Fuel Mileage

[T Evans]

I understand what you are thinking but you need to stop and think about whats going on with the engine when you are running 65 and when you are runnig 75 and 80. There is a hundred different things that change when you change from 65 to 80 mph. Stop and think about it. The rpms go from 2800 or so to 3200 or so. You increase the wind resistence which requires horsepower to overcome it and all the other factors from head wind to how much weight your carrying to road conditions to traffic conditions. It all comes into play and when even one of these things change, it changes the horse power requirment that you are asking your engine to provide. If you have a tail wind your are going to get better fuel economy than if you are bucking a strong head wind. And on and on ......
It has been my experience that with my 350 small block Boss Hoss, driving normal I could see about 17 mpg. Start cranking the throttle and she would drop below 10 mpg. The Valk Interstate with the full fairing would see around 35 or so until I hit the highway and brought the rpms up over 3 thousand. Then it would drop to around 26 or 28 if I was lucky. I have a Corbin fairing on my bike and I have seen 35 a couple of times but if I'm running hard down the highway, it will drop below 30.
But I guess the big picture is and you have to ask yourself this question? Did I by the largest production bike out there, ( short of a Boss) for the fuel economy? Or did you buy a Rocket because you wanted the horse power and the torque that comes with a Rocket.
In a perfect world the Rocket would have a 6th gear and would cruz at 80 and be abile to keep the rpms down around 2600 and get 35 mpg and still have all the power and the torque you would ever need. But you need to ask yourself, which is more important, fuel economy or horse power/torque?
I purchased my Rocket because it was totally different than anything else out there in its class. If I was concerned about getting 35 mpg at 80, I would have bought a Gold Wing, if I could fit in one. But thats just me.

Big T

 

[KingOfFleece]

Your numbers are very similar to what two riders I know with the R3T get.
My R3 is dialed in with a PC3 on the dyno and runs great. Approx. 140 rwhp. I can get 40 mpg or 22 depending on how I ride it. It's a big motor.

 

[RocketDaryl]

Have you actually calculated the mileage or are you watching the on-board computer? If the latter, you'll find that it isn't worth squat. The fuel gauge is as useless as the one on Harleys. In fact, I often wonder if they use the same design/vendor.

Manually calculate your mileage. My R3T got a pretty consistent 38-40 mpg. I *rarely* got above 75, but I'd say about 30-50% of my riding on it was at 65-75 mph.

 

[Ygransom]

My R3T gets close to 40mpg under general usage and on extended highway (80mph) drops to low 30's. Not sure why you are only getting in the 20's unless you haven't had it loing enough to break it in or or to quit using more throttle than you need.

 

[ksquared]

Have you actually calculated the mileage or are you watching the on-board computer? If the latter, you'll find that it isn't worth squat. The fuel gauge is as useless as the one on Harleys. In fact, I often wonder if they use the same design/vendor.

Manually calculate your mileage. My R3T got a pretty consistent 38-40 mpg. I *rarely* got above 75, but I'd say about 30-50% of my riding on it was at 65-75 mph.

Daryl: I think you're on to something here. My light came on today (for the first time in 1,250 miles), so I made sure to fill up completely. She took 4.3 gallons to the brim. When I checked my odometer, I had 165 miles even. This works out to 38.37 miles per gallon, a figure I can live with easily as it will give me well over 200 miles per tank - just what I was looking for.

This was a mixed tank - a bunch of miles at a steady 55 - 65 mph, along with some miles at 70 - 80 mph and even some city riding.

I'll update this from time to time and let you know how it's doing. But I can agree with Daryl - don't rely on the gauge and computer.

 

[HellFire]

Is that what the deal was? You were going off the computer? Hell, that stupid tank float couldn't tell 1/2gal from 5. One of the biggest and most common complaints with the R3 is the low fuel light coming on too soon. There is a fix, but it involves removing the assembly and bending the rod. I got mine to come on a little later, but not much ... have to go throught the whole thing over again and try to get it right. Major pain in the ars.
If yours came on with only a gallon and a half, thats pretty good. Still, even those mileage computers in luxury cars don't get it right.

 

[BehereNow]

The only time I keep it under 70 is if I run up to the quick mart to get a paper.
I hit triple digits every time I ride. Average speed is probably about 75 for anything over 25 miles. I am blessed with lots of roads with Zero LEO, and lots of twisties that keep my average speed down.
I get a nice even 30mpg on my '09 standard with no mods (Except that lovely CT).
I do remember getting about 38 those first few hundred miles when I used 5th a lot.

 

[dandiego]

I did a San Diego to Big Bear ride on January 16. Just a there and back run.

After reaching home, 300 miles later, I realized, happily, that I’d achieved 45.5 MPG overall. Not too shabby for a big ol’ Rocket of a bike.

 

[ksquared]

I did a San Diego to Big Bear ride on January 16. Just a there and back run.

After reaching home, 300 miles later, I realized, happily, that I’d achieved 45.5 MPG overall. Not too shabby for a big ol’ Rocket of a bike.

Dan: What kind of speed were you seeing on that run? What was the range?

 

[dandiego]

The ride was a total of 300 miles; all but about 60 miles were freeway slab at 65-85 MPH.

The mountain climb entailed twisties at 25-35 max MPH. Very slow going up and down.

I filled the tank as I left and upon my return for accurate mileage.

Again, I normally get 35 MGP, so this was pleasantly unexpected.

I'm fairly certain that all of the slow going over the icy mountains contributed to the better mileage.