rangerreece
RangerReece
And that exactly what I do on the '05 except the range and mileage is a little better.
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RT range
- Thread starter BMARC153920
- Start date
And that exactly what I do on the '05 except the range and mileage is a little better.
lee
Debbie's Servant
Don't forget Marc will have speed limits of 70, 75 and 80 in the western states on his coast to coast ride.
RYD1WD
New member
My last 3 tanks in my personal RT ('14) have been commuting, 20 miles city, 20 miles slab (at 90 mph going in, and about 12 mph coming home) a day, and my average has been 46.8 MPG. On extended open road I have logged averages of 48.8 to 52.4. In either case, I'm in no way prone to being particularly ginger with my throttle. I have gone 320+ miles on a tank, trip computer showing I have met or slightly surpassed my range to empty, and still had 2-3/10 of a gallon remaining. As a general rule, I keep my RPMS between 3800-4200 as much as possible. Higher RPM's at higher speeds in 6th gear don't seem to diminish the economy significantly, I regularly run between 75-90 MPH when conditions allow.
RYD1WD
New member
Are you using CC a lot? As convenient as it is, I find it really squashes fuel economy. I only use it for brief periods to give the right hand a short break.
BMARC153920
New member
I've never gotten that fuel economy and yeah in use CC a lot on long trips. As Lee said once I'm in Ohio and west I'll be running at 75 to 85 mph from tank to tank.
The point of this thread isn't to debate when to get fuel, but when you need to ride 2900 miles in under 50 hours you want to stop as little as possible and make the most of those stops. Knowing I can safely stretch to 250 or 275 miles per tank over the span of the ride eliminates precocious time wasted needlessly that could be used for longer rest stops when compared to stopping every 225 miles.
On my run to Moonshine in April I may try keeping the bike higher in the rpm range and I may also try riding without the top case to see if it makes a significant difference in economy.
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The point of this thread isn't to debate when to get fuel, but when you need to ride 2900 miles in under 50 hours you want to stop as little as possible and make the most of those stops. Knowing I can safely stretch to 250 or 275 miles per tank over the span of the ride eliminates precocious time wasted needlessly that could be used for longer rest stops when compared to stopping every 225 miles.
On my run to Moonshine in April I may try keeping the bike higher in the rpm range and I may also try riding without the top case to see if it makes a significant difference in economy.
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rangerreece
RangerReece
No top case does make a slight difference. If I had to guess an extra 10 miles per tank, as it will increase your mileage by about one mpg.
BMARC153920
New member
It's something. I'm also packing light. All my other trips on this bike I packed heavy, lots of clothes, gear and work carp like computer and chargers. I won't need nearly as much for this trip, a change of clothes, rain gear and a few tools/supplies that should help too.
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I'm a fan of this concept as well. I have found running fuel tanks real low troublesome in one way or another. I'm usually thinking of "point of safe return" when I'm out in the middle of nowhere.
OM
Gas mileage has other factors to consider, such as wind my mileage goes down against a head wind plus which windshield I have on the bike (the Wunderlich deceases my mileage). Altitude make a huge difference. How much ethanol is in the gas, and I can add more factors like speed, RPM (around 4000 is best) to this list.
What we do know is it's a 6.6 gallon tank including a gallon reserve. My planning range is up to 250 miles.
Jay
What we do know is it's a 6.6 gallon tank including a gallon reserve. My planning range is up to 250 miles.
Jay
GRLambert
Touring Rider
I have gone 300 miles a couple of times, and still had something like a gallon left. My overall average according to the bike computer is around 53mpg... less when doing interstates and more when riding secondary roads at 55 to 65 mph, which is most of the time. I will usually refuel at the 250 mile mark (or less). I don't want to push my luck... mileage is slightly better in warmer weather.
BMARC153920
New member
Going September 9th. Route out will be from Brooklyn NY to Golden Gate bridge this is the hard way route. Taking 80 basically the entire way so passing through PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, CO, WY UT AND NV.
Taking time to get home so heading north to WA before going east and may jump into Canada to stay north of the lakes before dropping south.
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lee
Debbie's Servant
Don't be surprised if you get bogged down in the Gary, Chicago area.
If you need a BMW shop while in the Midwest there's a shop in Iowa City and the west side of Omaha.
I live 30 miles south of I-80. I'll PM you my cell and email in case you need anything while you pass through.
