poor Fuel consumption

[saafrican]

Hi guys   a couple of weeks ago on my way to Daytona my fuel consumption was around 35 MPG , not bad really cause I was cruising at 90 to 100 mph (ps cruise control doesn't work above 90mph   just saying )

But Ive just returned from a 600 mile trip to Leesburg and back . I rode carefully ,to see what my fuel consumption could be . Cruised the whole way at 70   75 mph   but concienciously kept it close to 70 , easy gliding to stops and gently back up to speed

Averaged 43 mpg   Okay that is better than 35 but not great ,considering the difference in riding
Ive read about other guys easily getting  50 mpg .

Okay before some of you bitch , I didn't buy the bike for fuel consumption .
This is just a question
Will a Harley "tune" help
Ive done 5300 miles on my 2017 Ultra 

PS for all the guys snow bound ,  Florida was in the 95f today    .... HOT

[PoorUB]

I take the high MPG claims with some skepticism. I rode a day trip with a guy that claimed he got 50 MPG or better. The day we rode together my Ultra was getting better MPG that he was. Were were running interstate and I was getting about 37 MPG.

IMO, with a batwing bagger you might get as well as 45 MPG running slow on back roads, as low as 30-35 MPG on the interstate running 80 MPH. Average over many tanks will run just under 40 MPG.

Your MPG sounds good, about normal IMO.

[Hossamania]

Have you tracked mileage for all 5300 miles, or just for those trips? Like PoorUB said, seems normal. When traveling, fuel quality can be a bit inconsistant. Keep long term accurate records, and see where you're at after 5 or 10 tankfuls.

[tommy g]

At times I can get fitty, but my gallon is bigger than your gallon.
Costs a f@#k of a lot more also.

[Paniolo]

I have found the biggest factor in mags is a headwind. Altitude helps improve mpgs, but a strong headwind will eat gas.

[Bernman]

I'm getting between 42 and 44 on my 2017 Ultra.  I have about 1800 miles on it and ride 2 up a lot.

[jbexeter]

Hi guys   a couple of weeks ago on my way to Daytona my fuel consumption was around 35 MPG , not bad really cause I was cruising at 90 to 100 mph (ps cruise control doesn't work above 90mph   just saying )

Considering that a bike has the aerodynamics of a brick and small us gallons that's a pretty impressive mpg...

[lucasg]

At times I can get fitty, but my gallon is bigger than your gallon.
Costs a f@#k of a lot more also.

You can say that again Tommy..
Picked up the Street Glide from my folks place last Sunday, topped her up on the way home...$1.37 per litre for 94 ultra octane...

[tommy g]

That is a hosing is it not Lucas?

[saafrican]

Thanks guys  I agree  Bricks aren't particularly areodynamic
But love my Ultra .
1st July Im heading from Fort Lauderdale to Anchorage ,and back 14000 miles
Ive got 6 weeks holiday, so going for a loverly long ride .
Oh and burn about 320 gallons of fuel
 

[K4FXD]

I rode with a guy who claimed 50+ MPG. He never got past 55 MPH. I got close to 50 MPG that day too.

I like G forces too much.

[PoorUB]

I rode with a guy who claimed 50+ MPG. He never got past 55 MPH. I got close to 50 MPG that day too.

I like G forces too much.

Acceleration and speed do affect MPG quite a bit. My dad gets 20+ MPG with his old pickup. I doubt it ever sees 50 MPH.

I like the guys that claim 50 MPG while tooling down the interstate. When they ride with me there is always something wrong with their motorcycle because it got much better MPG the week before, when he was riding alone, no witnesses to their great claims. I know a guy that bought a new Limited in 2010. I rode a few hundred miles with him one day. He had been bragging that he got over 50 MPG with it. The day we rode was mostly interstate with a head wind. I was getting  about 35 MPG, he was getting about 28 MPG.

I got 60 MPG with my 2005 Ultra, once. First time out to Beartooth Pass. Lollygagging up the pass looking at all the sights, then coasting in gear down the pass, again soaking in all the views. Rarely above 40 MPH. Funny what you can get for MPG while idling along in third.

[lucasg]

That is a hosing is it not Lucas?

Yes sir;  indeed it is., especially when there's 4 liters in a gallon ?  4 x $1.37, so our Anerican friends would be paying $5.48 a gallon??  That surely would suck,  don't let me get started with prices in Europe...😪

[jbexeter]

That is a hosing is it not Lucas?

Yes sir;  indeed it is., especially when there's 4 liters in a gallon ?  4 x $1.37, so our Anerican friends would be paying $5.48 a gallon??  That surely would suck,  don't let me get started with prices in Europe...😪

take off eh...

