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Showing results for tags 'mileage'.
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I rode the bike in to work today (about 60 miles @ 40 degrees) and was really happy with the way it performed since it was my first time out on the new scoot. I stopped to fill up and checked my mileage and was surprised to see I only got 26 mpg. I recently synched the carbs. Here's the dumb question part. I then realized I had driven the bike with it choked about 1/4-1/2. Will that affect the mpg's that much? Also, did I possible hurt anything on the bike by driving it that far with it choked?
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I bought a 83 Venture this fall with just a tick over 20,000 miles on it. The bike is super clean and a guy can tell it been well taken care of it's whole life. Before I bought the bike I made sure second gear was working ok, and so far it still is, but it was the time of year where I got it home and it turned cold so very few miles have been added. I said all that to ask this, has anyone found anything that prolongs what seems to be the inevitable, losing second gear? What kind of mileage can I plan on before a problem might arise? Before I take the bike out in the spring, I will change the oil to a sythetic brand, thinking that might help with the longevity, I will also take care not to ream the bike in the lower gears as I know this puts a strain on the transmission. I won't be pulling a trailer, not that it would hurt anything if loaded correctly and things done proper. Has anyone known of any 83's with high mileage that haven't had problems in this area? Just wondering about these things, any info will be appreciated.
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If I was to rebuild my carbs, is there anything I should be on the lookout for? A while back I was having troubles with it not running on all four. The issue came on all of the sudden. I ran some Seafoam through it, and after a while it came back. Everything appeared to be fine for quite some time. But then I noticed my mileage dropping. I was getting 38-40 mpg, but now I'm getting down to 32-35 mpg. I tried Seafoam again and it makes no difference. I've also changed the fuel filter, spark pllugs, plug wires, plug caps, synched the carbs, checked the diaphrams for holes and nothing has seemed to make a diff. I was having trouble with a bad stator about the same time and thought maybe a week charge (or lack of), may cause a week spark that might lead to a lack of a good fuel burn and have someting to do with poor mileage. I replaced the stator this fall. I didn't run more than two tanks or so through it since then. But it still seems to be getting the same crappy mileage as earlier. Anybody have any other ideas? Time for a rebuild? Won't be riding for a few more months up here in WI. so I have plenty of time to do it. Thanks, Bill
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Messing with the carbs
CrazyHorse posted a topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
Just experimenting with the carbs. I have a 1990 and installed the original 1983 42.5 pilot jets and 180 air jets. Idled nice a little more power, mileage about 36 mpg at 70 mph and 4000 rpm. Did what 5bikes described to improve mileage lowered needles power was decent and mileage improved to 40-43mpg at 70 mph @ 4000rpm. Just for fun I used the the original 1983 needles which have 5 positions to raise or lower the needles unlike the 1986+ needles which have no adjustments. The 1986+ taper of the needles is less then the 1983-85 needles. Took the 83 needles and raised them to the highest setting its got real nice power but its running rich I can smell it on my clothes, slight stumble on the initial throttle twist then its a rocket, mileage a grand high of 25 mpg. Im gonna now set it to the lowest needle setting (so it sits deeper) and see what results I get. Anyone know if the the actual tube the needle sits in is different from 83-85 to 86-93? Just playing around with this stuff. -
Hello I found this site about a week ago hide in weeds reading everything. I seems to be a lot a people with good answers to tech questions so I have one. I bought a 2005 RSV in July, just getting back into riding really missed it. Put on about 5500 miles this summer. Now my problem, it will back fire out of left side when I get off the gas. I have had it to a dealer and of course it would not do it. They adjusted carb no help I am lost it still has great performance and fuel mileage. I can live with it but it makes the bike sound cheap when it does it and I don't want that. Any ideas? The other thing I read somewhere in here about a fix for squealing brakes cant find it back. Thanks for any help.Great site.
