locking a motorcycle

[Mike Brodhead]

Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am I seeing only 33mpg? I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? Thanks, --mkb

[Greg Roeder]

On my '07 I got 48 MPG easy. I stayed pretty well within the break- in recommendations and always allowed the engine plenty of warm up time. Only have 300 miles on it but so far so good. Greg; Willard, MO; 2007 KLR 650

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Brodhead wrote: > > Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > > That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners > citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am > I seeing only 33mpg? > > I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, > but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and > more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing > the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. > > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? > > Thanks, > > --mkb >

[Douglas Bouley]

Not sure I follow the math there... I always thought it was easiest to divide the number of miles traveled by the amt of gas added at fill-up to get mpg... assuming the tank was completely filled to start with and the fill-up goes to the same level. Not sure what the size of the reserve would have to do with anything??? At any rate, my 06 got better gas mileage after the 500 mile service (45-50 highway). Might be too soon to be making a call on gas mileage. Of course, short city trips and two-up riding are likely to return worse mileage, as well. doug in dc Mike Brodhead wrote:

> Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > > That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners > citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am > I seeing only 33mpg? > > I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, > but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and > more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing > the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. > > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? > > Thanks, > > --mkb > > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >

[Charles]

> Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > > That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners > citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am > I seeing only 33mpg? > > I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, > but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and > more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing > the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. > > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? > --mkb

IMO, and as the saying goes, YMMV, this is not highly unusual. For one, how full was the tank, each time? Was it to the brim, or below the filler cap a bit? It is really hard on a smaller tank to be really consistent on the "topping off factor". (By smaller tank I mean bike vs a car or truck tank; not the huge KLR tank vs other bikes.) If you are a pint off on a 15-20 gallon tank it will make a much smaller difference, than if you are a pint off on a 6 gallon tank. I have yet to get a tankfull give less than 44 mpg on my 2007. But, the majority of my driving is trips of at least 7 miles, highway driving, and some are as much as 50 miles round trip, running fairly steady 55 mph, etc. So, my mileage should be higher than yours. Also, neither bike is completely broke in yet, I wouldn't get too worried about mileage until at least 1000 miles or so. That said, you stated "Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful". Are you actually checking the mileage, or just guessing? If you were dealing with a larger car tank, you MAY be able to get away with a bit of guesstimation now and then. But the tank is only 6.1 gallons, and the reserve figure is "approximate". You can't use that and be accurate. You need to actually fill the tank, set the trip meter at 000, then at next tank check the mileage vs gas used, not by how big the reserve is. I am not being a smart @$$, really. This is the only way to be sure. I bet if you do that, you find your mileage is a bit higher than 33. As far as "normal variation", I would say yes, you are within that. But others with more experience will be able to answer that better than I. Chuck F. NE PA

[Mike Brodhead]

On Nov 18, 2006, at 3:49 PM, Douglas Bouley wrote:

> Not sure I follow the math there... I always thought it was easiest to > divide the number of miles traveled by the amt of gas added at fill-up > to get mpg... assuming the tank was completely filled to start with > and > the fill-up goes to the same level. Not sure what the size of the > reserve would have to do with anything???

6.1 gal tank with 0.77 gal reserve means when i hit the reserve i'd used all but 0.77 gallons of the 6.1 i started with. 6.1 - 0.77 == 5.33 gallons of gas used since filling the tank. i'd traveled about 175 miles since filling up right near the dealer, so 175mi / 5.33gal = 32.83 mi/gal or nearly 33mpg. i'm about to run out and fill the tank, so perhaps the actual gas usage is a bit different. --mkb [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Douglas Bouley]

Ah. I see. I'd go with the "actual stuff put in" vs the theoretical measurements, but maybe it will come out close enough either way. Be interesting to see if the numbers are the same for you. I can't get anywhere near 6.1 gal in my tank. More like 5.5 or so. Mike Brodhead wrote:

