New Rocket Rider needs help understanding the beast

hvacnr

Supercharged
Joined
Jun 5, 2014
Messages
453
Location
McDonough, GA.
Ride
95 750 Magna, Rocket 3 2005, VTX 1800 2002
Hi y'all, I have only had my 05 standard just over a month and have only ridden it 1400 miles. I've been on this site just as long. Some questions have came up and I know y'all be able to answer them. First question, Is all the fuel in the tank used or is their a portion of it below the fuel pick up? The second question, What is the most efficient engine rpm to operate at on the highway for best gas mileage? And third, What the best RPM for the Twisty's? The power band for curve approach and powering out? Thanks, This Site is the best I have ever been on.
 
If your bike is stock, then maximum torque is at 2800 RPM, or 70MPH (real speed - it will show about 75 on the speedometer). Theoretically that will be the engine's most economical touring speed. However, wind resistance etc means that about 55-65 will probably give you the best economy. I usually cruise at around 2800-3200 rpm. Having said all that, you have about 90% or your torque from 1000 RPM to the red line - it is a pretty flat curve. :) Therefore the revs that you are at for cornering is not as critical as it would be on a sport bike with a narrow power band.

There will always be a little bit of petrol left in an empty tank. Why would you want to get that low anyway? It is a heavy bike to push. Also, the fuel helps keep the fuel pump cool.
 
Thanks for the info. This gives me a focal point. The person I perched it from worker on the trailers at the Head quarters in Newnan, GA. new several of the guys their. It appears my Rocket has been slightly modified ;). According to the previous owner the bike has a PCM, one off exhaust (3 into 2) and all the up grades (what ever that means). As far as running out of gas goes, If it can be done I'll do it. It's just that I have noticed that when the low fuel light comes on I have only riden around 130 miles and the tank will hold only about 3.6 to 4.4 gals. It's just inquiring minds want to know.
 
that fuel light always comes on at about 1/2 tank. i try to fill mine at about 120 miles but have gone 200 miles. once filled it and took a little over 6 gals.
 
As far as running out of gas goes, If it can be done I'll do it. It's just that I have noticed that when the low fuel light comes on I have only riden around 130 miles and the tank will hold only about 3.6 to 4.4 gals. It's just inquiring minds want to know.

In my experience low fuel lights and miles remaining indicators are somewhat conservative. If you plan to run your tank down to the last remaining drops of fuel then you need to have a good feel for how many miles you get out of a tank under various driving conditions.

I know it's not for everyone, but I record every fuel fill and miles travelled for all my vehicles. This gives me a good base of information to calculate fuel consumption and extrapolate that to theoretical range on a tank of fuel. I reset my trip meter at each fuel fill and use that as my fuel gauge. I know how much I can get out of a tank for city driving and highway tootling.

<start-story-time>I had an experience with my car a few years ago. I was running low on fuel and had quite a distance to go until the next fuel stop. The car's low fuel warning came on (no reason to panic as I see that regularly). Then some time down the track the car's very low fuel warning came on (I've not seen that message before). I looked at the distance remaining indicator. It said I only had 20km to go until empty. Stopping on the side of the road was not going to solve anything so I decided to push on - figuring the closer I could get to the next town before running out of fuel the less distance my wife would have to walk with the fuel can. ;) To cut a long story short, I made it to the next fuel stop with the car telling me I had -75km remaining until empty. I filled the tank - fully expecting to put in close to the tank's 75 litre capacity. I could only squeeze 68 liters in. I did some research with my local dealer and with guys on the car's equivalent to the R3Owners forum. They confirmed the conservative nature of the fuel and range warnings. Since then I have always done my own calculations. <end-story-time>
 
Well let's see! If you get out and ride the bike you will know what it is capable of doing and how you need to ride it in the twisties and the highways. Just sayin' :D:p
Seriously tho the only way to know your bike is to ride it. Each one is different much like us women.:thumbsup::whitstling:
 
I'm an air conditioning tech and it's the season so my riding time is limited.I am planning a ride up the Blue Ridge Pkwy the second weekend in August. This should put a few more miles on the clock.
 
On a recent long trip to middle Tennessee and back, I got my best milage at 75-80 (39 mpg) indicated on the speedo which backs up IDK's statemnt for the stock bike. When riding two up, I get the best milage at 55-65 (37 mpg).
 
that fuel light always comes on at about 1/2 tank. i try to fill mine at about 120 miles but have gone 200 miles. once filled it and took a little over 6 gals.
I have a problem reading about people going 200 miles on a full tank. I have a 2005, just like the guy that started the thread, and ran out of gas at the 154 miles mark. It took 5+ gallons to fill up not 6+ though. I ran out of gas trying to emulate people like you and posts like these. I strongly believe that a 2005 Rocket III Standard/Classic cannot go 200 miles between fill-ups unless you turn off the engine a lot and go downhill quite often.
Would you be so kind and rethink the statement you made?
 
You have hit on what is, for me, the single most unsatisfying aspect of owning and riding the R3T. (I know you have a standard - but I think these issues still apply)

First - It's d*mn near impossible to fuel the Beast up properly. The Owner's manual says to fill it to the bottom of the internal filler neck, to allow for expansion and prevent overflows. Well, if I fill it to that level I CANNOT get the rated 5.9 gallons into the tank. I need to fill it to just under the top flange in order to get 5.9. I have no idea what's going on with this. And with the higher pressures being delivered by today's gas station pumps - it always cuts out long before the level I need. It sometimes takes me 8-10 minutes to fill the tank - If I can fill it up all the way at all!

Second - I cannot (and never have) obtained nearly the mileage reported by Boog in his post above. I've installed a tach on my R3T and find that 3,00 RPM is about 78 - 79 MPH. At that speed I'm fortunate to get 33 - 34 MPG. In town, I'm often below 30 and when I encounter the occasional traffic jam - I can be as low as 25. I'm running TORs with an underseat K&N and Triumph's TORs tune. I haven't been able to find anyone to assist me in installing Wayne's R3T tune, which promises not only 115 hp but 40+ mpg - but I'll keep trying.

Third - If I want to get 200 miles on a tank of gas - I'd better be going 50-55 MPH steady speed - under those conditions I've accomplished that 2 or 3 times. The"range to empty" feature works poorly. On at least one prior occasion I've ridden nearly 12 miles with it on "0" - and I still had some gas left. I never really know how much gas is in the tank or what I have left.

I would simply resign myself to the fact that a 2.3 litre engine with 3 - 4" slugs is never going to be a Mobil Economy Run champion - but then I see guys like Boog who get these incredible mileage figures and I'm simply at a loss to figure it out.

I love the R3T - but I absolutely hate everything having to do with fueling her up or the gas mileage.
 
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