Thirsty or thrifty?

[Richard_gib]

I have a '97 Hornet 250, and was wondering what milage other riders get. I seem to hit reserve anywhere between 160 and 180ks. It takes about 12 to 14L to fill from reserve. Is this excessive??
My bike has after market twin exhausts (impoted with these on). I am close to 100kg's and average riding is 90 to 120kms (with the odd blast to pass cars etc. I have found she will happily do 160kmh with no complaints). Feels like it has a very limited range, and I don't want to go for a long ride and not get back lol.

My old ZXR250 did about 250 to 280 kms before hitting reserve (about 16L)

Also anyone have any idea how big the reserve is and how far I could go on that??

Love my little hornet, and she is still much cheaper that my family van to run(especially when it has the wife and all five of the future kiwi bikers in it)

[Radar]

4 cylinder bikes seem thirsty. Have a look at this page, where it says of the Honda 250 Hornet: "The fuel economy is not bad, and the small tank makes it seem worse. Not sure about mpg but I usually get 160km (100mls) to a tank before reserve (after 12 litres)." Evidently you are getting the expected fuel consumption. The trade off is that your 250 cranks out more hp than most all other 250s.

[Richard_gib]

Thanks Radar. I feel better about it now. The review is not wrong, she is a heap of fun, good power and fantastic handling. The size of it (mainly the arse) make people think it is a bigger bike.

How does the hyosung do??

[DarkLord]

Filling up my Hyosung GT 250R '07 on 98 from empty cost me about 35 bucks, and I'll usually get about 400 k's out of that. So, pretty good.

I've heard of people getting even more than that as well, but I wouldn't want to push it any further than that.....

[KelvinAng]

I've got the lil' ol'hornet for about a month now and the fuel consumption is getting to me a bit. I'm getting somewhere in the region of 13-14km/L, which means I spend about $40/week on gas to get me to work and back.

She sure is a fun little 250cc bike, but I think I might want something that is easier on the gas...

[vindy500]

i get about 250km from 14 L

[Maki]

I get 200k from just over 8L.

[road king]

im getting 300km on 17L

[de_wood_elf]

I get about 200km on my Zeal, but when I filled it up I only put 11L in so probably a bit over 200km on full tank before reserve.

[gijoe1313]

A good well tuned running little ol'hornet will be getting around 16km/L ... yep thirsty little beasty zipping around. You can ride more economically by not screaming up through the gears ... but thats not what hornets are made for

Keeping tyres inflated to correct pressure, using 98 and having good plugs with regular oil changes will keep it running efficiently.

It is relative of course, $40 for some may be too much whilst for someone like me $40 in a week means I haven't been riding enough!

[McJim]

Interesting. I thought I was getting bad economy from the 600ss with 287 from 18 litres. this is just shy of 16km per litre or 6.27 litres per 100km.

The VTR250 was very economic - I could get 320km out of a 13 litre tank and I spent most of the time wringing it's neck. So 24.6km per litre or 4 litres per 100km.

4.0 litre Ford Falcon (my other ride) gets about 10kms to the litre on the open road......it's even less economic than a 250 Hornet eh?

[KelvinAng]

A good well tuned running little ol'hornet will be getting around 16km/L ... yep thirsty little beasty zipping around. You can ride more economically by not screaming up through the gears ... but thats not what hornets are made for

Keeping tyres inflated to correct pressure, using 98 and having good plugs with regular oil changes will keep it running efficiently.

It is relative of course, $40 for some may be too much whilst for someone like me $40 in a week means I haven't been riding enough!

Everytime I think about my gas money and feel like selling the lil' ol'hornet to get something cheaper to run, it takes just a short pootle on open roads to change my mind

Maybe it's time to add another bike (a 125cc scooter?) to the stable for those city travelling.

[gijoe1313]

Everytime I think about my gas money and feel like selling the lil' ol'hornet to get something cheaper to run, it takes just a short pootle on open roads to change my mind

Maybe it's time to add another bike (a 125cc scooter?) to the stable for those city travelling.

Now you're talking! Well done that man! I wholeheartedly approve of this strategic decision!

And yes, thats why I still have my little ol'hornet even when I have a Big Ol'Hornet! (and the middle ones to come yet! )

[Badger8]

i took my lil' ol' hornet on the open road last week, a three day tour up north, and routinely got 20km/L on the open rd. That is hauling my.. err... ample frame, plus a backpack and tank bag loaded up, and i was givin her a reasonable bit of stick at times. 180km before i hit reserve, and that took 9L to refill. Not sure how big the reserve is, anyone know? (mine is an 01 btw)

[KelvinAng]

Now you're talking! Well done that man! I wholeheartedly approve of this strategic decision!

And yes, thats why I still have my little ol'hornet even when I have a Big Ol'Hornet! (and the middle ones to come yet! )

How much more thirsty is the Big Ol'Hornet? Considering the little one is already drinking gas like a bigger bike, the Big one must be quite a shocker at the pumps...? But still, nothing a short pootle on open roads can't fix