Gas mileage on my RT

[slammer]

I recently bought a 96 1100RT, On my first tank I hit it pretty good with highway miles in the 80 to 85MPH range and got about 40MPG, on my next tank I purposfully kept it at or below 70 most of the time to see what that wold do and I got 40MPG.

 

Does this sound normal for highway?

 

FYI it has an after market windshield which is larger than the stock, I keep it down most of the time because its already up to my eyeballs.

[T__]

Slammer, you probably need to average a few tankfuls of each to get any real useful data..

 

The 40mpg at 80-85 is probably close if not a little optimistic but the 40mpg at or below 70 is maybe a little on the low side..

 

Wind direction & intensity,, ambient temperature,, gear carried on motorcycle,, constant speed & road elevation can also effect readings..

 

It’s difficult to get a constant fill in those fuel tanks as there is a air space above the bottom of the filler neck so more fuel can be trickled in as the air above the filler neck bottom bleeds out slowly through the tank vent system..

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if your 70 & under mpg comes more into the mid to upper 40mpg range & 80-85 mpg drops off a little into the high 30mpg range..

 

Also keep in mind most RT speedometers are quite optimistic so your 80-85 shown was probably closer to 75-80mph..

 

Twisty

 

[OoPEZoO]

I tend to get between 38-41mpg on my '00 RT when commuting......it doesn't matter what speed or how I ride it. I get a little better when I stay on back roads and keep my speed down, but that sounds about right.

[NoHeat]

If you recently bought a used oilhead and you're not happy with the fuel economy, look under the seat to see if a previous owner installed a Techlusion or similar electronic box to increase the duration of the fuel injection pulse.

 

These boxes are commonly added to pre-2004 oilheads in order to reduce surging, but they reduce the fuel economy. They are adjustable, using a potentiometer on the box, so that you can trade off fuel economy vs. surging.

 

While you've got the seat off, also check for obstructions in the airbox. A guy at work bought a used BMW chromehead, which is similar to an oilhead, and it ran badly. A mousenest in the airbox was responsible, and it was easily fixed.

[Chip]

I get a consistant 42mpg at sea level (Houston, TX) on my 96 RT. Was getting ~40mpg prior to changing to Autolite 3923 spark plugs (cheap, highly recommended by lots of folks on this forum, and did I say cheap?).

 

When I take the bike up into the mountains of Colorado I get anywhere from 45-50mpg. Don't know if its the cooler air, altitude, lower octane gas, higher rpms than "normal" riding, or some combination of all of the above.

[BigAL]

FWIW, my 04 RT also gets a steady 40ish MPG. I tried a tank or two doing 55 on the highway, commuting.... but all I got was late to work. So I'm back up around 70ish. I have a Power Commander, similar to a Techlusion, which adjusts my injection, and I believe it lowers fuel economy just a tad....

AL

[wbrissette]

Just got back from a 3800 mile trip on my '04 RT and my average was 47 MPG, but there was a lot of open road.

[gmarktbone]

Slammer,

 

I get between 43-50 MPG on my 02 consistently. 43 on my commute with no highway. When I go mostly highway at "70-75" on the speedo (who knows how fast that really is) I get 50. I don't know whether the 1150s get better mileage than the 1100s, though.

 

[RickB]

Below is (I hope) a copy of a fuel economy chart generated from the fuel log I've been keeping on my 04 1150RT. Average is 42.4mpg

 

[gmarktbone]

Great chart. I have also noticed that my mileage goes up in the summer. It's good to see documentation from someone else.

[Unhofliche_Gesundheit]

my graph has no such trend - april to november - 561 liters, 34 fill ups-

 

bounces around 5.62 L/100 km i.e 50.3 MPiG ( IMPERIAL Gallon). Standard deviation 3.5 mpg

 

temperature and 'tune-up' (at tank 29) seem to have little to no effect!

 

the variability could be due to octane, riding style, average speed, amount of acceleration, rpm/gear, terrain, passenger or not, type of route/terrain, climate (temp), new Calsci screen, etc but these factors are not captured. tank variability could also depend on how much i overfilled (how much fuel i try to squeeze in)

note for the serious fuel consumption monitoring nerds amoung us i saw that you can buy a real time fuel consumption meter for your bike.

 

[RickB]

I have been keeping a fuel log (& maint log) in MS Excel since I bought the bike in June 2007, 63 fill ups so far. The graph sure seems to point to a trend. I will be interested to see how the data develops over this winter... It's all very fascinating.

[WaywardSon]

'96 1100 RT here also...I've put about 30K on mine in the two years I've owned it & check my fuel mileage pretty regularly. Low to mid 40's seems to just about cover it.

[dsquare]

On my 2001 1100RT I get a consistent 40 mpg(+/-2 mpg). I have a large Cee Bailey windshield (+4"H and +2"W). I keep the windshield down all the time. I also use a techlusion and midgrade gas. It seems no matter how fast I ride,two up or not, my mileage is consistent. I adjust the valves and throttle bodies once a year in the spring and ride 12 to 16K miles a season. I've found more frequent service not necessary. Bike always runs like a clock!

[HRminneapolis]

my 2001 RTP gets between 40mpg and 50mpg on the bighway, traveling between 70 and 80mph on interstate. In town the gas mileage is high 30's and low 40's.

[Jerry Johnston]

I've owned my 96 R1100rt since 96, put in high grade gas (once in a while use mid grade)and avg aorund 46mpg 2 up (very little difference solo). I have rec'd as much as 50+ in altitude and as low as 40 at sea level. I normally travel between 75 and 80mph when the rode allows. Also the only time I ride in town is when passing through while touring.

[bdspler]

43 mpg ....cas I hate saying 42 and change!........but thats all I ever get is 42.%^&*( I thought I'd be getting 50 somthing!!!!!!

But I love the bike so OH WELL.

P.S. I have friends that do better in thier Car's!

bd