Is this normal gas mileage?

Thanks for the additional data Jetta!

DavidR8 said:

I haven't yet Larry it's on my list of to-do's for the weekend.
I've poured over the various brake articles on the Forum and have learned tons.
Still waiting for my manual to arrive.

ST460 mentioned Iridium plugs.
Do you have a favourite brand and spec?

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I see no need what so ever for Iridium plugs, and I run ND plugs myself. I run the optional cooler plug since most of my riding is high speed freeway stuff.
I have removed several Iridium plugs from members bikes that were either the wrong heat range or fitment. If you decide you need to run them, make sure you get the correct fitment.

Igofar said:

I see no need what so ever for Iridium plugs, and I run ND plugs myself. I run the optional cooler plug since most of my riding is high speed freeway stuff.
I have removed several Iridium plugs from members bikes that were either the wrong heat range or fitment. If you decide you need to run them, make sure you get the correct fitment.

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I don't know that I'd go with iridium necessarily.
ND part number looks to be U24FER9. Does that sound right?
Or the NGK CR8EH-9

Correct. I find they are better than NGK IMHO.

Re: Is this normal?

Don B said:

The only thing that the owner or dealer tech is supposed to do is a starter valve sync as described in the SM.

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Good information for someone new to the ST but after a minute everybody refers to it as a 'throttle body sync'.

Re: Is this normal?

ST Gui said:

Good information for someone new to the ST but after a minute everybody refers to it as a 'throttle body sync'.

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Ironically I thought "Starter Valve" was wrong as though someone made a joke like "muffler bearing" and it stuck!

Re: Is this normal?

DavidR8 said:

Ironically I thought "Starter Valve" was wrong as though someone made a joke like "muffler bearing" and it stuck!

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That's exactly what happened to me when I first joined ST-O.

Somebody said 'Check your starter valve' and I responded 'is that like the muffler bearing?'

I've never heard of a stater valve anywhere else before or since.

Re: Is this normal?

Igofar said:

58 degrees this morning.
Started my bike the same time I started the timer on my phone.
1 minute and 15 seconds, I got the first bar, 1 minute and 45 seconds, I got the second bar, 2 minutes and 40 seconds I was at three bars.
I filled the tank up to the level bar, and checked the gal vs the mileage = 58 mpg. (been doing a lot of freeway @ 75-80 mpg)
I don't think I'm raising his expectations too much I guess it all just depends what state of tune you accept for your vehicles.

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Hey Larry
Just for kicks after work I timed how long it took to get to one bar on the gauge.

Two bars about 20 seconds later.


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Re: Is this normal?

Looks pretty good to me.

Re: Is this normal?

DavidR8 said:

Hey Larry
Just for kicks after work I timed how long it took to get to one bar on the gauge.

Two bars about 20 seconds later.


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I did that this morning as well, 2:14 for the first bar and shortly after I got the second bar on. That is with a new t-stat that works as it should and very good gas mileage.

And so the saga continues.
From my fill up this morning:

Almost got 23 mpg out of this tank. 95% city driving. [emoji51]


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David,

didn't you recently do a highway run that delivered normal fuel economy? Maybe your throttle control in city riding isn't what it could be, or maybe its just a fact of life where you live that you have a lot of short bursts in between stops that is consistent with low fuel economy.

I don't know....even taking city traffic into account, that just doesn't seem right. The worst I ever got on a tank was around 33mpg. I can't imagine how much thrashing it would take to get only 22-23 mpg.

The reason I asked earlier about frequenting the same gas station is the thought occurred to me that, if you always filled up at the same place, maybe their pump calibration was off.

?

dwalby said:

David,

didn't you recently do a highway run that delivered normal fuel economy? Maybe your throttle control in city riding isn't what it could be, or maybe its just a fact of life where you live that you have a lot of short bursts in between stops that is consistent with low fuel economy.

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Yes, that's correct.
I managed 48 mpg on a ~67 km run where I averaged about 65 kmh. I was very precise in tracking my distance and ensuring the same fill level.
I was thinking about the possible factors involved.

1) I live at sea level which requires more fuel to maintain a proper stoichiometric ratio

2) My city driving never involves any speed over about 60 kph.

3) The drive is a lot of stop and go from light to light. There are no long stretches though there is the odd time when I'll see 17+km/litre on the instantaneous readout. I realize that is not accurate but it does provide some means to see an economy estimate. I'm not comparing bike to bike so the readings are relative tank-to tank, km by km.

I'm a very conservative rider however I'm wondering if running at a higher rpm is more efficient. Typically around town I'm between 2,000-3,000 rpm. I basically never get out of third gear.


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STumped said:

I don't know....even taking city traffic into account, that just doesn't seem right. The worst I ever got on a tank was around 33mpg. I can't imagine how much thrashing it would take to get only 22-23 mpg.

The reason I asked earlier about frequenting the same gas station is the thought occurred to me that, if you always filled up at the same place, maybe their pump calibration was off.

?

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Totally hear what you are saying.
I frequent two different stations. One would think that somebody would complain if the calibration was that far off.

To get 33 mpg from 111 miles would require a fill up of only 3.3 gallons or 12.5 litres which would be a error rate of about 33% on pump volume.

Surely someone would have noticed such a discrepancy.



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Couple of points. I find all my Honda's are pretty lethargic below 3600rpm. Learning to drive at higher and smoother rev's is much more enjoyable. You fuel/air ratio is managed by the O2 sensors,, and will be adjusted for different elevations automatically,, according to the fuel map. You likely will not have full ignition advance in until you are above 3000rpm. Performance shifts are just so much smoother at higher rpm's,,, than are the knotchy low speed shifts. Don't lug your ST around town,,, we have a fine reputation to uphold !! Cat'

You can always come down and visit me

DavidR8 said:

I live at sea level which requires more fuel to maintain a proper stoichiometric ratio

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The difference wouldn't be enough to account for the kind of mileage you're seeing.

My city driving never involves any speed over about 60 kph (37 mph). ... The drive is a lot of stop and go from light to light. ... Typically around town I'm between 2,000-3,000 rpm. ... I basically never get out of third gear.

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The fact that you're getting into third at all might be the root of the problem: the engine isn't being run where it's good at turning fuel into torque. Around town under similar conditions for me has always been a first-and-maybe-second proposition and I get mid-30s (mpg) out of it. Try everything a gear lower than you normally would.

--Mark

DavidR8 said:

My city driving never involves any speed over about 60 kph.

Typically around town I'm between 2,000-3,000 rpm. I basically never get out of third gear.

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I don't know how the 1300 is geared compared to the 1100, but I suspect they're probably fairly similar. At those speeds I'd never be out of second gear on my 1100. That kind of daily riding routine, plus the fact that you're bogging the engine by running at low RPM, I think explains your low fuel economy. As a few others have said, try using only 1st/2nd gears and see if it improves at all.

Thanks gents!
I was gradually making that connection. Clearly your synapses fire faster than mine! [emoji1]


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