BMARC153920
New member
There a few areas of concern, around Ohio I know there's construction, near Chicago, Reno and a few areas in Indiana. I'm hoping to hit some of these places during off hours and since it's a weekend no rush traffic. The main concern is Friday, we leave at 4 am, so morning rush we shod be away from major areas, but evening rush might put us near Chicago which might be an issue. I'm mapping now to see how it plays out.
Regretfully it is a group start event, so the start time and location I can't change, otherwise I would.
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Regretfully it is a group start event, so the start time and location I can't change, otherwise I would.
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rockbottom
Steve
I'm close to Gary's number--I figure 320-340 on my 2014. I think the furthest I've pushed it was 35 miles left on the computer. At that point I gave up my commitment to only using national brand gas and filled it with brand X.
RYD1WD
New member
There are a few variables that may be in my favor:
1. I have the 28L top case which fits into the slip stream much better than the 49L, especially in dirty air. It's also almost never on my bike while riding one up, even touring.
2. I run a Cee Baily small sport screen, and keep it low, well below eye line.
I tested gear selection and affect of CC on a quiet 14 mile stretch of road where I always had room to experiment early on weekend mornings. The road had some very moderate elevation change, but both ends were almost identical elevation. Laps on that playing with different variables - gear/speed/rpm, and w/ and w/o CC gave me pretty clear and repetitive data. I've had consistent enough results with the trip computer vs manual calculations, that it's quite useful for measuring variables in context for shorter range experimentation.
52184
GTRider
IMIHO, the range you are getting now won't be much of a factor in your effective range when you are doing your planned ride, which is one of the more extreme rides within the IBA catalog. There are a variety of reasons why this is so, a few would include nearly all interstate travel, near-continuous operation of the bike, and wind/weather/distance as factors west of the Mississippi. In the east you are never much more than a stone's throw from fuel, so you can play with running your tank to it's maximum range. Out west, distances between stations can be much greater so your stops will be determined as much by availability as range. Add to that the fact that you will be "on the clock" and being mindful of lost time and efficiency due to fuel stops. Fewer and faster fuel stops increase efficiency, which is what this ride is all about, so you'll be wanting to stay as close as possible to what many consider a gold standard for fuel stops on an endurance ride-- 8 or 9 minutes from first touching the exit ramp to being completely fueled and again touching the interstate roadway. That means you'll want your fuel stops at stations that are easily accessible--as in able to hit them with a rock from the freeway-- and not typically crowded. Out west, those factors somewhat narrow down your choices of optimal fuel locations. And, you can't trust your GPS, no matter how current the maps, to reliably know when and where gas is available.
Were I you, I'd focus less on your stock range and think about adding a fuel cell for the ride. Doesn't need to be large; out west a reliable 400-mile range regardless of wind or weather will do nicely. Fuel cells are not difficult to do on the RTs, and periodically pop up in the used market so expense can be contained--and the unit would be remarketable should you not be planning any further endurance rides. Ready-made cell packages are available from some vendors, www.maplefarkles.com being an example of one (no vested interest on my part). I'd be spending time in Google Earth and other resources, checking location and accessibility of potential fueling stops at various range intervals. And, I'd be getting the ergos absolutely right and tested through numerous long practice rides. Just my $0.02 worth.
Good luck on the ride, I wish I was doing that ride but not in the schedule card for me this year. I hope you are successful!
DG
IBA #138
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BMARC153920
New member
Thanks for the insight GT, very helpful. I've done a few ss1k and BBGs in the past so your thoughts ring very true to me. I've considered and started researching a fuel cell, not sure the cost is in the cards, but will be part of my research and planning. I know for some this ride seems way in tithes future but honestly it takes a lot of time to properly plan and prepare the bike, body and mind for such a ride imho.
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captainmarko
Member
I recently went on a trip through Death Valley and we had an unscheduled turnaround due to a road closure. My buddy on his Wing was rightfully concerned and we both thought we had much farther to go for fuel than we ended up having to.
When we turned around, I was 240 miles into my tank, and for the first time, I checked my miles remaining.
97 according to the computer.
In the end, fuel was found, and my predicted range was around 340 miles to empty.
Again I say "around" because I didn't go to empty, and I only loosely followed it.
Still, it would appear to me that I have about a 340 mile range before running dry.
For me that is damn impressive.
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When we turned around, I was 240 miles into my tank, and for the first time, I checked my miles remaining.
97 according to the computer.
In the end, fuel was found, and my predicted range was around 340 miles to empty.
Again I say "around" because I didn't go to empty, and I only loosely followed it.
Still, it would appear to me that I have about a 340 mile range before running dry.
For me that is damn impressive.
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