Motorcycle Hypermiling?

[Inst]

Is anyone a motorcycle hypermiler here? I wonder if I can get some tips; on my G650GS, I tend to average around 60 mpg, which is solely average, even though I shift at peak BSFC points (2500-3000 rpm) and time traffic lights.

Of course, I could attempt burn and coast, but to be frank, that's too labor intensive and it's too distracting (and thus dangerous) on a motorcycle.

I'm not totally ignorant as a hypermiler; with a Nissan Xterra, I've managed to get 22 mpg (20% above EPA rating).

[royce]

Motorcycles are not very aerodynamic. Lots of wind resistance. We, on this forum, report all sorts of variations in fuel mileage on our bikes, but that is mostly from different wind conditions and different speeds. Never heard of anyone specifically "hypermiling" on a motorcycle. At least not since Craig Vetter came along and changed the whole industry.

Good luck.

[PGlaves]

Congratulations on getting a little better than typical fuel consumption for that model while probably destroying the bottom end of the engine in not too long a time. That engine is designed to operate in the 4k to 6k rpm band very nicely but at 2500 is lugging the engine whether it is herky jerky or not.

[daboo]

I'm not a hyper-miler, but I do keep track of my gas mileage to predict my expected range on trips. In my area with all the traffic we have, it really is a futile effort. I can get low to mid 50s in my pre-retirement commute...or I can get about 48 on the same commute when I sit at traffic lights. On trips, I'm usually getting mid-50s, though on back roads, I can often get in the low 60s. Much of that seems to be dependent on speed. If I keep it at around 55-60 mph on the back roads, I get much higher gas mileage than if I hit 70+ mph.

Riding smoothly and simply enjoying the ride, is the most rewarding for me.

If you really want to hyper-mile...get a Prius. My wife routinely gets about 69 mpg on hers.

Chris

[beemerphile]

Driving to get hyper-miles out of a bike is to me about as much fun as trying not to offend someone who is easily offended. Big on effort and small in payoff. If I needed better mileage, I'd buy a bike that gets better mileage. I bought a Honda NC700 for this reason and it literally bored me to tears. It is gone. I am with Paul on this. There is another thread going where the OP is looking to run the tallest gearing that will physically fit on the bike looking to run at uber-low RPM's. The way many people ride motorcycles, their bikes would last longer if the highest gear were missing.

[AKsuited]

If you really want to hyper-mile...get a Prius. My wife routinely gets about 69 mpg on hers.

Chris

That's very good for a regular Prius. Over the first 20K miles, my Prius Prime gets just above 89 mpg...but I cheat, I run on electric-only (EV mode) much of the time, especially around town and short trips because it is a plug-in hybrid with a large battery pack.

For my bike, I get around 50 mpg on trips. I try to stay close to the speed limit. Some say that is impossible - just find a big truck doing your desired speed and tuck in either behind or in front. In front means less turbulence. Besides getting better mileage, your tires will last longer. My Anakee III's had almost 13K miles on them when I had them replaced, and I could have gotten another 1K miles out of the rear (but wanted new tires before the trip to Des Moines). I saw a post from one guy who lamented that his Anakee III's only last 6K miles. As they say, YMMV.

[akbeemer]

Hyper-miling on motorcycles is like the ladies of a brothel competing to see who is the most virtuous. It is a pointless endeavor that defeats the purpose.

[daboo]

Hyper-miling on motorcycles is like the ladies of a brothel competing to see who is the most virtuous. It is a pointless endeavor that defeats the purpose.

I wish there was a "Like" button here. Well put.

Chris

[ExGMan]

Hyper-miling on motorcycles is like the ladies of a brothel competing to see who is the most virtuous. It is a pointless endeavor that defeats the purpose.

+1 Kevin! Hyper-miling on a motorcycle is an oxymoron.

