I just returned from a 1680 mile 6 day trip from Alaska into Yukon Canada and beyond. I've found that my 2011 versys gets pretty craptastic MPG (probably below 40 MPG) when I'm running in the 5-5500 RPM range. If I keep RPM's in the 4-4500 range it jumps up to the mid 40's. AND when commuting to work (some stop & go and some 55 MPH cruzing) I can get nearly 50 MPG. I totally understand that I'm running aggressive tires and are loaded with weight on my trip, but why is my highway mileage worse than my stop & go mileage? I've also ridden unloaded at 5K and above RPM's and get the same MPG. Anyone else have similar issues?
ya ive noticed the same, in the city i was getting mid to high 40's mpg now that im out of the city and do all 50+mph my mileage dropped to the low to mid 40's mpg. just the laws of physics, the faster you go the more friction/ wind resistance, and higher sustained RPM's , plus the biggest factor of all the more fun your having the more it costs
Jeff - my Gen 3 gets SUBSTANTIALLY better mileage than either of my Gen 1s. My last two reasonable-length rides gave me 75+ and 72+ mpgImperial (62 and 57.6 mpgUS) at about the 5K rpm range, and the 72 was two-up.
I couldn't even fathom getting that kind of mileage.............
Do I need to check my valves?
Is my aftermarket slip-on causing a rich burn because of the reduced back pressure?
I am at a loss.
I've always thought that highway mileage should be better not worse
I have had similar results. I do a combination of highways, Manhattan commuting, and riding side and country roads. I find that I get about 45 on the highways (65+ cruising, limited stop and go), about 48 when I commute assertively, low 40s when I go with the flow, and high 40s (and 50+ occasionally) when I take the side roads and only occasionally stop. I think the fuel mileage goes down every time my feet do, with my right hand being the next biggest factor.
I don't every bother to check mileage (especially on motorcycles because how you top off the tank is so imprecise). But I have found I seem to go through a tank faster now that some of my rides are at 65 mph on the highways compared to my 45 mph loops near the house I used to do. I think it is everything that has been suggested. I know wind total wind resistance goes up faster than a 1:1 relationship as speed goes up. And I can only guess that the V gets worse mileage at 5,000 + rpm's than at like 4000 cruising in town or on back roads. Is it a sign of something wrong with your V Jeff? I don't know that, but as long as you do the regular maintenance at regular intervals, your mileage drop sounds ok to me.
At 17k, valve check wouldn't hurt.
But I will add, tire pressure makes a difference.
When loaded like you seems to be, I run 40psi rear and I saw a difference on both tire longevity and fuel consumption.
Surprisingly, with hardcases I don't really see much difference... I should, but I don't. I guess I'm slower when touring.
Also, sometimes you are just unlucky and get a front wind more than usual...
"I think the fuel mileage goes down every time my feet do, with my right hand being the next biggest factor." This is very clear on my heavy bike.
Everything contributes to mileage. I have instantaneous mileage readout and usually ride the same roads, in part. Headwinds and tailwinds are obvious contributors. My huge hard bags are good for a loss of several mpg at highway speeds. My big windshield cuts several mpg.
On the Versys, we haven't run any real comparisons, but I can tell the mirrors aren't helping! I'm convinced I get worse mileage than my wife on it, but the pegs get much closer to the ground when I'm riding!!
I have no experience with the later gen versys' (versii? lol). I'm not sure if the 2nd and 3rd gen's have an O2 sensor or not. If they do not like my first gen, then an aftermarket exhaust will for sure throw off the air/fuel mixture a bit as the computer is open loop and has no feedback on the exhaust richness which would most likely negatively impact gas mileage. If it was a big enough concern to you, in this instance fuel re-mapping on the computer would be needed (if that's even possible on these bike) or put the stock exhaust back on. My first gen is stock and I average about 47-48 mpg on my daily work commute (about 50% highway/ 50% town and stoplights). If I go 55-60 mph on highway, I get about 54-55mpg and on the interstate doing 70-75mph, I get about 45-46mpg.