> > On Nov 18, 2006, at 3:49 PM, Douglas Bouley wrote: >> Not sure I follow the math there... I always thought it was easiest to >> divide the number of miles traveled by the amt of gas added at fill-up >> to get mpg... assuming the tank was completely filled to start with and >> the fill-up goes to the same level. Not sure what the size of the >> reserve would have to do with anything??? > > 6.1 gal tank with 0.77 gal reserve means when i hit the reserve i'd > used all but 0.77 gallons of the 6.1 i started with. 6.1 - 0.77 == > 5.33 gallons of gas used since filling the tank. i'd traveled about > 175 miles since filling up right near the dealer, so 175mi / 5.33gal = > 32.83 mi/gal or nearly 33mpg. > > i'm about to run out and fill the tank, so perhaps the actual gas > usage is a bit different. > > --mkb > >

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Neil Doane]

Just as another datapoint... The dealer reset the trip at pickup and I hit the reserve at around 250 miles IIRC (I forget the exact trip reading at the time, but I filled up right afterward and figured the milage with the gas taken at the fill up at it was just over 50mpg). You can figure your mpg anytime via this method, not just on reserve-to-full fillups: just fill it up and reset the trip, ride it a bit (the longer the more accurate the reading, then fill it up again and look on your receipt (or the pump) for your actual gallons used and divide by the actual miles driven on your tripmeter. Mine has pretty much stayed right at ~52mpg on every fill up since then (and I'm just over 550 miles on it now). I'd be wary of trying to figure your actual milage based on what you think the tank will hold. There is a reserve, but there's also typically an unusable portion of gas in there too (or at least, usable only if you like tip the motorcycle over or wiggle it a certain way). All you really know is that if it starts at the top and you ride it X miles and fill it back up to the top, it has used that amount of gas to go those X miles. Try that and you may find that your milage is much more reasonable. Neil

On 11/18/06, Mike Brodhead wrote: > Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > > That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners > citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am > I seeing only 33mpg? > > I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, > but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and > more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing > the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. > > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? > > Thanks, > > --mkb > > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > >

[Erik]

> Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on?

In addition to what others have said about more accurate ways to estimate how much gas you've actually used, I'd guess that the passenger is significant. I notice worse mileage when I carry a passenger. I haven't calculated how much because I just don't care enough, but I get worse than the 45mpg I usually average. I measure the amount used by resetting the trip meter when I fill up. The next time I fill up, my MPG is the amount of gas I put in / the reading on the trip meter. I try to consistently fill right up to the bottom of the filler neck, which usually involves toppiing off - most gas pumps will automatically shut off below the bottom of the filler neck by about a half gallon. I have to hold the vapor collector shroud on the pump back by hand to do that. erik

[Samuel Hudson]

I weigh 280. In town with lively acceleration being the norm I get 38. I get 50 on the highway. You are measuring your milage wrong, do it correctly. 4.8 gallons is all I've been able to squeeze in if I go to the gasstation as I hit reserve. 175/4.8 is 36mpg. There ya go, highway milage of 50 is quite good. --samuelhudson

[Scott]

Ya, probably user error,(no offense, I would be elated). My 07 consistantly gets between 47 and 51, depending on how agressive I ride. I stuck to the 4k, 6k breakin religiously except for one accidental 5k false neutral shift and warm it up for a few minutes before I ride. My driving is mostly city and mountain trails. The break in period was no different. I have almost 2k on it now. I fill the tank to where it just touches the lean-to side edge of the lip. I imagine that if you completely submerge the lip that might be a few tenths more fuel, which would skew your tests if you did not fill it to the same point.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Brodhead wrote: > > Ten days ago I came home with a new 2007 KLR. I was surprised last > night when I had to switch over to reserve after only 175 or so miles > since my first fill-up. Since the reserve portion is 0.77 gallons, > by my reckoning this means I got less than 33mpg on my first tankful. > > That's a whole lot lower than what I've seen other KLR owners > citing. I was expecting at least 40mpg and had hoped for 50. Why am > I seeing only 33mpg? > > I haven't strictly kept to the 4000rpm limit for the first 500 miles, > but I haven't ridden especially hard either. (Until my new rotor and > more street-oriented tires are mounted, I'm a little wary of pushing > the bike much.) The 175 miles before reserve were largely short city > trips. Last night I did about 30 miles on the highway, much of it > with a passenger, including some stop-and-go. Between nighttime, > dampish road, new saddlebags, and a passenger, I was wary of splitting. > > Am I within normal variation for a KLR, or is something else going on? > > Thanks, > > --mkb >