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Hey everyone there is a 06 Venture on RideSafely.com. Low mileage and looks to be an easy fix Joshua
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If you are an Iphone user check out the Accufuel application from the Apple App store. It is an simple application that tracks mileage for each fill up and keeps an average mpg as well as a tank mpg. Since I always have my phone with me it is easy to enter the data at each fill up. $0.99 well spent. Check it out at: http://www.appigo.com/accufuel/ DT
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I am new to this site and learning to navagate it. I was wondering if the car tire would affect the gas mileage on the venture. I have a 2000 Venture and have ordered a federal 165/80/15 for the rear. This is my daily rider because of its great gas mileage, to and from work, so I am curious if anyone has noticed in change in their mileage after mounting a ct on the venture. I also own a 1997 valkyrie with a 205/60/16 on it and the ct did drop it mileage a couple of miles per tank, it only gets 27 mpg anyway. guess you can't have gut wrenching power and fuel economy together. I would also like to say that all this concern about the twisties, my valk is far more sure footed with the ct. I have to be careful not to tear the pegs off in sharp curves. I had to get use to it but now there is no way I would put a mc tire back on the rear. Thanks for allowing on your site. Gregg Freedom of the road for all.
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I have a 1989 Venture Royal and I don't seem to be getting very good mileage. I go about 100-120 miles before reserve light comes on. Fill up and it takes about 3.7 to 4 us gal, which works out to about 30 miles per gal. Bike has 63000 miles and runs very good, I have not run it hard, average speed 60-65 on highway. I am going to run seafoam through and check the plugs. Are there any other problems that could be causing the poor mieage ? Any suggestions will be most welcome. Falconbm
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I may have the chance to get a very sentimental 2007 Midnight Venture for around $8k. If I do I will be selling my '89. She had 104k on her but still a great running and looking bike. No where near the part out stage of life. The '07 has pretty minimal mileage (I don't know the exact number) Two questions, is $8k a good price and what is the '89 worth? Nothing is certain right now but I want to ask this group for opinions.
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My best friend has been really jealous of my RSV since I bought it. He has two Kaw Drifters and is looking at a 1999 loaded with extras for a REALLY great price. The only issue is it has over 200k on it. Looking at it, it looks sound, clean, never dropped and all the reciepts for maintenance. Anyone have any idea of problems that might arise with buying such a high mileage bike?
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Call me stupid......or maybe just lazy! Are there any Canadians out there who've done the math to calculate if their "mileage" (kilometrage?) is good or bad? On a trip home yesterday, I put 14.2 litres into the tank after travelling 233 kilometres. Is that good or bad? Anyone? Anyone? Thanks to any braniac/math/conversion wizzard for your help. Mike
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Okay, been consistently riding at 65 mph on Interstate to work the last couple of weeks and gas mileage has been around 34 to 35 mpg, 1 up. Also been smelling gas and seeing a spot from the four tubes on the left side. So yesterday tried V7Goose idea of adjusting the floats. This is the first time I have ever taken carbs off of any vehicle, let alone 4 of them. Actually the process was not bad at all, just follow the article Freebird has in the tech section. Got on the phone for a little bit with V7, just to confirm how to measure , thanks V7Goose. Put everything back together, went for a quick run around the neighborhood to make sure the bike still ran. Also no backfiring, have Khromewerk slip ons. Today, going to 2 up at 65 mph, got 40.9 mpg, :cool10: I will try going around 80 mph on this next tank going to work and let you know what the mph is. I do know at 80 to 85 mph, 2up I was getting around 30 mpg. So if I can get 35 mpg at 80 mph, I will be a happy camper. :cool10: -
I need to replace my stator at 68,000 miles and was wondering if this is normal or what the average mileage was for a stator replacement.. If you've replaced your stator please respond with your mileage.
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I'm getting ready to change a back tire on my 07 RSV in about 2,000 more miles. I want to go with the Dunlop Elite 3 and was wondering what kind of mileage to expect. Or would I get more mileage out of an Avon?
