 20 gallons of gas from the environment.

Perhaps I am saying this too late, but I just wanted to let you know greenaero, that I respect you and I respect your bike and I respect what you do.

Anyway, I don't ride that much, I live in MA so I don't have beautiful rural roads that I can ride on for hours on end. So I will most likely only do about 200-300 miles on my bike a month at best... unfortunately... So my fuel savings if I do what you do, would only be a measly ~$10 a month. Which is just above $100 a year... which just is not worth it for me personally.

I'm not an idiot, (despite the impression I've left on everyone) I do realize the importance of gas mileage, and would obviously adjust, tweak, add, remove anything that would help my mileage out as long as I don't have to sacrifice a bunch of performance or the appearance of my bike.

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/Route...usetts_97.html

usually when someone does something i don't understand i ask questions instead of telling them they are wrong "in my opinion."

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I hear what you are saying, save the environment...........
For me, again, this is me personally speaking...........
One problem I really have with that whole "save the environment" approach is that most of the times those people are hypocrites.
For instance, Aero, do you ever take your bike on meaningless road trips? Or how about just random rides around the town..........
Because if you are traveling that whole distance for fun (a road trip) then you still wasted 20 gallons of gas from the environment.
Again though, I'm not going to use this against you, I just ask you don't use it against me either. The environment argument is off limits here.
..........As for the looks.........I do think that the majority of people would think the stock ninja look is better than the "modified fuel efficient look"..........This means that you will save on average $34 a month over me..........
Perhaps I am saying this too late, but I just wanted to let you know greenaero, that I respect you and I respect your bike and I respect what you do. I am just showing you how the average 250 rider probably thinks. Since you obviously are the extreme.
..........I'm not an idiot, (despite the impression I've left on everyone) I do realize the importance of gas mileage...........
..........As for you greeaero, keep doing what you doing man. I like to read about you and how you made your accomplishments with your bike.........

His name is Victor, and many of us here and out of here sincerely respect his work, his approach and his dedication as a motorcyclist.

We are all killing this planet and our fellow humans, quick or slowly, with actions and with harsh words.

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good." - C.S. Lewis

Victor is trying his ideal and we need many men who have good ideals; .......... encourage those few and save the harsh words !!!

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by scorch

the last time i looked at my filter it looked pretty good, it was about 5k ago. I replaced the spark plugs and changed the oil pretty recently too. I need to put in better spark plugs in a few more thousand miles. A lot of times if these spark plugs are working i wont change them yet. But i've considered getting an after market air filter. But even on my 08, i have not changed the air filter in 80k miles.

A lot can change in 5k miles, especially in 80 k. Kawasaki recommends replacement of the air filter @ 2 years (08 + models). I've noticed that the stock air filter even after good and regular cleanings will start to compress over time. The pores in the foam are already small and compression makes them even smaller. Add in dirt (that you can't get out) and you have a restrictive air filter. given the conditions you ride in, you should replace them on a regular basis.

Why wait for another few thousand miles to put in new plugs when you want results now? Just because plugs are working, it does not mean they are working efficiently? Replacing them @ the recommended interval (for normal plugs) is good, cheap insurance for overall performance. The same goes with the air filter.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Motofool

His name is Victor, and many of us here and out of here sincerely respect his work, his approach and his dedication as a motorcyclist.

I'm new here, I do not know everyone's name. I'm also bad with names, so I will forget even if I know, I'll continue to call people by their usernames, I'm sorry.

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Perhaps I am saying this too late, but I just wanted to let you know greenaero, that I respect you and I respect your bike and I respect what you do. I am just showing you how the average 250 rider probably thinks. Since you obviously are the extreme.

^ Re-read that, I DO respect him, and his work. I am just saying that not everyone wants to save gas mileage the same way he does, (modifying the actual look of the bike).

OP was saying he wanted to just adjust his gears, etc. Not go too far into modifying his bike.

Originally Posted by Motofool

Victor is trying his ideal and we need many men who have good ideals; .......... encourage those few and save the harsh words !!!

What harsh words did I say to him? I guess I somewhat called him a hypocrite, but I am not saying that in a mean way. I am just pointing out that his goal of making the planet green isn't really going to matter when he is taking unnecessary rides. (Again, I don't know him or where he rides, etc. but I think it is safe to assume he does get up and about for no reason at times, like all of us do).

I just don't like it when people try to "guilt" you into being more "green" for the planet. It's a deceitful argument and isn't valid. I don't think Aero was trying to do that, he seems like a really nice guy. But I just wanted to make it a point that when people make that assumption that increase MPG = better environment, it's only half true..

Again, I want to stress that I do respect Aero, and I do want him to continue doing what he is doing, and I also think very highly of him from his ideals and accomplishments

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

As for you greeaero, keep doing what you doing man. I like to read about you and how you made your accomplishments with your bike. It's hard to believe you get close to 150 MPG on your bike. Very impressive feat.

[Alex]

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

rant after missing point

Dude, relax, go out, ride your bike, and forget all about it.

