Most economical fast bike?
 

What is the most economical fast bike?
For commuting if I get more or less 45 mpg from my SV, is there any bike that is remarkably better without slowing down?
I've had ZX9R suggested that it would get 50 mpg, but don't know if that is only with gentle riding?
Any other suggestions?

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Raleigh Chopper? :rolleyes:

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

How fast are you going to get 45mpg... and where is most of your riding.

ZZR's or a Bandit 6 are probably your best choice, depending on you situation.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I'd say fuel injected Il4s will be the best bet for economy. Nothing high revving so maybe CBF600 or new Bandit650. I do not have a shred of evidence to back this up and couldn't find anything about economical bikes.
I do know that my 350 goose ran on the smell of an oily rag, but that was a single and I plodded about on it rather than motorway stuff.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I get the same milleage out of a tankfull on the GSXR as I do on the SV.

You can do a lot to improve fuel economy, ride a bit slower, improve your forward planning, rider smoother etc etc.

I wouldnt have though a 9R is going to be any better than your SV is.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

http://www.startwin.com/pagina/bikes...ur/motorEN.pdf

1200 TDI diesel :D According to their figures, 113 MPG.

Failing that, the ZZR250/GPX250/GPZ250/Ninja 250 imports always did quite well (60-70ish I think) but that's hardly fast.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I ride a ZX9R and it will indeed do over 50 MPG on a run and that's doing 80-90 on the motorway.Taking it easy at about 60-70 will give nearer 60 MPG I would think.However,riding it in town as a commuter is a different story,as lower gear work causes it to drink heavily.As an all rounder I think a 600 might be better such as an older G/J ZX6R?

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

That's what I'm talking about, economy just doesn't feature in reviews on bikes like it does with cars. THe way I see it the bikes can all do the same top speed (120+) so it's just down to what you can afford to ride fast/aggresively.

Fizz - Is that a bigger tank/putting more in your 750? as to your tips, one in particular is not an option :twisted:

I had a bandit 6, and yes I think it was a bit better - but is it worth it? there's got to be more to life than riding a bandit 6 :rolleyes:

Minimatt - that would be great if the price was the same, i would love that. nothing wrong with 205kg (same as an ZX7R)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

My RCV can finish race on just 21 litros? It go quite very fastly as well too.;)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Let me PM you my address so you can have it delivered to me. Many thanks for the offer. :D

Or an Aprillia 250 for commuting?

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I dont know the size litre wise, but it takes about 12 quid to fill the tank from the fuel light on either bike.

That gives me 120ish miles to a tank full. If I really really rag the GSXR hard in the lower gears I get alot less than that out of it though, more like 90 miles.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

just keep your rev's down, when running in my 650 i got 170 miles to a tank.
keeping to 3,4,5000 rpm makes a big diff.
(and go on a diet):)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

:( 5K is only 70. I much prefer 8K.
Not really any excess weight on me.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Buell claim 60mpg....

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

the buell xb12r is as bad if not worse than my sv1000s, my riding buddy has an 06 one.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Does have a tiny tank though. I think it could have even been 62mpg i saw quoted! The tank size is however 1 US Gallon.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

1 gallon? 4.4 litres? sure thats right, the fuel is in the frame, i'm sure it holds £10 +

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Yeh the buell xb12r has a 14litre tank!!!

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Average fuel economy: 34.5 mpg
Worst observed fuel economy: 29.9 mpg
Best observed fuel economy: 37.6 mpg

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

MCN say the buell averages 46mpg!! Theres so many different claims out there on mpg.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bi...03-current-TC/

Mind you MCN claim that the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade have an mpg of 44!!

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bi...nt/?&R=EPI-341

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Another trick is rear sprocket size... Now I had a 46 tooth sprocket which ment at 90mph I was doing 6500 rpm in 6th gear. Now my 45 tooth means that at 90mph I'm now doing 6700-6800 rpm in 6th. So by the same reasoning if you went for a 47 tooth rear 90mph should be 6300 rpm. Not a massive difference but should increase your mpg if you spend alot of time at high speeds and on motorways. I was getting about 50-55 mpg out of SV with the 46 tooth sprocket so it might even push it up to 60.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Engine revs isn't everything though. Doing 30mph in 6th uses more fuel than 2nd. You want to have the engine revving in its most fuel efficient zone. And dropping your speed 10mph will give you the biggest mpg increase!