[Omega Man]

.....{snip] just find a big truck doing your desired speed and tuck in either behind or in front. In front means less turbulence.....{snip}

I have heard this before
Screwing around in the front of a truck or in the rear is just asking to be road kill.
A little lite reading on this subject- https://www.quora.com/Why-is-draftin...ers-dislike-it

As for this Hypermiling stuff........Lets try not to foul up traffic more that it is. If your going to experiment with some driving technique that the rest of the road doesn't enjoy, please stay far right.......Perhaps with some sort of emergency light as extra identification.
OM

[GTRider]

Hyper-miling on motorcycles is like the ladies of a brothel competing to see who is the most virtuous. It is a pointless endeavor that defeats the purpose.

Precisely!

Best,
DG

[20774]

Perhaps with some sort of emergency light as extra identification.

Maybe something like this?

BikeFlag.jpg

[beemerphile]

I hyper-miled once in 51 years on motorcycling when I thought it made good sense. I was on my way to Inuvik, NWT and I got to Eagle Plains where I planned to camp in the early afternoon. So, I decided to make camp and then ride on to the Northwest Territories border sign for fun. On the way back it became apparent that I had neglected to fuel up the bike when I got to Eagle Plains and I was on empty and about at my normal tank range. My R1150 held ten gallons, but it is just as empty as a Sportster with a peanut tank when all of the gas is gone. So, I shut it down and coasted the downhills and restarted when my speed ran low on the uphills. Somehow I made it without being demoted to pedestrian.

The only other time that came close to making sense was when I decided to ride out an entire tank of gas in my Honda NC700x on the Blue Ridge Parkway while obeying the 45 mph speed limit. The bike got nearly 90 mpg.

One time I was scared to death and the other I was bored to death. I hope I am now smart enough to not try either trick again.

[Inst]

Ehhh, hypermiling is a recreational sport just as much as racing is. Hypermilers actually refer to their MPG meter as a game gauge, because it's fun riding or driving in a such a way as to maximize fuel efficiency.

But the thing is, not everyone hypermiles all the time. When I first got the xterra, I spent a fair amount of time burn-and-coasting with a 5-mile gap around the speed limit, probably to the annoyance of other drivers. This was in the right lane, of course. These days, however, I am willing to sacrifice the fuel economy for greater convenience, simply because it's fatiguing to constantly watch your speed and keep it variable. Likewise, I used to draft trucks with the xterra, but with a 3 second distance to ensure sufficient stopping distance. I don't do so anymore; it's not worth the trouble or risk. On the other hand, I still ridge ride, whether I am running the CUV or the motorcycle, simply because staying slightly out of alignment with the traffic improves my field of view and allows me to see obstacles in front of the vehicle ahead of me.

Using hypermiling techniques on a motorcycle is a question of capability, not necessarily something you do all the time. Even competition hypermilers don't use all their skills on day-to-day driving, because tailgating trucks is ridiculously dangerous both from the collision risk and loss of visibility, and because some techniques, while offering good mileage on a tank of gas, are just too annoying to use routinely. However, say you're in a remote rural area, and all of a sudden, your reserve light comes on. You think, or you'd like to think, you can get to a gas station before the engine dies. But under those circumstances, why take the chance? That's a good enough situation to justify hypermiling your vehicle, even using aggressive techniques, because the alternative is to be straight stranded and waiting for a tow to come with fuel.

[GTRider]

However, say you're in a remote rural area, and all of a sudden, your reserve light comes on. You think, or you'd like to think, you can get to a gas station before the engine dies. But under those circumstances, why take the chance? That's a good enough situation to justify hypermiling your vehicle, even using aggressive techniques, because the alternative is to be straight stranded and waiting for a tow to come with fuel.

Exercising poor fuel management is hardly a good excuse for driving in a manner that obstructs the flow of traffic, inflames other drivers, and increases risk to the general public. That’s like saying airline pilots should during normal flights routinely shut down their engines and glide just in case they might need to do that due to their own fuel mismanagement.

If high mileage is important to someone, they should just buy a vehicle with that feature and get on with it. Otherwise, one is just creating a rolling roadblock in traffic.

Best,
DG