Issue #242 Top Of Mind: Fuel Economy | Fuel, Mpg, Economy, Figures, Motorcycles

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Issue #242 Top Of Mind: Fuel Economy

Written by John Molony
Friday, 15 August 2008
I rode to work this morning and saw the price of gas was up overnight to $124.9 per litre. My R1200GS has a consumption computer so I found that I was averaging 5.6 litre/100 km which converts to about 50 mpg. Reading the product literature that comes with the bike, I could theoretically expect to get 66 mpg if I maintained a steady 90 kmh over flat ground. We use to joke around the office that every bike got between 35 and 45 mpg because, inevitably, it was the figure we would arrive at doing our rudimentary calculations. But, with the price of gas continuing its skyward trend, more serious consideration of a bike’s efficiency will be warranted. In the past most people bought motorcycles strictly for the enjoyment factor—the performance, the wind in the face, the lifestyle. Fuel efficiency rated far down the list of must-haves. It was easy to assume that a motorcycle’s fuel economy was going to be better than the Chevelle’s. Times have changed and most of the pundits claim it is permanent, and now manufacturers are beginning to tout the fuel economy of their products. For example, Suzuki Canada has been running ads for the past year highlighting the fuel economy of the V-Strom 650 (81 mpg), the Boulevard S40 (86 mpg) and the GZ 250 (99 mpg). Again, as with the figures for my bike, the Suzuki mpg numbers were generated from a rider maintaining 80 kmh on a flat surface. On Yamaha’s US website, fuel economy figures are listed for the scooters: the C3 at 115 mpg and the Majesty at 51 mpg. There are no figures published on the website for motorcycles. You may argue that a rider isn’t going to buy a R1 or R6 for its fuel efficiency but what of the V-Star 650 or the FZ6? Might a new or experienced rider looking for a more fuel efficient commute not like to know those fuel economy figures? Harley-Davidson on the other hand has been publishing the fuel economy figures for all models for many years: 72 mpg highway for the Sportster 883 to 64 mpg highway for the Electra-Glide (not bad for one of the biggest bikes on the market). BMW also publishes the fuel economy figures for its lineup in new model brochures. One factor that may be discouraging some manufacturers from more boldly stating their fuel economy figures is the difference between stated and actual fuel economy. In the US the EPA, which publishes fuel economy figures for cars and trucks, recently had to revise its testing methods because consumers were not even approaching the figures on the window stickers. Real world driving just wasn’t the same as a controlled lab test. This is even more applicable for motorcycles. Whether the rider is wide or thin, light or heavy, rides with a passenger or without, will all make a greater difference than those factors for a car driver. Then there is the fun factor. Sure it’s great that our motorcycles might be fuel efficient but it is also great that they are fun and riding them like they are fun will often decrease the fuel economy. Let’s compare motorcycles to cars for one moment. According to Natural Resources Canada, which is responsible for this country’s mpg figures, the two automotive champions of fuel economy are the $14,990 Smart ForTwo coupe which achieves 59 mpg highway out of its 1.0 litre engine and the $29,500 Toyota Prius that gets 67 mpg hwy from its hybrid motor. Makes the $8999 (w/ABS) V-Strom’s 81 mpg look pretty inviting. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.