Motorcycle Hypermiling?

[discoboy]

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 someone who has witnessed a person being run over by a truck I can tell you it is a very ugly event. Still haunts me 20 years later. Trucks cannot see you very well, and even if they could, they can't stop quickly. And when you and a truck collide you lose.

That being said, I resorted to drafting trucks on one long motorcycle trip. I was heading north from New Orleans to Boston in late March. After I entered Virginia the temperatures began to fall precipitously. In an effort to stave off hypothermia I resorted to drafting trucks. Extremely effective. The long term solution, of course, was to limit my riding to the warmer hours and stop more often for hot meals. It took me longer to get home to Boston but I made it in one piece. Had I to do it over again I would have electrically heated clothing.

[beemerphile]

...because it's fun riding or driving in a such a way as to maximize fuel efficiency.

...because it's fatiguing to constantly watch your speed and keep it variable.

These statements seem in conflict. I always get the fatigue but not the fun.

...Likewise, I used to draft trucks.

Racers know when you draft that you have to occasionally pull out a bit to let the motor cool off. Motorcycle riders, especially those on air-cooled motors with no temperature gauge may not know that the oil temperature could go to bad places because of drafting not just trucks, but cars as well. Plus, as you said, the three second rule makes it either dangerous on one end or ineffective on the other.

I'm back to simply not doing it. I do find it annoying to try to follow someone who drives by the vacuum gauge instead of the speedometer. The coasting slows them without brake lights and you are constantly reacting to what they are going to do next. Easier just to pass them and let them have their "fun". It is about like following a phone texter except hyper-milers generally don't weave. The side friction on the tires would detract from the mileage.

[Inst]

These statements seem in conflict. I always get the fatigue but not the fun.

The novelty factor wears off after a while. I tried doing this over long-distance travel, but ultimately it makes more sense just to hit the cruise control on the car.

And the fact is, I'm often in a hurry these days. I try to drive 4-5 above speed limit much of the time in a semi-rural environment, although from what I hear, roads are designed for 8 mph above the speed limit and 8 mph above the average traffic speed is statistically correlated to be safest.

The coasting slows them without brake lights and you are constantly reacting to what they are going to do next.

Well, on the plus side, by annoying other drivers, you reduce the chances of being accidentally hit. On the minus side, you increase the chances of being deliberately hit.

[AKsuited]

Driving at or near the speed limit would be considered mild hypermiling, if it is even acknowledged as hypermiling. It is probably more accurate to say that I don't get speeding tickets on my bike, and leave it at that.

I have mirrors on my bike, two of them. I use them to ensure that whatever vehicle is behind me is at a safe distance. If not, I do something to change that. I don't suffer tailgaters gladly.

If you are consistently at 10 or 20 mph over the speed limit, I don't want to hear your complaints about your tires not lasting very long. Other than that, I don't care what speed you drive.

[AKsuited]

The novelty factor wears off after a while. I tried doing this over long-distance travel, but ultimately it makes more sense just to hit the cruise control on the car.

That's what I do in the car...and the bike. Where I live, there are no traffic jams, and no way I could ever hold up traffic by driving the speed limit... I'm at 58 mph on a 55 mph road, and 65 mph on a 65 mph road. Scoff at that, but it works for me.

[junkjohn]

If your on a BMW, don't forget you are actually going slower than speedo says.

[shortythorne]

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.

[Inst]

More like a group of fat girls competing to be most virtuous, tbh. Most motorcycles get better fuel economy than cagers, due to lighter weight, although greater coefficient of drag. Fully-faired Hondas like the CTX700 can beat out Priuses. The G650GS was the most fuel efficient middle-weight bike BMW had, and I had gotten tired of my CBR250R ABS deathtrap.

Given that BMW sells to a higher market segment than most motorcycle companies, and that BMW gets more than its fair share of people in the finance industry, having bikes for people concerned with fuel economy is not a bad idea. Of course, BMW seems to be going more the electric scooter route to satisfy that market, and for the greenies, electric is more in than hybrid.

[AKsuited]

for the greenies, electric is more in than hybrid.

But not practical for most people. With my plug-in hybrid I get fantastic mpg's but no restriction on range. Living in a rural area, many of my trips are simply too long for an electric vehicle and I am not about to own an additional vehicle to be more green than I already am. Plug-in hybrid is the sensible choice if you want to be green.

[drneo66]

More like a group of fat girls competing to be most virtuous, tbh. Most motorcycles get better fuel economy than cagers, due to lighter weight, although greater coefficient of drag. Fully-faired Hondas like the CTX700 can beat out Priuses. The G650GS was the most fuel efficient middle-weight bike BMW had, and I had gotten tired of my CBR250R ABS deathtrap.

Given that BMW sells to a higher market segment than most motorcycle companies, and that BMW gets more than its fair share of people in the finance industry, having bikes for people concerned with fuel economy is not a bad idea. Of course, BMW seems to be going more the electric scooter route to satisfy that market, and for the greenies, electric is more in than hybrid.

I use to commute 135 miles per day on my older Honda Silverwing (shaft drive, transverse twin), so I spent a lot of time thinking and checking to see what would make a difference in increasing MPG. My right wrist was the biggest thing that I could control. On that bike, taking off the side bags didn't make much difference, nor did the top box. I assume that you've covered your bases already with the easy stuff? Good tire pressure, air filter, spark plugs, etc.? I'd also look at removing any excess weight that you can live without - passenger pegs, unused mounting brackets. Your windshield choice will also have big consequences. Also, have you dropped all the weight that you can too?

[shortythorne]

I wonder if I can get some tips; on my G650GS, I tend to average around 60 mpg, which is solely average.

I've owned 4 650 singles and averaged 70mpg on all of them without giving it a second thought. I couldn't enjoy riding if I put as much thought into conserving fuel as you : However, I'm probably not as fast as you.

[Inst]

I've owned 4 650 singles and averaged 70mpg on all of them without giving it a second thought. I couldn't enjoy riding if I put as much thought into conserving fuel as you : However, I'm probably not as fast as you.

Correct answer: the fastest way to improve MPG is to lower rider weight. When I hear about the mileage you're getting, I just assume you're more in shape than I am.

And of course, the important thing is that in the first world, motorcycling is all about fun. When I was running the CBR250R, I talked with a UChicago Ph.D in working retirement. He was impressed that the motorcycle had better fuel economy than his Prius, but then I brought up the Expected Value loss from the increased mortality risk. In the first world, for that reason, motorcycling never makes economic sense unless you're trying to defraud a life insurance company. So all motorcycling is about fun, we just have different types of fun.