UK£1.20 a litre and at 0.8 exchange rate that's US$1.50 a litre and at 4.5 litres to one of our proper (lol) man sized gallons that's US$6.75 a gallon.

car is a 2002 vintage volvo v40 estate, it's the early one with the mitsubishi body and renault 4 banger 2 litre turbo diesel, full tank of diesel and 50 grams of tobacco 87 quid or 108 dollars us...

basically when i get to my comfort mark on the twinkie fuel gauge it's 25 bucks us to top it off.

[tommy g]

Take off eh,,,,,
Made me smile

[Templer]

That is a hosing is it not Lucas?

Yes sir;  indeed it is., especially when there's 4 liters in a gallon ?  4 x $1.37, so our Anerican friends would be paying $5.48 a gallon??  That surely would suck,  don't let me get started with prices in Europe...😪

NO NOT COME TO CALIFORNIA THEN. The governer just added $.14 PER GALLON TAXS to lessen the BIG A$$ POT HOLES!!! 

[PoorUB]

Just filled up the work truck, $2.17 for cheap no lead.

[tommy g]

My goodness, that would be $4.23/ US gallon here.

[PAHunter]

WOW, thank you .. I'm in shock, guy's that actually know what average fuel mileage is on a big sled.. I struggle to find bullshit in any of the comments.. if I ever see 50mpg, I may not have stopped the bike once and no up hills for 260 miles and put 5.2 gallons in it..  Lets not forget the guy's that tag a 18klb camper all the way to Sturgis and got 25mpg in there chevy.  did I say to much again 

[YPD485]

That is a hosing is it not Lucas?

Yes sir;  indeed it is., especially when there's 4 liters in a gallon ?  4 x $1.37, so our Anerican friends would be paying $5.48 a gallon??  That surely would suck,  don't let me get started with prices in Europe...😪

NO NOT COME TO CALIFORNIA THEN. The governer just added $.14 PER GALLON TAXS to lessen the BIG A$$ POT HOLES!!!

Don't believe that takes effect till November. Wait till you see what moonbeam's bill will add to your annual registration fees. He's got to do all the damage he can because his term is running out quickly. Next election, another hopeful candidate will promise to roll back registration fees like Arnold did, and that will get him/her elected.

[96349]

I use a spreadsheet to track my mpg. After 15 fill ups my average mpg is 39.37. I typically ride at 70 mph (no passenger) with no in town riding. For comparison, that is about where my 2009 touring bike was. Both bikes were Stage I. The difference being that the 107" will run circles around the 96". I note that the gear ratios for the 2009 transmission and the 2017 transmission are identical.

[HD/Wrench]

I get this call all the time .. I tell them to download a MPG app onto their phone. Seems that the math gets a bit fuzzy when they do it. The app will log the miles to te tenth cost of the fuel and how many gallons to the tenth. Once this is done and they go through it for a few tanks of fuel ( 3 is the least in my opinion) then some apps allow type of riding city hwy or mix you will see that many times they are in fact getting better MPG than they thought. 

Riding on the HWY at 75-80 is not going to net you great MPG , drop down to 65 and watch the huge jump.. I see 3-4 drop  from 65-70 range or if you ride in the 75-80 range on avg . They you ahve the amount of E in the fuel we know it lacks BTU's so how much do you really have in that given tank??   Head wind that day , air pressure in the tires?? ( thats huge on avg most bikes that come in are 5-8 PSI low) amount of weight on the bike . type of terrain. 

Now If a guy lets say runs the same path back and forth to work you can get a more accurate number but the stop and go city stuff , a bit of twisting on the throttle with the boys is going to drop your avg down very fast..

Think of it like a bowling score hard to raise your avg but sure is easy to have it drop like a stone one one or two bad games .

I use a few of these for the business to track for tax purposes . 

Fuel buddy and my cars are both great  , however here is a link to a bunch with reviews .. check it out

http://appcrawlr.com/android-apps/best-apps-fuel-tracking

[joe_lyons]

When I was riding on 435 in KC I would get 45ish catching people's draft at 85-90 lol.

[JC 92FXRS]

Highly variable with my old EVO...as high as 50+ mpg, putting around the Rockies at 10,000 ft alt...to as low as 30 mpg, fighting a 30 km/h headwind on the flat-lands of the prairies. Those numbers are "highway" and Imperial gallons.
Cheers, Jeff

[Xyzzy]

I bought a second '17 SGS. From the first mile, I kept records of how many gallons I put into it.  A few days ago I crossed the 10,000 mile mark, and here is what I learned:

From March 19 to May 14 I rode 9,944 miles and used 220.5 gallons for an average of 45.1 MPG.

Notes: I weigh 220 pounds and I always ride solo. I have fork fangs and a 10" windscreen. I frequently use the soft lowers. I go the speed limit. Most of my rides are over 100 miles and more than half of them are over 500 miles. I spend a lot of time at 65 to 70 MPH. My fuel economy really drops going from 65 to 70 MPH and it plummets when I go to 75 MPH.

I have attached my spreadsheet in case you want more detailed data.

YMMV