Ave. MPG question. Need info please.

[Ncphoto1]

avg displayed is 41 mpg.

 

[SMSW]

MPG not only will vary depending on your riding style, atmospheric conditions, and gas vs gasahol, but also due to your odo error and wheel diameter.

The signals your odo uses originate on the crankshaft and if you use a rear wheel that is smaller than Honda's recommended, your odo will indicated a mile when you have actually traveled less than that mile. Your indicated and calculated mpg's will be off compared to someone who uses an oversized (outside diameter) tire. Another source of error will be a speedohealer that corrects the speedometer and odometer by altering the crank sensor's signals. I adjusted mine to give me the correct odo reading compared to Interstate mile markers and the speedo read a couple of mph high at 70.

With all these variables, it is probably best to just watch for significant variations which might indicate problems with the engine.

 

[northwestparider]

My ST13 is new to me as well. I've enjoyed this informative thread.

Thanks for the info. This forum is pretty amazing as a new st1300 owner. I rode in this morning. 43 degrees and I slowed my speed down to 70-75mph. I switched to the instant mpg instead of the average, and I was getting 43-45 mpg.

Unless I’m missing something, based on the responses I’m getting this is about right. It’s damn cold in the early morning, and although I dont necessarily goose the throttle I ride at higher freeway speeds.

How do you switch from instant mileage to average mileage?

 

[mortenk]

Its pretty cold and wet here in Seattle. I leave for work early in the morning and the ambient air temps are in the low 40's. I also ride at about 75-80 MPH most of the way, stock windshield all the way down, stock muffler also. I checked the rear tire for brake drag and it looks to be spinning freely with little/no drag. My next check will be the air filter. Will my speed affect MPG THAT much?

Your speed is a huge influencer on MPG. If you coast around smaller roads on a nice summer day (55 mph) you will likely see close to 50 MPG. If you jump on the freeway and go 85 mph you will be in the upper 30's MPG. That's just physics...

 

[dlim]

I’m a new owner. I’m learning a TON from this website and it’s a little addicting. The buttons on the left next to the headlight angle adjuster will allow you to toggle from blank-realtime-average mpgs.

I bought this bike a couple weeks ago and I’m trying to be a responsible owner and care for the bike the best I can. It’s a commuter for me and I spend most of my time on the freeway. I’ve been cruising along at about 80 mph , but today slowed down a bit. Im going to use the real-time mpg setting for a while and see what I am getting.

the knowledge base here on this forum is really good.

 

[dduelin]

I’m a new owner. I’m learning a TON from this website and it’s a little addicting. The buttons on the left next to the headlight angle adjuster will allow you to toggle from blank-realtime-average mpgs.

I bought this bike a couple weeks ago and I’m trying to be a responsible owner and care for the bike the best I can. It’s a commuter for me and I spend most of my time on the freeway. I’ve been cruising along at about 80 mph , but today slowed down a bit. Im going to use the real-time mpg setting for a while and see what I am getting.

the knowledge base here on this forum is really good.

This is the very best internet forum I have had the pleasure to be a part of. Many former ST owners still check in here even after moving on to other motorcycles. A tremendous resource.

If you check out the Fuelly app https://www.fuelly.com you can see the fuel mileage of approximately 170 contributing ST1300 owners but more important for the long term it provides a continuous logbook of fuel mileage for your bike(s) you can review for changes that might indicate a maintenance issue coming on.

 

[Daboo]

...I also ride at about 75-80 MPH most of the way, stock windshield all the way down, stock muffler also.

...Will my speed affect MPG THAT much?

Yup. Motorcycles are as aerodynamic as barn doors. Back in the good old days, we had a 55 mph national speed limit. I remember the graphs that showed how gas mileage dropped as the speed increased from 55 mph to 60 mph. As the speed increased to 70 mpg, the curve rose dramatically. The increase in fuel used is not linear. It's more like an exponential curve.

So your riding at 75-80 mph is just sucking gas, big time. Only you can determine if that increase in speed is worth the decrease in gas mileage...and the time saved.

