[shark88]

I took my new 2014 Burgman 650 for a drive today, 95% highway with a bit of cross wind. I got 71 miles per gallon (Canadian) or 59 MPG US. Is that a good figure considering the bike has only 508 kilometers (325 miles) ?

Shark88

 

[MJR]

Sounds great to me.

 

[peelbrow]

It depends. Is the Canadian gallon the same as the British gallon?

 

[MJR]

It depends. Is the Canadian gallon the same as the British gallon?

I thought it was either Imperial or US?

 

[shark88]

A Canadian gallon is the British imperial gallon

 

[MJR]

So Canada uses kilometers per hour and British gallons while Britain uses miles per hour and liters, lol.

 

[lipster]

Between 48 and 61 US mpg is what I get.

 

[shark88]

Canada uses kilometers and liters, but when we speak of mileage we still use the old miles per gallon. The gallon we used in the past and are still familiar with is the imperial / British / Canadian gallon.

 

[JustSumDad]

Britain doesn't use MPH does it?

I always use L/100k but sometimes think in MPG

I usually run about 4.2 to 4.5 liters to go 100k (52-55 MPG us)

 

[phyciocc]

I never see these tests give generalizable results.

I am going to enter now my pedantic, professor mode :director: (it is my day job, after all ) so feel free to ignore me.

Was the mileage measured using a GPS or the bike odometer?
How did you measure the fuel used?
We all know that the speedometer in the Burgman is way off (about 10%), but what about the odometer? How accurate is it?
The mpg (or Km/l, or Imperial/mile or Furlong per pint or whater unit is used), was it obtained using the computer on the bike?

and, last but not least, what is the...er...tonnage of the driver?
My Burgman, with my not inconspicuous lard butt :bigsmurf: at the controls, is going to use more gas that another with a 115 lb svelte supermodel driving it (one can dream, can't he?).

I am off the box now
Marco

 

[DougInKY]

My Burgman tells me I am getting about 42 miles per US gallon. Not unexpected as I almost always ride two up with my wife and a lot of our miles are city miles.

Doug from Kentucky

 

[MJR]

Britain doesn't use MPH does it?

Yes Britian uses MPH.

 

[shark88]

I knew the speedometer was overly optimistic, but I didn't clue in to the odometer also being incorrect.

 

[MJR]

I knew the speedometer was overly optimistic, but I didn't clue in to the odometer also being incorrect.

And what's even more strange is they have different percentages of inaccuracy. The odometer is around 2% optimistic vs. the speedo of 10-12%.

 

[lipster]

Less warranty claims by 2%!

 

[peelbrow]

Britain doesn't use MPH does it?

Unfortunately yes, but the metric system is far easier. We electrian's have used it for years.

 

[Penforhire]

I'm getting a very repeatable 47 MPG (US). I'm a tall lardy (me, the rider), windscreen is set at max height, big tail box, and a big rear-seat bag. This is with 75% highway miles at 80 MPH and 25% of miles mixed city (some open roads around 45 MPH but often more congested and slow).

 

[phyciocc]

Mine is a 2012. I am lardy as well, but not tall unfortunately. High screen as well, big box. I try to measure the gas at the pump, filling always the same way, but I am measuring the miles traveled using the odometer. I get approx 44 mpg, but my overall mileage is still low ( less than 3k). I am hoping it will improve as I get more miles.
Marco

 

[osbornk]

My 09 with 18,000 miles generally gets around 50 MPG on country roads. I don't have city miles because I am not near any cities. I rode 1,200 miles a couple of weeks ago through the mountains and hills of VA, TN, NC, AL and GA. I averaged 51.5 MPG for the total trip.

 

[miken6mz]

There are only 2 things that I don't like about my K4 Lardy: (1) rough suspension and (2) fuel economy (44-47mpg). I got 52mpg once last summer running on pure gasoline on secondary roads (no more than 55mph) but now it's settled down to 46-47mpg consistently with 50/50 mix of freeway/stop-and-go. If I ever saw 55mpg I think I'd pass out. I'm very frugal with the throttle and use manual mode to keep the revs down. On my single long trip down the coast to CA and back (2200 miles) it averaged about 44mpg but that was running lousy winter-blend government-gasohol-garbage and riding into frightful gale-force headwinds on the return trip on the PCH (CA-1).