Like Ed, I checked my 2015 early, this winter and found one tight exhaust valve. I also posted the following in another thread. For a while I was using Lucas fuel treatment which some on this forum claimed increased mileage. I tried it late last year and found the opposite, riding conditions and temperature play a roll, I intend to try again this year since I have lots of it.I can't say for sure if the oxygen sensor on the MK-3 plays a part with the lucas fuel treatment, or if I picked some cold windy days for comparison which affected the mileage. The MK-3 has a KM/liter readout, which showed consistently low readings on those rides, also at the time I had adjusted my TPS to a lower voltage, still within the manual spec. I think I will get back into the settings later this summer and post my findings.
Thanks for all the inputs fellas.
I don't have an 02 sensor, I've done the TP hose sync, never adjusted the TPS, and looks like I will be checking my valves this winter.
Now my last tank BEFORE the trip when I was commuting to work was in the high 40's close to 50 MPG, so I know it's capable of decent mileage. Temps were petty cool for most of my trip and there were crosswinds and drastic elevation changes at times. SO I probably don't have any major problems. Just a heavily loaded 650 with a 220 pound rider, tall windscreen, and knobby tires = NOT optimal combination for MPG.
I should just be happy and RIDE!!
My Gen 3 gets much better mileage at above 40 mph and 4000 rpm. Highway economy typically 52 - 55 mpg at 70+ mph. Around town the economy is 40-ish depending how close the stop lights are. The O2 sensor apparently only affects the mixture at lower rpm low throttle, and, I suspect, lower speeds. At those low rpm low throttle conditions the 02 sensor will modulate the mixture leaner, improving mileage.
I suspect surging and jerky throttle at these low rpm low throttle conditions is due to too-lean mixtures due to the O2 sensor's effect. Adjusting the TPS to richer will improve the ride-ability in those conditions but will reduce highway fuel economy. So there's a tradeoff there.
I'm thinkin I got 46.5 mpg on my '16 650 on my recent trip. But...I was runnin fast enough where the economy mileage light was off the majority of the time. I had a bulky profile too with panniers and big tail bag etc.
I track my fill ups and mileage on fuelly.com. You can log in there to see the mileage anonymous Versys owners are getting. I notice, not surprisingly a big difference in mileage between city and highway riding. More surprisingly is a significant difference between cold and warm weather riding. Some of this may be explained by the fact I normally only do city riding riding in cold weather but even so there seems to be a significant deterioration in mileage in cold weather (0C/32F to 10C/50F). Note, I live in a larger city of 1 million, Ottawa, so urban riding (express ways to stop and go traffic congestion) for me may mean something different than for someone living in a city of 50,000.
i use fuelly as well.... filled up today with another tank of just regular 87 octane. did almost all highway ave speed 65-70 (and a lot of "spirited" riding stretches) and still got 47MPG and thats with over filling the tank more then i normally do (rounding up so i didnt have to go in for change, and i had 20+ miles till home)
I THINK I may have figured it out somewhat. My aftermarket slip-on has significantly less pack pressure than the stock muffler. A buddy was telling me that without an 02 sensor the engine computer has know way of changing the fuel mapping to adjust for the reduced backpressure at higher RPMs and therefore is dumping more fuel as the RPMs increase above 4500-5000. He recommended a power commander and get a professional fuel tune and I should see an increase in MPG in the 5-6K RPM range. What say you?
BTW I just finished a tank off commuting my normal 80 mile round trip to and from work doing nothing over 60-62 MPH, mostly 55-60 or less with the RPMs around 4-4500 most of the time. I got right at 50 MPG.
I just made a trip the other day (15' 650 LT with bags, large trunk, taller shield and about 40lbs cargo....I weigh 175lbs)............went 257 miles on one tank (fuel bar was blinking the last 40 miles) and filled to the bottom of the fill neck. Took 4.4 gals...........that equals 58.4 mpg. This was pretty much interstate riding at 65 mph. Did the reverse trip the next day (same stats) and took 4.7 gallons for the 257 miles (54.6 mpg). The difference was the return trip was at 75-80 mph. Not bad mileage I believe. This bike will go longer on a tank of fuel than my butt will.
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