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I've heard that, but when in a car with a MPG gauge the consumtion always fell if I went into a higher gear.
I doubt it would be more economical in 2nd.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Fizz did you not see who asked the question? :smt003 :smt003 ;) ;)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Revs tell you how fast the engine is turning over
Right hand tells you how much fuel is going in to the engine

30mph takes probably around 3-5hp whether in 1st or 6th gear.

In 2nd/3rd gear the engine will be running near is optimum rev range. I.e. most efficient, Throttle will barely be on.
In 6th gear the engine will be very low in the rev range, way out of its efficient rev range. Try putting the throttle on? engine will be likely stutter. The throttle is likely to be on more than if you were in 3rd gear.

Cars go by the same rules, but as the powerband is so much smaller its not as noticeable. Besides, those things aren't at all accurate :oP

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

my sv was great 130 to the tank. Cbr was not so good though 100-110 if I was really lucky. Mind you 14k in 2nd everywhere doesn't do much for the economy...

The zx-6r will give about 50mpg (I'm told). I'll let you know after I've been on it for a week.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

my new car is my new toy for MPG i'm always looking at the fuel computer trying to get the best mpg. down hill in 5th on 900 rpm tickover it says 199mpg. :)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

There's a tad of confusion between most efficient rev range and most economical running.The two are not quite the same as fuel consumption is affected by other variables.So for example you may be doing 90 MPH in 4 th gear and the engine is within its most efficient range,but if you do 55 MPH in top gear the engine will not be in the correct rev range but will use far less fuel.The "forgotten" variable here is wind resistance which rises exponentially with speed.The other factor is that the engine will be producing more horsepower if it is running in the efficient range,but less power is actually needed to maintain that given speed so the efficiency is wasted.There used to be a saying that doing "thrifty fifty"in top gear was the best compromise.

But pretty boring.:D

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

i was always made to believe it was 62mph in top gear for max fuel economy, reading car books and the like.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Yeah, not quite the same, but a closer approximation than using the rev counter. The right hand rule is best!
If you want best mpg?
walk;)

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

i was complaining about about the mpg on my thou and my mate with the buell said "the big V twin engine was never made to be economical just fill it up stop worring and enjoy" trouble is i'm always planning fuel stops as i need it every 100miles or so.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Was his really that bad? I always thought for a 1200 they were pretty frugal

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

A 500 twin is the best big bike for fuel. The ER-5...easy over 50mpg. But it aint fast. The SV should fit the bill anyway.

A fast bike with economy...I think they call that having ones cake and eating it too.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

I regularly get 60+mpg from my ZX6, more than 200 miles before switching to reserve is not unusual either.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

"you can't have your cake and eat it"
perhaps the worlds most pointless sentence. What use is cake if you don't eat it?! It's like you can't have an SV and ride it

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Exactly what i was thinking....if its my cake its mine to eat :D

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

One of the most economical bikes for commuting etc is probably the Yam Fazer 600. They go quite well too :D

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

If you need to worry about the fuel consumption, then maybe a fast bike is not the way to go.

Most big Kawasakis are very fuel efficient - I ran 3 ZZR1100s and a ZX-9R over 6 years and did stratospheric mileage on each - but the best bike I've ever had for getting huge mileages from a full tank has been my current Triumph Daytona 955i. Where I'd get 140 miles max from a tankful on my Gixer Thou, I can stretch the Daytona to over 200. The tanks have similar capacity.

Having said that, fuel consumption is at the bottom of my list when I buy a bike - the top things are power delivery, comfort, acceleration, handling and ease of use. The colour's never a factor unless it's pink or purple and make and model don't usually come into it... unless the badge says BMW. I may be older now, but I'm not senile or smelling of pi$$.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

There is no point in buying a fast bike and then ride slow just for fuel economy...seems a waste to me. The SV is perfectly economical when I had mine.

Re: Most economical fast bike?
 

Jeasus i dont know how you do that, i barely get 120 miles out of my 955i before i have to refuel.