I commuted from the north end of Seattle to Duwamish for years on a Suzuki Burgman 400 scooter. It had an average MPG readout. When I left the Costco gas station in Everett, it would read in the low 70s as I coasted downhill to my home with only about 5 miles on the tank. After going back up that same hill, and hitting about 5 stop lights on the way to the freeway onramp, it would be reading down in the low-50s. It was only after riding on I-5 to about the Convention Center that the gas mileage would begin to increase. By the time I got to work, the gas mileage would hit about the low to mid-60s.

The lessons I learned from that were

• that the number of miles since the readout was reset makes a huge difference to the average MPG reading. The fewer the miles, the closer the average MPG was to the instantaneous MPG.
• It takes a lot of miles to make up for the fuel used while idling at traffic lights and stop signs.

Your air filter will have virtually no effect on your gas mileage. We just don't get that much dust and dirt in Seattle. But your right wrist will have a large impact.

As someone else said, the most important thing is to track your mileage so you know your range. My BMW F800GT gets wonderful gas mileage...on trips. In town, I'm wasting fuel sitting in traffic and my gas mileage is in the mid-40s. Get out to the open road heading to ToddC's and Kari's home for NEWSTOC, and I'll get in the high 50's to low 60's. That's a range difference from about 180 miles to 220 or more miles on my tiny 4 gallon gas tank. Why is that important? Because in town, gas stations are plentiful. But when I'm crossing the sparsely populated areas of Eastern Washington, gas station stops need to be planned.

Chris

 

[Cincykz]

I sold my 2008 non abs, and bought a 2010 abs. The 08 always got within a% or two mpg of the avg displayed. My hand calculated mpg was always a teeny bit better than the avg mpg display, but never more than a mpg.

The new bike has been showing significantly lower mpg. (Avg. 37-40 mpg vs 41-44 for the 08). I'm on a riding vacation of the Adirondacks, sampling the fresh smoke air and the smoky haze views. I've been hand calculating mpg, and the display is 10% pessimistic. Showing 39.3 over 300 miles, actual mpg 43.9. quite a discrepancy between the two bikes.

I always hand calculated my mpg on the red 08, and it was always very close. The new one, not so much apparently.

The new one does have a spot on speedo, and is quite farkled by the PO, so perhaps a speedo healer is throwing off the odo. I will have to check it against milepost markers.

Best mpg I ever got on an ST was 50mpg (US), very hot weather, 50mph, high elevation. Just one tank.

 

[Gerhard]

You also have to consider how big the gallons of fuel are that you are filling the bike with, an imperial gallon is quite a bit bigger than a US gallon. So pay attention who you are comparing with, if it is a Brit he will always go further on his gallon.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

The new one does have a spot on speedo, and is quite farkled by the PO, so perhaps a speedo healer is throwing off the odo. I will have to check it against milepost markers.

If the speedometer is accurate it has some kind of correction, which means that the odometer is off, or it is a very rare ST1300. The difference will affect your fuel consumption readings as compared to the calculated numbers.

I have tracked every tank of fuel that I have burned in my ST1300 since new. The average fuel consumption reading displayed on the fuel computer has always been very accurate when compared to the calculated average.

 

[Cincykz]

If the speedometer is accurate it has some kind of correction, which means that the odometer is off, or it is a very rare ST1300. The difference will affect your fuel consumption readings as compared to the calculated numbers.

I have tracked every tank of fuel that I have burned in my ST1300 since new. The average fuel consumption reading displayed on the fuel computer has always been very accurate when compared to the calculated average.

I'm assuming it has a corrected speedo. I wonder, if the odometer is under recording by 10%, would I be getting another 10% better mpg than I'm hand calculating? That would put me upper 40s US mpg, which seems pretty high.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

An erroneous odometer reading will certainly affect the fuel computer readings. Easy enough to know for sure- keep track of a few tanks-full and do the math.
My average fuel consumption over the past 70, 000 miles or so, calculated by distance over fuel burned, is 46.2 miles per US gallon, so that would not be impossible.

 

[ToddC]

I just did a refill and calculated my mileage yesterday.
Rode 264 miles and took 5.46 gallons. A little over 48mpg. Rolling hills and 55-65 mph riding.
T