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A couple of days ago i read a thread where someone said their 07RSV gave them 46 to 48 mpg on a trip averaging 70mph. Since a normal mixture of street and highway usually results in no more than around 45mph avg. to a max of around 50mph, I assume this was almost pure highway, constant speed, level ground. Nevertheless, I have never even in the best of circumstances have come even close to that mileage:confused24:The best I have ever gotten was 40, 42mpg on a purely highway, avg 50mph flat run. Normally, on a regular street-highway mix, two up, no crazy stuff easy ride I get a very consistent 38mpg, which I thought was pretty fair. What are others getting? I mean honest mileage. No wishfull thinking, please!
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When I am riding solo with no one to talk with, my brain starts to limber up and tries to escape. Sometimes all that thinking can be dangerous! On my way home from Don's this week it seemed to me I was getting particularly poor mileage, so I was doing a lot of thinking about it and thought I'd share with y'all. This is gonna be long - I had 3,000 miles to think on this trip! Things that affect fuel mileage, in no particular order (some more obvious than others): How full you fill your tank* Tire pressure Tire size, style, and composition Engine condition Primary and secondary electrical circuits Temperature of the gas when you fill up Temperature of the air Humidity Altitude and barometric pressure Gasohol (but NOT octane) Riding style, location, and terrain SPEED Winds Add-on miracle gadgets from late night TV commercials (I am sure I missed something here) Number 1 doesn't really change fuel mileage, of course, but it sure can throw off your calculation, especially with a small tank. For example, filling up with 5 gallons of gas after going 180 miles will give you 36 MPG (close to my average). But if you happen to squeeze 5.29 gallons of gas into the same tank, your calculated mileage would only be 34 MPG, and if you stop just a little short at only 4.73 gallons, you would be "enjoying" 38 MPG. So less than 1/3 of a gallon difference in our fill-ups makes more than a 5% change in the calculated MPG. Quite a significant change. The trick, of course, is to ensure you fill that tank to exactly the same level every time, and that is not easy. And if you have not vented the filler neck it is REALLY hard if you are trying to get it as full as you can to go longer between stops. I know when I am dinking around with the hose at the top of the tank trying to get the amount to stop exactly on even digits (such as $18.11 or $18.22, etc.) that I can easily put in more than 1/3 of a gallon more than where I already thought was a full tank. That is why I think it is so important to check mileage all the time if you are going to report it or compare with others - just a tank or two is not accurate to me. Tires - they affect mileage by how hard they are to roll. But I really have no idea how big a difference they make in actual calculated MPG, so I won't dwell on them here. Simply said, the more air in them, the harder they are, and the easier they are to roll. In addition, different rubber compounds and tire construction can change the way they flex and make rolling harder or easier. Even so, I tend to dismiss tires as not being a significant part of the MPG equation, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has more information and thinks they are significant. Engine condition is a biggie. If it is not running right for any reason, you get very bad mileage. If you engine is wearing out and your compression is dropping, it may still run fine, but your mileage will suffer a lot. Miss-adjusted or burned valves will kill you (figuratively speaking). Timing being off, fouled plugs, dirty carbs, etc. are all bad (note that the timing on the RSV is not adjustable). The electrical system on the bike can have a noticeable affect, but problems are not common. The primary and secondary circuits refer to the ignition circuit before and after the coils. In short, if you have a weak spark, you may not be getting full and consistent ignition of the fuel, thus causing poor mileage. Temperature of the fuel when you fill up is a big impact, but nothing you can control - just know that it can change the actual MPG by around 5%. Everything expands with heat, and fuel pumps only have to be accurate when the fuel is about 65 degrees (going from memory here). In the summer the fuel is warmer, so 1 gallon takes up more space. That means when the pump says it gave you 1 gallon, you really got less! It does not help filling up in the mornings, since the air temperature has little to do with the temperature of the fuel in the underground tanks. But the WORST time to fill up is in the summer during or right after a tanker has delivered fuel, since the fuel in the tanker is going to be a lot warmer than the fuel that has been underground for a day. Temperature and humidity affect the fuel mixture and combustion qualities of the mixture. Cold air is more dense; therefore, you get a leaner mix. Water compresses much less than air, so it not only affects the mixture, but the way it burns too. But frankly I do