There's a time and place for a streamlined bike and his mileage is an accomplishment worthy of just as much awe as watching Rojo tool on everyone at Laguna. I personally have met Vic and checked out his badass thrift-shop streamliner and I love it. I too shared your view on the streamlining thing until I met Vic and his streamliner buddies and got an idea of what they do and why they do it. It's a statement. Think of how many cars are gaining weight after every new model year. Think of how much excess junk there is in an average car that does nothing except add weight and use fuel. Think of how much over-engineering goes into every car to at least get the crummy mileage they get, despite all the excessive crap they carry around. The work Vic and his friends do with streamlining is to make a point. It IS possible to streamline a vehicle and learn to operate it sensibly in order to double its mileage. Everyone can take the methods Vic uses and apply it to their vehicle to use less fuel.


Now... you are correct in that less fuel =/= better for the environment. Let's face it, motorcycles make more pollutants per gallon of fuel burned, even if they use significantly less fuel in comparison with how much fuel cars burn annually. Notice how your ninjette is carb'd and has no catalytic converter? It spews more junk per gallon of fuel burned because of this. However, like I said, it's not about Vic personally going green and saving the planet on his own; It's about making a statement for everyone to follow. Like I said, if he can literally double my gas mileage with nothing other than a windscreen, a streamlined wheel fairing, and intentionally economic riding, imagine what the rest of us can do with millions of vehicles. Even if we all just adjust our driving style (not our physical vehicles) and are only able improve our mileage by 10%, that's a significant amount of fuel burned and subsequently, a significant of pollution saved. I'm not normally a 'save the world' hippie like you seem to dislike, but I can appreciate the sentiment here and I think it's well worth looking into for all of us. I've tried some of his eco-driving suggestions in my car, and the improvement is huge. Attempt, for a second, to look at EVERY user on the road. Imagine if everyone was able to improve their mileage by 10% with nothing more than changes to their driving habits. That's a huge amount of fuel saved. Every day. Every year.



PS: FWIW, streamlining is badass. Check out the ASME Human Powered Vehicle Competition. Drag reduction is the name of the game when you have a limited amount of power and want to go faster and further without spending as much energy doing so.

lame looking? I think not. How about this one?

or this one

or this


I could keep going, but I won't. There's application for all of this. Cars, planes, motorcycles, Semi's, etc. But nothing will change until the attitude of the consumer changes.


TLR Go for a ride dude. relax. realize that fuel usage is more than just you, it's about every vehicle on the road. Vic is just an example that huge change is possible.

[choneofakind]

Double post. #sorrynotsorry.

To further my point, let's take a look at trucking with a 30 second google search. http://www.truckinfo.net/trucking/stats.htm

(assuming this is reliable) Looks like there's about 15.5 million trucks on the road using 53.9 billion gallons of fuel. Of those trucks, about 13% are Semi's.

Have you ever driven down the highway and seen a semi that looks like this?


This is the same theory that Vic is using, in addition to careful riding. This truck has a Kammback tail and side skirts. The effect is a much better controlled airflow that adds a tiny bit of skin drag in order to greatly reduce form drag. I could nerd out on you all day about Fluid Mechanics and CFD, but I'm not going to; you're welcome. But I will say that this simple change allows trucks to go further on a tank of diesel without any additional changes or driver training. This reduces costs and uses less fuel. Remember how many trucks are on the roads that I mentioned above? 2 million semi's? this one simple change has a huge effect when you multiply it by 2 million semi's driving millions of miles every year.

Now imagine we also get average drivers to change their driving habits. Not only would trucks use less fuel on the highway, but every car on the road would also see a mileage improvement and use less gas. Seeing as a 2007 DOT survey found that there are 254.4 million registered passenger vehicles in the United States, a small increase in fuel economy due to driver habits makes a huge reduction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passeng..._United_States

Now do you see the significance of what our thrifty ninjette members are doing here? I shouldn't really have to lay this out like this for you.

[rojoracing53]

Well I just drove to Colorado and back for a Mtb race and used my ninja 250 instead of my truck or flying. Flying is kind of a PITA when taking a bicycle with you not to mention it can get expensive to fly your bike over and rental cars and such. Driving my 13mpg Tundra out there would have been super comfy and extremely expensive, 230 gals of fuel at an average of say 3.60 a gal would have cost me $830. Instead the ninja made it out there and back for just under $250 which is 43mpg.

I know my fuel economy on the ninja leaves much to be desired but it not an aero project in anyway and the Mtb on the rear causes quite a bit of drag. I pretty much rode the whole trip WOT so if there was a tail wind I'd be doing 90-100 but if there was a head wind I'd be in 4th gear doing 65-70.

I don't ride the bike to save the environment, I ride the bike to save my savings account. If I come across a system to travel thousands of miles fast and convently without breaking the bank then that's what I'll be aiming for next. I don't ride the ninja for fun much at all but I do ride it a ton and try to have fun.

[Ninjinsky]

Ninja riders are not "Killing the planet", rather the opposite.
We probably approach optimum carbon vs life hours utility balance.
Sure you could cycle or walk..how much time you got spare?
I could get in and out of the city (30 miles daily ) rapidly, door to door and on my own timing for less than half a gallon a day. I don't think anything short of

Is going to beat that and is seriously short on cool, even ridden with gusto.

[NevadaWolf]

@Jason, just a thought....

Looking at Vic's tail piece, I wonder if maybe something like that could be mounted over your mountain bike to give you better aerodynamics and help out when you are going off to your races. The bike seems like it'd be a good solid frame for a covering, especially since you've had it confirmed it doesn't move at speed.

It would cut down on the crowds unless you made it out of something clear though.