dc/nova/md tech day tentative dates

[Bill Watson]

Bogdan, you are correct. I don't consider the air/fuel ratio to be lean because it doesn't even require the choke to be used in the summer, and even in the winter, the bike will idle smoothly without the choke, stone cold, right after using it to get the bike running. If anything, that would strike me as an idle mixture that is a tad rich. Bill Watson Phoenix Bogdan Swider wrote:

On 6/29/06 10:58 PM, "Bill Watson" wrote: > Don, > > The bike has stock jetting, 16T front sprocket, tire pressure in the 30's, > and I do run a hotter thermostat. I'll bet you haven't turned the pilot screw out. True ? Bogdan --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bill Watson]

No argument there, Don. Considerable drag for sure at the higher speeds. Bill Don S wrote: Hi Bill. Something else just came to mind that could have an effect on my mileage. I have two fairly big panniers mounted on the bike that I seldom take off. I would suspect that they would contribute considerable drag. Particularly at higher speeds. If they weren't so handy, I'd take them off for a while to see the difference. On the otherhand, if I needed them and they weren't there, I wouldn't be thinking about gas mileage would I? Don Bill Watson wrote: Don, The bike has stock jetting, 16T front sprocket, tire pressure in the 30's, and I do run a hotter thermostat. But most of it is the riding cycle. I'm agressive when I need to be but time my traffic lights, don't sit around and warm up the bike, etc. And I ride an honest 55-65 mph (60-70 indicated) most all of the time. I'm rarely doing 80 mph... but am not going 45 on the freeway either. To be fair, I probably have the "perfect commute" for mileage. The bike is started while coasting down my driveway (this eliminates the first gear 'clunk'), then ridden about a half mile to a street that has the lights timed for 40 mph for 5 miles, then on to the freeway where it is run 55-65 mph for the next 12 miles, then a short city stint to work. If the traffic thickens I move to the carpool lane and still hold 55-65 mph. I time lights in town and rarely even put my foot on the ground on the 19 mile commute. That has to be worth a lot. When I bought an '89 KLR for a buddy, my first tank on his bike returned 65 mpg as well, so I'd argue it's mostly the driver and duty cycle. Speed is a huge player as others have pointed out. Just to see what would happen on my own bike, I burned one entire tank riding like everyone was in my way - left lane, tailgating, 70-85 mph, missing lights in town. That tank returned 49 mpg. If someone richens the carb, lets the bike warm-up while they're still donning riding gear, plays stoplight GT, then I'll bet I could push this down into the high 30's. Bill Don S wrote: That is phenomenal mileage. You gotta be shutting the engine off going down hill or something. Maybe you got a small nuke under the seat. I'm on reserve at 350 KMs. That's only 217 miles. And, I thought I was doing good. On the highway, I usually average 60 to 65 mph. Don Bill Watson wrote: You mean I'm supposed to RIDE this thing? I thought I was supposed to push it around like a skateboard ! Since new, I've had only 4 tankfulls get less than 60 mpg... I'm disappointed if I hit reserve under 300 mi. Usually happens around 325 mi. BW Don S wrote: I think he's carrying the freaking bike! Don __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[D Critchley]

If you don't push that little red button that causes the noise, gas mileage really stays good. I think that engine noise causes poor gas mileage. DC Bill Watson wrote:

> You mean I'm supposed to RIDE this thing? I thought I was supposed to > push it around like a skateboard ! > > Since new, I've had only 4 tankfulls get less than 60 mpg... I'm > disappointed if I hit reserve under 300 mi. Usually happens around 325 mi. > > BW > > Don S > > . > >

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