not know how significant these affects actually are. Probably not much. Air at altitude is thinner, so you run richer (less air to the same amount of gas) and get worse fuel mileage. The change can be significant in both MPG and power, but I don't know the percentages off hand. You may not know that changing barometric pressure is just like changing altitude. A storm coming in gives you the same affect as going up in altitude. Gasohol at any % is simply a curse from the bureaucrats! Alcohol has less energy than an equal volume of gasoline, so mixing any of it in your gas makes the same volume less powerful and you will burn more to do the same work. Curses!!! Octane, however, has no impact. Do not waste your money putting in any higher octane than your engine needs to not detonate (knock or ping). The RSV is specifically built to run on regular. Your individual riding style, including how much weight is on your bike, stop and go, steady speeds, hills, etc. all have a huge effect on your MPG. The faster you accelerate, the more you have to use your brakes, the more weight you carry all take a big toll on your mileage. Maybe hills don't have that much of an impact, since you gain back on the downhill side what you lost going up. I put speed and wind near the bottom of this list for a reason - they are quite similar and have the single biggest impact on MPG beyond something being wrong with your bike. I know for a fact that my Ventures and my riding style generally average 36.5 MPG combining around town riding and most highway speeds. But if I burn a tank at an indicated 80 MPH (actual 73 MPH) I will loose 3 - 5 miles per gallon. Conversely, just keeping it under 50 MPH for a tank, like riding the twisties in the Ozarks, will easily add 5 miles per gallon. The biggest part of that change is wind drag on the bike. So a 20 MPH change in average speed can swing the mileage by close to 10 MPG! Now realize that riding into a 20 MPH wind is even worse, since the impact of wind resistance is not a straight line - more logarithmic, meaning each additional mile per hour of speed has much more drag the one before it. Quartering headwinds are almost as bad. Tail winds, of course, are wonderful things. The last thing I am going to mention here are the miracle cures that you can find in any auto parts store, catalog, and late night TV commercials. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS GARBAGE!!! The only way any of those things can improve your gas mileage is to lighten your weight by taking away your money. Nuff said. I don't know if any of that will be of value to anyone (and I'm sure there is liable to be a lot of disagreement somewhere), but what the hey - thought I'd type it all in anyway. Ride safe all, and I hope your gas prices stay low! Goose
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I went from 38/40 MPG to 23 MPG after my 600 mile service. Can anyone tell me what the problem is,?
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Well folks, I had hoped to give you a good report on the VMAX rear after my trip to Vogel but I can't give you a complete report yet. My gas mileage is TERRIBLE. BUT...it was TERRIBLE before installing the VMAX rear. I don't know what has happened but something has really changed over the past few months. I actually noticed it almost a year ago but just haven't really gotten around to trying to track down the problem. I was sure reminded on the trip to Ft. Collins and that was before I installed the new rear end. About the best mileage I got on the way to Colorado was 30 MPG and usually it was in the 20s. Same thing on this trip to Vogel. I was getting a max of about 25 MPG, very similar to the Colorado trip with the stock rear. So...I'm trying to find the problem and will report back on this when I can. I installed new Iridium plugs about 2 years ago but have only ridden maybe 12,000 miles since doing so. I'm pretty sure that they were still OK but I went ahead and installed new plugs today. Not Iridiums this time, just standard NGK Platinum plugs to see if it helps any. I also pulled the K&N Filters to check them. They did not look dirty at all. For now, I put the stock filters back in. About the last thing I did before my mileage went down was to install the K&N filters. I honestly don't think that had anything to do with it either but I'm just trying to go backwards with anything that I have done. I also feel that it's just not running as well as it should. Just a bit of roughness at most speeds. I ran a can of Seafoam through it before going to Colorado and another can on the way to Colorado, didn't seem to help. I checked all the coils with my new Motion Pro coil tester and they all seem to be firing properly. Raining like crazy here now but hopefully I'll get an evening to test it again before I have to leave for Minnesota on Sunday. I'll let you know just as soon as I know. As for the rear end, I love it. The bike truly does perform better, even with the engine not quiet running right. Power band is now right where it should be. Very nice. Don
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,,, what kind of mileage can I expect from my Michelin Commanders? Got them on over the weekend but haven't gotten it out for a ride yet.
