K1200GTDallas said:
How do you guys get 46.1 mpg on your K Bikes!! I rarely see 40 let alone 46. My trip computer consistently says 38.5 on the highway at 80mph.
Here are my thoughts:
* Are you aggressive on the throttle?
Or do you roll it on smoothly and accelerate like your grandmother in her car?
* Is there a significant mix of urban riding that you are not accounting for?
Downtown Dallas vs. the open Interstate?
* Have you tried riding at lower speeds?
I see significant drops in MPG at higher speeds. It may be hard to ride slowly across Texas, but see what your mileage does at 65 mph vs 80, or even 55 mph vs. 80 mph. Wind drag increases with the square of your speed. At 80 mph, you will see a noticeable drop in fuel economy compared with lower speeds. I am always surprised at how much better fuel economy I get when I ride the twisties compared with the open Interstate. I assume that it is due to the reduced speeds.
* Do you have any mileage-sucking accessories?
My large Aeroflow windscreen and Aerogards are great at creating a silent air pocket and keeping the air flow off my body. They are great to have for riding in the cold, but they reduce my fuel economy by several miles per gallon.
* Do you sit up or tuck in?
It sounds like a dumb question, but when I first bought my K1200GT, I tried both riding positions while on long rides (stock K1200GT at the time). Dropping the stock windscreen all the way down and tucking in behind it (looking through the windscreen) made a difference of 1-2 MPG. Really. (I also learned that the discomfort of tucking in was not worth it in fuel savings or extra range.
* Are you looking at MPG reports from the UK?
Their UK (Imperial) gallon is 20% larger than our US gallon, but their mile is the same as ours. (Of course they pay more than twice as much as we do for fuel, however you measure it.)
How do I know all this? Because I keep detailed written records - a small notebook on the bike, and a spreadsheet at home. My father was obsessive/compulsive about keeping written records, and forced me to do it (with his cars) until it became habit.
Be a scientist and run your own tests. Reset the Average MPG on your bike computer while riding. Reset it, then ride some miles to see what it does under different conditions (windscreen up vs. down, etc.). Change only one thing at a time. The real problem is riding under identical conditions. Small, imperceptible slopes, headwind differences, etc. can affect your results significantly. Repeat the tests many time until you get a feel for how much each change impacts your fuel economy. It is only a rough estimate, but it helps to know. That's what I did.
