Seaking Posted April 13, 2010 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2010 wow, I did a beautiful job with the carb synch yesterday. Today I barely got 130 miles from a tank of gas traveling an average of 75-80 mph on the highway.. wow.. now THAT sucks.. =( We had high winds today, but mostly coming from quartering rear, average temps of 45'F.. I know the carb synch was spot on as the buzz in the mirrors is gone and the bike rode smoother than before.. But man, I would typically get 160 miles on the tank before needing to fuel with some to spare, but today, I was down to the last bar or two on the fuel gauge.. that's hard to take.. Do high winds make THAT much of a diff on fuel mileage? I know running at higher speeds will cause it to suck.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave77459 Posted April 13, 2010 Share #2 Posted April 13, 2010 I have a RSTD, and headwinds make a big difference for me. I got that big sail on front though. A quartering wind should decrease your apparent speed though and get you better mpg? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted April 13, 2010 Share #3 Posted April 13, 2010 Being on the middle of the windy prairies, I am here to tell you that the winds can and do affect you a ton! I also find that my mileage drops in colder weather for some reason too. On a calm day my mileage is high 30's low 40's on windy days i drop at least 5-10 mpg. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyRich Posted April 13, 2010 Share #4 Posted April 13, 2010 You know, Mine does that too when I keep it wide open all the time... :rotf: Maybe your running faster cause the vibes are gone now and you can see if that's a police car coming up behind you. Too many stops at Dairy Queen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share #5 Posted April 13, 2010 Colder temps, high winds and faster speeds.. yep, killer on this bike.. I'd like to say I was passing a lot of HD's today but none were found on the road.. it was a lot of us "other" guys riding their bikes on the open highway.. windy and cold as it were.. Thanks for the input lads.. Regina eh? I spent 7 years in Moose Jaw.. fun =) but never did own a bike whilst out there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted April 13, 2010 Share #6 Posted April 13, 2010 Regina eh? I spent 7 years in Moose Jaw.. fun =) but never did own a bike whilst out there.. only reason I can think of for a guy to spend 7 years in Moose Jaw is .... hey, isn't there a prison around there somewhere?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted April 13, 2010 Share #7 Posted April 13, 2010 Colder temps, high winds and faster speeds.. yep, killer on this bike.. I'd like to say I was passing a lot of HD's today but none were found on the road.. it was a lot of us "other" guys riding their bikes on the open highway.. windy and cold as it were.. Thanks for the input lads.. Regina eh? I spent 7 years in Moose Jaw.. fun =) but never did own a bike whilst out there.. Were you out at the Base south of Moose Jaw? I would love to bike out and around the Halifax area, igot to know it a bit as my ex was from there and still visit my ex brother in law once in a while. Last time I reneted a convertible and did a great tour around St margarets bay to Lunenberg and got about 34 mpg....but i still wanted my bike!!!! It would be great through there. And Silvrt quit being so jealous of the view here:sign green with env,,,,,just because the mountains obstruct your view....:rotfl: Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammer Dan Posted April 13, 2010 Share #8 Posted April 13, 2010 Posted to this once. No clue where it ended up? But a lot of things have to do with mpg. A well tuned 1st Gen at 65 to 70 mph can get better than 50 mpg. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share #9 Posted April 13, 2010 only reason I can think of for a guy to spend 7 years in Moose Jaw is .... hey, isn't there a prison around there somewhere?... Do you know where Moose Jaw is? Its about 5 feet from the moose's assets.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share #10 Posted April 13, 2010 Posted to this once. No clue where it ended up? But a lot of things have to do with mpg. A well tuned 1st Gen at 65 to 70 mph can get better than 50 mpg. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it..... wiener... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkboard Posted April 13, 2010 Share #11 Posted April 13, 2010 Seaking, Just a thought, but you might check the vacume caps and hoses on your carbs. They have a bad habit of hardening, so that when you take them off they crack. Then if you put them back on they leak. They are very cheap at the auto parts store if they are hardened. I usually replace them when doing carbtunes. (the caps) If the hoses are hardened, it is usually only at the ends, so cut off about 1/4 inch of the end at shove them back on. A very quick test is to run the engine, and spray some carb cleaner in the area of the caps, and listen for engine noise change. If the cleaner is getting in it will change the idle. I don't know if the vacume leak will effect mileage, but it seems like it could. Hope that long post helps you or someone else. wow, I did a beautiful job with the carb synch yesterday. Today I barely got 130 miles from a tank of gas traveling an average of 75-80 mph on the highway.. wow.. now THAT sucks.. =( We had high winds today, but mostly coming from quartering rear, average temps of 45'F.. I know the carb synch was spot on as the buzz in the mirrors is gone and the bike rode smoother than before.. But man, I would typically get 160 miles on the tank before needing to fuel with some to spare, but today, I was down to the last bar or two on the fuel gauge.. that's hard to take.. Do high winds make THAT much of a diff on fuel mileage? I know running at higher speeds will cause it to suck.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share #12 Posted April 13, 2010 Seaking, Just a thought, but you might check the vacume caps and hoses on your carbs. They have a bad habit of hardening, so that when you take them off they crack. Then if you put them back on they leak. They are very cheap at the auto parts store if they are hardened. I usually replace them when doing carbtunes. (the caps) If the hoses are hardened, it is usually only at the ends, so cut off about 1/4 inch of the end at shove them back on. A very quick test is to run the engine, and spray some carb cleaner in the area of the caps, and listen for engine noise change. If the cleaner is getting in it will change the idle. I don't know if the vacume leak will effect mileage, but it seems like it could. Hope that long post helps you or someone else. Its a thought for sure.. I'll check see if i can find some replacement caps and check the hoses / connections as well.. This bike has had its share of problems in the past from it's previous owners, it could be one of the new issues.. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N3FOL Posted April 13, 2010 Share #13 Posted April 13, 2010 Glad to hear that you were able to synch your carbs already. I need to do mine soon, perhaps this weekend. At any rate, please consider that you probably burned a good amount of gas while you are synching your carbs...depending on how long it took you. As mentioned before, a strong head wind may drop you mpg not drastically byt noticeable in your calculations. Now fill that baby up with gas and keep on riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kregerdoodle Posted April 13, 2010 Share #14 Posted April 13, 2010 On a Trailer!!! Posted to this once. No clue where it ended up? But a lot of things have to do with mpg. A well tuned 1st Gen at 65 to 70 mph can get better than 50 mpg. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammer Dan Posted April 14, 2010 Share #15 Posted April 14, 2010 On a Trailer!!! I know of two 1st Gens around here that have broken 50 mpg. Must be that West by God air!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegscraper Posted April 14, 2010 Share #16 Posted April 14, 2010 I know of two 1st Gens around here that have broken 50 mpg. Must be that West by God air!!! It's the bigger carbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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