Recent higher MPG

Im intrigued.

Normal i get 155mpT max before the light. The last two tanks i have got to 170 and the lights still off! Thinking the light was knackered i filled up anyway £15.80 and i did 170miles! So i know the light is fine, and so is the fuelling, as my old spark plugs were text book.

Three things have changed, new IR spark plugs, properly balanced, and more motorway miles.

Do motorway miles really make that much difference! i sit at 5k on the motorway, but around town below 4k rpm on normal rides. Im guess braking wastes more energy than i realised?

Have any of you noticed such a jump in mpg?

More motorway miles will generally mean better MPG, unless your doing much over legal speeds. Accelerating, braking and sitting in queues around town all increase fuel consumption.

Commuting to work and back mostly urban I get about 160 before the light. But when I travel to see the GF (140 miles of motorway) I get to around 180 ish.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by beabert

Do motorway miles really make that much difference!

Yes...

And lowering your speed will also make a huge difference, in Germany we didn't get much above 65mph due to the low geared BMW with us and also the fact that everything froze even cruising at that speed

Normally get 140/150miles to the light, that's 240km, in Germany we were consistently getting 300-350km from the same amount of fuel...

Originally Posted by beabert

Do motorway miles really make that much difference! i sit at 5k on the motorway, but around town below 4k rpm on normal rides. Im guess braking wastes more energy than i realised?

Yep... Accelerating, braking, idling, cold starts state of tune all cost. Besides the right hand and the size of the rider, a couple of other things that make a difference to highway mileage are tyre choice and pressures and the condition of the chain (good nick, well oiled). Less obvious is the road surface.
I consistently got mid '20s fuel consumption out of the SV rolling along out in the middle of nowhere for hours on end with the cruise control set at around 120kph/75mph. A tank of fuel was consistently above 350km/215mi before it hit the low warning.

You normally get 155 miles to the gallon? Not on an SV you don't.

Originally Posted by beabert

Im intrigued.

Normal i get 155mpg max before the light.

....waow, please share your secret with the rest of us

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by beabert

Im intrigued.

Normal i get 155mpg max before the light. The last two tanks i have got to 170 and the lights still off! Thinking the light was knackered i filled up anyway £15.80 and i did 170miles! So i know the light is fine, and so is the fuelling, as my old spark plugs were text book.

You must be super smooth!! I get 140-150 to a tank and that is top gear everywhere and short shifts in the city

Originally Posted by Stig

You normally get 155 miles to the gallon? Not on an SV you don't.

LOL im a plonker, i have updated it.

Originally Posted by andrewsmith

You must be super smooth!! I get 140-150 to a tank and that is top gear everywhere and short shifts in the city

I think its because i genuinely ride below the speed limit most of the time, its nice and relaxing just chugging along. On the motorway i sit at 60-65. I only do this when it wont impede others.

However when warmer and grippier i always launch full pelt up to speed. My Mpt comes down to about 140 then.

Even ringing the sv's neck i never went below 115-120 i dont think, think the most i had was 170 when riding sedately.

Eco-biking soon we'll all be doing 55 everywhere... i heard somewhere thats the optimum speed for fuel efficiency... tried doing a constant 55 mph on motorways lasted about 20 mins before i was bored senseless! Better to spend the extra £1.50 and enjoy it!