Speed & Consumption

[bgd]

Just to see what would happen I knocked 10 mph off my normal motorway speed - 90 down to 80 (mph). The result an extra 40 miles from a tank. I fill up twice a week and with petrol costing around 98p (near enough to NZD 3.00) a litre that adds up to quite a saving over a year.

Speed certainly costs, motorway is only about 30% of my commute.

[ZeroIndex]

except NZ open-road legal speed is the equivalent of 62MPH (100km/h)

[Edbear]

Open speed limit here is 100km/h or 62mph at which speed my revs are 5200. I usually cruise at 6000rpm or 110km/h and there is a significant increase in fuel consumption once I hit 7000rpm plus when the bike comes "on cam". Caning it, I can actually watch the fuel guage dropping!

I read a report in a UK mag about a comparo between the Honda Blackbird, Kawa ZX12R and the Suzuki Hayabusa where the Kawa broke its gearbox and was towed by the Honda. They drained the Honda's tank in 80 miles! Mind you they were towing at about 120mph!

Petrol over here is around $NZ1.80+ per litre.

Good to hear from the other side of the world! Keep us up to date with things over there!

[TLDV8]

They drained the Honda's tank in 80 miles! Mind you they were towing at about 120mph!

How about a Kawasaki H2 one up and drain the tank in 48 kms :first:

[WRT]

Caning it, I can actually watch the fuel guage dropping!

When caning it, I prefer to watch the road instead . . .

[McJim]

Yeah, I remember fondly the commute in the UK - 90mph is what everyone does - the cops don't even bat an eyelid at that speed. Imagine the furore if everyone in New Zealand was doing 144kph in their everyday motorway driving.

Odd when you think about it though - in the UK generally people have 1 to 1.5 litre cars (2 litre engines are for really wealthy buggers that can afford the fuel and insurance) and the speeds are up around 145kph - in New Zealand people drive cars with 4 litre engines but can't really exceed 110kph.

Seems to be a little disparity between engine power and permitted speed.

[Shadows]

Odd when you think about it though - in the UK generally people have 1 to 1.5 litre cars (2 litre engines are for really wealthy buggers that can afford the fuel and insurance) and the speeds are up around 145kph - in New Zealand people drive cars with 4 litre engines but can't really exceed 110kph.

Seems to be a little disparity between engine power and permitted speed.

There are even larger disparities in the skill level of the average motorist, and the quality of roading, between the two countries.

[Edbear]

When caning it, I prefer to watch the road instead . . .



:nya: :nya: :nya: Smarty!

[Edbear]

How about a Kawasaki H2 one up and drain the tank in 48 kms :first:



I doubt even the Boss Hoss could match an H2 for fuel consumption!

[gijoe1313]

Well with the price of fuel probably going to go up again soon, my Ford Orion cage wallops in about $85 a week on 91. I'm kinda counting my blessings that I don't have to commute from Takanini to Birkenhead anymore!

I'm not heavy on the pedal since I'm a conservative cager, but I can't help wondering about those petrol slurpers you hear thudding past with the bass on full! :wait:

This is an interesting thread, would like to hear more about those UK riding experiences! :yes:

[fishb8nz]

About 1984 or 5 the speed limit was raised from 80 to 100 km/hr. All of a sudden my fuel consumption of my CNG powered car shot up. I took it in to be tuned and it came back with a clean bill of health. About 80km/hr and less, aerodynamics don't play much part in fuel consumption but above that, it increases, markedly, thus increasing fuel consumption.
Result - if you want good fuel consumption, stay at 80 km.

[georgiepie]

if you want good fuel consumption, stay at 80 km.
Yeah but that's no fun is it? On my old RG150 I could get over 300km from a tankfull if I didn't exceed the speedlimit at all. But if I had fun over the same roads (motorway and suburban) the tank would be empty within 180 kms.

[bgd]

Speed on the motorways is pretty high. At 90 I'm usually in the middle lane. Cars will often pass as if I was standing still. Statistically motorways are still the safest place to travel, despite the speed.

Anyway today I tried to stick to 70, the speed limit. Noticed a lot more of the scenery and it's a pretty relaxing ride. Sometimes it's just too slow and a burst of speed is needed to get the gap or overtake without holding anyone up. Not sure whether I'll be able to keep it up but it's an interesing variation.

[McJim]

About 1984 or 5 the speed limit was raised from 80 to 100 km/hr. All of a sudden my fuel consumption of my CNG powered car shot up. I took it in to be tuned and it came back with a clean bill of health. About 80km/hr and less, aerodynamics don't play much part in fuel consumption but above that, it increases, markedly, thus increasing fuel consumption.
Result - if you want good fuel consumption, stay at 80 km.

Bear in mind that in 1984-5 cars had about as much aerodynamic styling as a yawning hippo - modern cars should be okay up to 100kph and there will be a marked difference in fuel consumption between a fully faired bike and a naked one above 80kph.

[McJim]

Well with the price of fuel probably going to go up again soon, my Ford Orion cage wallops in about $85 a week on 91. I'm kinda counting my blessings that I don't have to commute from Takanini to Birkenhead anymore!

I'm not heavy on the pedal since I'm a conservative cager, but I can't help wondering about those petrol slurpers you hear thudding past with the bass on full! :wait:

This is an interesting thread, would like to hear more about those UK riding experiences! :yes:

Go and try the place - the roads are really quite good (especially in Scotland - quieter and twistier) the big problem is the weather. I find Auckland to be very hot and dry by comparison..and get your full licence before you go as learners are limited to 125cc. You should have seen my face when I found out I could have a 250 on a learner licence - I thought it was Christmas all over again!

[Lou Girardin]

and there will be a marked difference in fuel consumption between a fully faired bike and a naked one above 80kph.

I found that the half faired, larger engined, heavier Bandit used less fuel than my RF9.

[quickbuck]

Some time ago (When fuel was about $1.50/l) I rode super carefully to work and back each day to see how long my fuel would last. I got a few more miles out of a tank (compared to if I rode it hard). This equated to about$2.00 at the time.
I had more fun riding spiritedly, and would happily afford the $2 for the fun.
Then, I took my bike in for a carb balance and chucked on a new chain and sprockets, and get the same tank range I did when I rode carefully.
Of course the maintenance didn't come cheap, but was obviously required.

What I am really trying to say is, the price of fuel is still a little cost compared to the overall cost of running a bike.
I just pour fuel it, pay for it, and have fun. After all that is why I ride.

Yeah, I know:zzzz:

[McJim]

I found that the half faired, larger engined, heavier Bandit used less fuel than my RF9.
Fair point Lou - the top fairing is probably the more important part as it deflects the airflow around the least aerodynamic part of the bike (the rider) so the fact that it was only half faired compared to the full fairing on your RF9 would only be a negligible difference. Also extra mass will increase a vehicles' terminal velocity for a given application of force (i.e. it's harder to get a heavy bike moving but you can keep a heavier object moving at the same speed with less force) and the gearing may have been different.

Now you've got me travelling into the realms of pedantic physics - I need a beer.