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greg_in_london

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Everything posted by greg_in_london

  1. greg_in_london
    Ah well I'll be interested in hearing your progress when you hit the road again, then.
  2. greg_in_london
    That's part of the point I'm making Calperin - lots of other people are saying that they are getting good mileage on later bikes too. I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes a difference. Maybe the same 'fix' would boost your mpg too - although the semi-custom styled bikes don't look as aerodynamic so there may be a small penalty. Bigin - nearly missed your post - it came in whiel I was reading Calperin's. It's some help - confirms that weight doesn't make much odds when you're rolling. I had been wondering if a low back end would mean the final drive running at a sub-optimal angle that would cause a lot of gear drag, but presumably that's not it. I'm presuming that gutted Jardines are less restrictive, which suggests that they're not tooo sensitive to carburation (bit of a leap of faith, there), so I'm wondering if it might be one of the add-ons. Either the vacuum advance/retard or the inlet boost bottles. I'm guessing that a leaky boost bottle would lead to a weak mixture and less power, while I think mine is a little rich and has plenty of power. I think I should investigate the vacuum advance retard. I'm guessing I should look for a thread on that as well as look at the manual. Anyone have any other suggestions before I get stuck on a single track ? One other thing I don't know about - VRs have a pilot air mixture screw AND a pilot fuel screw - is there any guidance which should be set first ???
  3. greg_in_london
    Hi Bigin, I've seen a couple of those comments, but I think the issue is a bit of a Red Herring. My speedometer tallies with the posted mileage on road signs and the original tests said that the speedo read 60mph at 58mph - a small difference. If Frog Man is getting between 28 and 46 in US - that's 33-53 mpg in UK money, his worst is equal to my best (ie trying 55-60mph cruising on A-roads at steady speed). A speedomay be out by 5% or even 10%, but we are talking claimed mileage variations of 75%. When you say 44mpg, is that US or imperial, as that's just over 50mpg in my money - that's 60% more miles for a (much cheaper) gallon. If I have a range of 120 miles and start looking for juice 30-40 miles before it's dry, I get 80-90 miles before I have to start looking, it sounds like you can go double the distance before looking. Can we find a solution and make it a sticky ?
  4. greg_in_london
    Freebird - was there an update ? Did you get back to your previous fuel economy (and what was that ? [in UK or US gallons?]) and what was it that made a difference ? Was it that vacuum advance/retard mechanism and was it easily fixed ?
  5. greg_in_london
    At the risk of sounding slow - after all it was me that posted the conversion chart - I presume that you are both talking the smaller american gallons AllenH and Bigin - that would equate to 50-55mpg in UK gallons. That's 75% more miles per tank than some of us are getting. Obviously as a tourer it's a bit limiting if you need to start worrying about petrol every 80-90 miles - apart from the sidecar, have you any clues what might be different about your Venture. [Mind you - that's a silly question - I need to post which carbs etc I have on mine - anyone have ponters on which bits of the spec I should look up ?] Oh yes, don't forget that our petrol is about £1.07 (just over $2) per litre which I think is a bit pricier than in the US.
  6. greg_in_london
    Well for me 40mpg would be a considerable improvement, although some used to claim 50mpg+ (UK or US). From the answers so far that's not so common, although a variation from 30-45mpg is still a big difference (all figures for reasonable riding - I can push that 30mpg way down into the twenties when chasing a ferry or some other deadline). Has anyone done anything to their bikes that has made a big change to fuel cnsumption ? It might be a search for the holy grail, but if there is a secret (or collection of secrets) to good economy it could be worth the search.
  7. greg_in_london
    I was going to try a poll, but can't see how, so I'll just ask the question. What do you get to the gallon from your venture in normal riding (whatever that is ?) I'm asking because when I asked this before, comments seemed to be divided between those who regularly managed 45-50 to the gallon or even more and assumed anyone who got less drove like a nutter, and those who returned 30-35 to the gallon and could not get more no matter how they rode. I have felt for a long time that there must be two specifications of carburettor, or something that can be set two ways or that can fail, that means some people get good mpg while others don't. I've made up a little table to help people understand international posts - UK/imperial mpg vs USA mpg vs metric litres/100Km. mpg (uk) mpg (us) l/100km 20 17 14.1 25 22 11.3 30 26 9.4 35 30 8.0 40 35 7.0 45 39 6.3 50 43 5.6 55 48 5.1 I get about 30mpg (UK) with a sidecar, pulling a trailer, on a run; but I only used to get about 33-35mpg solo. I've checked the float height, balanced the carbs, changed the plugs (currently iridium) and put on an easy flowing air filter. For me this is the crunch point for its use as a tourer - I'd so like an improvement before our long tour this Summer - both because of the cost of petrol and the limited tank range.
  8. greg_in_london
    Hi Pyro, It's always odd seeing yourself on the web. For some reason I had a few days of not being able to log onto the site (or load the page at all) but alright now. I generally reckon that 8,000 is good mileage on my outfit, but I may have more stop-starting than the US average. I don't think I had the trailer tent when you came over - that's a bit of a strain, but it seems to manage it. It does make me wonder about the 'weak' first gen frames that people used to post about (oops, - hope I haven't tempted fate) - if mine were going to go, it's had enough work to do from me, even allowing for my gentle riding style.
  9. greg_in_london
    My worst mileage experience was with a Kenda or something similar - it was supposed to be able to take a load of 1000lbs, but at reasonable speeds (below 60mph) it had run out of tread in 800-1000 miles. I know I had a big sidecar and was pulling a trailer, but it left me in the middle of Scotland, heading for a boat crossing to Ireland unable to find another tyre. I had to keep the speed below forty as much as possible and aim for puddles to keep the tyres cool until a replacement was delivered just in time for a return to England a week later. Really shows how qickly they can wear when they get hot and how some road surfaces are more abrasive than others.
  10. greg_in_london
    Basically it's not a common tyre size and not many bikes use it, so dealers aren't likely to carry it in stock. Add on to that the fact that you need a tyre that can carry a high loading and you will have a limited choice. Best thing may be to find which tyres you fancy online and then go through the manufacturer's website to find a local suppleir, or one that will do mail order if you're happy to fit it yourself. I like the heavyweight Continentals, mostly because I haul a lot of weight and nothing else can manage the strain, but a solo bike should be fine with an Avon, Chen Shin or whatever else can take the weight. I forget the load number for the Contis, it might be 71, but do a search and you'll find it.
  11. greg_in_london
    Some brake pad manufacturers list a high friction for the front and low friction (for higher mileage) for the back. They are interchangeable, but there is a chance that in the back your front pads will wear out faster than expected. Just check after a couple of thousand miles that wear is not too fast.
  12. greg_in_london
    I don't know what the 2nd gen venture shocks look like, we didn't get them in the uk. For mine (first gen), though it was cheaper to go to a manufacturer of car shocks and have one made to my own spec. I went to Gaz Shocks http://www.gazshocks.com/ and had one built for £110 or thereabouts in about two weeks. I had a coil-over spring with the spring seats sitting on a thread to adjust the preload and had the total length 1/2" longer than standard. If the second gen swing arm geometry is similar to first gen, a spring about 800lbs/in could be a good starting point and expect to precompress it about an inch. I wouldn't be surprised if American engineering shops aren't cheaper still.
  13. greg_in_london
    Rather than duplicate the pictures, have a look at them here: http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/sidecar%20rally/?albumview=slideshow
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