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So far, I would say I have a keeper. The bike just 'feels' stronger. She moves easily through the gears. She responds when I twist her throttle. Everything just feels more comfortable. I don't know how else to describe it. I'm getting a little more noise, but I can still hear my tunes... no problem. As far as fuel mileage... First lets agree to limit any comments to the bikes rear end. I know I get bad mpg compared to many of you, but why that is would be another thread. Yes I keep the tires within 2 psi of max sidewall pressure. Changed the plugs... one was a little darker, but not bad. All were dry. I use SeaFoam several times a year. Chokes all the way in. Carbs are tuned regularly by me. Engine runs good and can haul my rear around faster than I have any business going. Maybe it's a combination of being as big 1up as most of you are 2up... of pushing a lot of air with a wide windshield and lower deflectors and a wide body... or flying the two 11x14 flags (a buddy said his mileage went down when his flags went up)... or riding at the speed limit +5mph (real speed, not yama-speed)... or not wanting to waste time getting from 10 mph to 75 mph... or who knows what else. I've fueled up 234 times since she first hit the driveway. I've averaged 31.5 mpg in 31952 miles. I also keep a running avg of the last 10 fill-ups. Over the winter, that avg has dropped from 32.5 to 29.5 now. I say all this so you can decide for yourself if you think your mileage may be affected in the same way as mine. Four tanks before the VMax rear swap - avg 29.57 Four tanks since the VMax rear swap - avg 29.47 Yep... I think it's a keeper.
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If you had your choice to buy a low mileage first gen what would it be? Some love the 83-85 models with 1200 engine and removable bags. Others like the 86-93 models, larger bags,1300 engine,with all the royal bells and whistles. I have both and there great bikes. A low mileage first gen is a great find.
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After having my RSTD for several months I have decided that I want to get a Venture - want the trunk, CB, radio, and bars for my kids to hang onto when riding. Love the RSTD and possibly keep it for some lighter riding - will see. While I searching for a used Venture I have come across several with 30-40,000 miles on them - some are 2003-2005 years. I have heard nothing but positive on these bikes as in there quality but wondered if any of you have some wisdom on buying a bike with 30K or more on it. Also I am curious what effect this higher mileage has on the resell value ( or should have.) On a side note I find it interesting the wide range pricing I have seen on the Ventures - last week there was an brand new 2007 venture for $13400 on Ebay while I have seen elsewhere 2005 ventures for sale at $ 14500. Anyway, as always appreciate your input. -
Just recently bought a 87 Venture Royale with a voyager trike kit. It has about 30k miles. Depending on how I ride, I get between 20 and 25 miles per gallon. If i keep it 65 mph or below it gets close to 25. It runs & idles smooth; accelerates nicely; it just needs help on the gas mileage. I just bought some Sea Foam and am running that through it in hopes that will improve the mileage. My question - is there something else that can be done inexpensively that could improve mileage? I'm not ready to tear down the carbs or anything that extensive yet. Thanks for any/all advice -
While searching for causes for mileage being down from ~ 45-46 to 40-42 I noticed gas weakly spraying from the bottom port of #3 Vacuum piston at idle, the diaphragm has no visible tears and the float level is correct, the only ports that appear to go to the cover side of the diaphragm seem to be the purge jets. Any ideas what's happening here? Carbs are synched and compression is within 5# on all cyl. Thanks
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