Fuel consumption

[krothnbrg]

I've only got roughly 250 miles on my 08 R3 and I have had to gas up twice already. I figured that the first time the dealership didn't really give m a full tank. But.... the indicator light pops on after riding roughly 120 miles. What gives?

This tank is 6.3 gallons... both times I filled up I only got 4 gallons in. Does the light come on with 2 gallons left?!?!?! Seems excessive to me. But that aside it seems I'm only getting about 30 miles to the gallon. Does that sound right?

[Yelwoh]

yes that sounds about right. You will get better gas milage as your milage increases. Probably around 45 miles per gallon.

[dougl]

I haven't seen 45 mpg since by VW bug. My Rocket gets 30-34 mpg.

[RoadVenture]

Originally Posted by krothnbrg

I've only got roughly 250 miles on my 08 R3 and I have had to gas up twice already. I figured that the first time the dealership didn't really give m a full tank. But.... the indicator light pops on after riding roughly 120 miles. What gives?

This tank is 6.3 gallons... both times I filled up I only got 4 gallons in. Does the light come on with 2 gallons left?!?!?! Seems excessive to me. But that aside it seems I'm only getting about 30 miles to the gallon. Does that sound right?

Get used to it. This is one of those things that you don't hear about to much. I bought a 2005 RIII with a Power Commander, CAT By-Pass and TORS installed............25mpg. Yup, pretty dismal.

I have since put the stock mufflers back on (kept the CAT By-pass) and removed the Power Commander. I was at about 32mpg at the first tank of gas. Because the shifter went floppy on me I am facing a complete teardown of the engine to replace the offending part that fell out inside the transmission.

Some people hear claim 40mpg but I would need to see that to believe it.

Low fuel light coming on at 120 miles? I wish mine worked that well. My low fuel level light comes on at 50 miles making it virtually useless......

Hope you enjoy your new RIII

[krothnbrg]

Okay so one says 45 MPG once the motor has more miles on it. One says only with a VW Bug. :-) And that you really only get about 30 to 34. So if we split the difference between the two of you that puts it right around 40-ish (give or take a couple) which is good considering the size of the motor.

But on to my issue with fueling up at 120 miles. With a 6 gallon tank I would think that the idiot light would come on when I'm down to say, one gallon.

Is the 2 gallon mark normal? Has anyone pushed the bike to see what a full tank will give? And since I'm in California... please let me know miles not kilometers. :-)

Thanks
karl

[krothnbrg]

Originally Posted by RoadVenture

Get used to it. This is one of those things that you don't hear about to much. I bought a 2005 RIII with a Power Commander, CAT By-Pass and TORS installed............25mpg. Yup, pretty dismal.

I have since put the stock mufflers back on (kept the CAT By-pass) and removed the Power Commander. I was at about 32mpg at the first tank of gas. Because the shifter went floppy on me I am facing a complete teardown of the engine to replace the offending part that fell out inside the transmission.

Some people hear claim 40mpg but I would need to see that to believe it.

Low fuel light coming on at 120 miles? I wish mine worked that well. My low fuel level light comes on at 50 miles making it virtually useless......

Hope you enjoy your new RIII

Okay... next question: Has anyone installed the Triumph fuel gauge on their R3? Any good? Useless? Thoughts?

[PriorityOne]

I think you will find most people around here get low to mid 30's MPG. I could get 45 MPG if I started from the top of the mountain and coasted all the way down though! Most (if not all) the low fuel lights come on too early. If you have the time and energy, you could take the unit out of the tank and re-adjust it to your liking. I got lucky - mine comes on at about 140-145 miles. I pushed it once to over 200 miles on one tank of fuel, but would not do that again if I did not have to. At 145 miles, it usually takes about 4.5 gallons, give or take a little depending on how hard the throttle has been twisted!! Hope that helps.

[KingOfFleece]

You may not like this, but having been in the powersports industry for a long while I can tell you that most fuel indicators are WAY off no matter HOW much money the toy costs. Most of us only trust the odometer. Just my long term experience talking. Your own personal indicator may differ.

[krothnbrg]

My previous bike was a 20 year old, carb'd Honda Shadow 1100. It got roughly 40 to 45 MPG. I can understand that, with an engine more than twice the displacement I'd get less, so I can live with that. My Honda didn't have any fuel indicator and I rode, as mentioned, by the odometer. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed.

I will try to at lease set the idiot-light to engage when I'm down to 1 gallon. If not, well then I guess I'm back to the odometer method.

Thanks for all your input.

Karl

[dougl]

The bike has a built-in fuel gage - the odometer.