Finding a fuel efficient bike

[Angus]

How do you research the fuel efficiency of a bike? I'm looking for something 400-750cc and hoping to get close to 60MPG. I've been to a few showrooms and, of course, this specification is not readily available. So I take down the model and year and stuff, and Google something like "kawasaki vulcan 800 mpg" and get a lot of hits on some very subjective and contradictory information about its fuel efficiency. Is there a better way to go about this? totalmotorcycle dot com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/index.htm has a lot of information on it, but it is not complete and again, I don't believe everything I read.
I'm hoping to get close to 60MPG. The way I drive is 85% highway, and usually don't go above 85km/hr (53mph).
If no one can help me w/that, then maybe someone can tell me which of the following are likely to be the most fuel efficient. I found them at a dealership:
Honda CB550 '83
Honda Nighthawk CB650SC '82
Honda Shadow Twin500 '83
Honda Magna V45 '82
Yamaha VStar650 '03
Suzuki Intruder VS800 '96
Suzuki Savage LS650 '04
I'm going to Google for these bikes myself, but anything anyone could add would be appreciated.

[primalmu]

I've done a lot of research on motorcycle fuel efficiency (thats my main reason for getting a bike). Seems that most bikes in the 500-750cc range will get 55-60 mpg IF you are easy on the throttle. Like cars, if you are into jackrabbit starts, you won't get as good fuel efficiency. The most consistently fuel efficient bike with a larger-than-250cc engine that I've personally found is the Buell Blast, which can get mpg into the 70s.

The general rule of thumb is that the larger the displacement, the lower the mpg. Total Motorcycle has a fuel efficiency guide, but of course its anecdotal at best. It should give you a good idea, though. Unfortunately, they don't have every bike ever made (all their data is user submitted).

The MOST fuel efficient bike I've heard of is the Ninja 250. I've heard several people who claim 100+mpg on that bike (ridden VERY conservatively, no doubt).

[grappler]

holy cow 100+ miles! Thats like 400 miles to a tank:eek:

[primalmu]

holy cow 100+ miles! Thats like 400 miles to a tank:eek:

Yea, unfortunately most people will probably only manage 70ish mpg... which still ain't shabby!

[shelzmike]

Seems that most bikes in the 500-750cc range will get 55-60 mpg IF you are easy on the throttle.

You got it - it all depends on three major things really - the displacement, the maintenance (and tune) of the engine, and how hard you drive it. Motorcycles can be driven from low to high RPMs in the same gear, depending on driving situations.

However, the bottom line is that, no matter what, motorcycles (MOST) will get better gas mileage than MOST cars out there!

Mike

[Angus]

However, the bottom line is that, no matter what, motorcycles (MOST) will get better gas mileage than MOST cars out there!

Mike

MOST isn't enough. I drive a late model Honda Civic, so in order to justify this purchase I have to beat 42MPG by quite a bit

[shelzmike]

Justify it to yourself, or...someone else! :)

They really get 42 mpg? That is pretty good. (I will never own a Honda Civic, no offense to anyone who does, they have just never been "my type" of car.

Mike

[YamahaFan]

my bike gets around 55-60mpg daily, half highway half city, and I don't ride conservative (but not abusive either). It's been 2 months I'm testing it, around 230 miles over 4 gallons. I believe 250-600cc sportbikes get better mileage due to weight/power ratio, of course, like other said 250 gets better mileage, but I don't know how it would be on highway. I need the acceleration on highway in case someone changes lane right next to me, so I went for 600, NOT because of the speed (though I like it :) )

[Cruzrat]

If no one can help me w/that, then maybe someone can tell me which of the following are likely to be the most fuel efficient. I found them at a dealership:
Honda CB550 '83
Honda Nighthawk CB650SC '82
Honda Shadow Twin500 '83
Honda Magna V45 '82
Yamaha VStar650 '03
Suzuki Intruder VS800 '96
Suzuki Savage LS650 '04


Realistically the bikes you listed will get around 50 mpg hwy maybe a little bit more ,but by the time you mix city driving in , that will be about what\you can expect.
If you want 60+ mpg your going to have to stay with smaller CC bikes like 250's or smaller.
I have a Yamaha TW 200 Dual Sport bike that gets about 75 mpg, but If you want 100 mpg you'll have to go to a Vespa or moped type bike ....... since you drive a Civic that might just be what you are looking for (LOL j/k

[dfbales759]

never thought about buying a bike for fuel econ, i prefer to buy one i will enjoy

[Dannyl]

Hi,
I find that my Honda Super Four 400cc is both economic (25 KM to the liter)
I altered it by adding on a wind-screen which serves to make it more aerodynamic, and keeps the wind from blasting me ( here the legal speed on a highway is 120 km/hr).

if I pull too many fast-pulls from stand still some of this economy goes away, but the bike handles very well and always has power to spare.

Regards,
Danny

[vortex_01]

United Motors V2C 250T also as the Hyosung GV250

Check it out from my research online and talking to actuall owners (2 of them) you can expect 70+ mpg in real world riding. Also they say they love riding it :-) I will let you know more after mine comes in.

[loudest143]

I'm getting right around 45mpg on my 82 gs850g. I'm riding pretty aggressive right now, to avoid countless phone toting minivan driving soccer moms who insist on changing lanes without turn signals and get mad at the biker when his super loud horns disturb their call to their next door neighbor whom they will see in 3 minutes when they return from starbucks with their giganto super grande latte with extra fat on their way back from dropping off their doughy emo kids at the private school that's way better than any regular old public school even though her kids still need tutors to pass which might have something to do with the fact that she married her first cousin.

But I digress....

I've rode a hyosung, and they're ROCKETS!

loudest143
*missed my meds today.:cool:

[shelzmike]

Hmm, we are not bitter today are we? :) (completely understandble by the way)

Mike

[Katmandu]

I'm getting right around 45mpg on my 82 gs850g. You answered MY question! :cool: I'm pondering picking up an 81 GS850GL.

What MPG/Highway do the larger displacement (750cc+) usually achieve ??? :confused:

[loudest143]

Typically, the higher the displacement, the lower the mpg. I can tell you that my bike gets lower mpg the faster I ride. Meaning, highway = lower mpg.

I can't say that is normal, but I do know that two of my friends who ride bikes in the same CC range have the same situation with lower mpg on the highway. For me, I get 16mpg in my truck, so anything over that is great. Getting nearly triple that is very satifying indeed.;)

You will not be sorry with the GL.... So easy to work on, and I just purchased a bunch of o-rings and gaskets that I needed from a dealership. It's nice that the parts are still easy to get, and most are available from multiple sources. I've barely had to use my Clymers manual while doing basic stuff, as it's just such a logical setup mechancially speaking.

loudest143

[lmychajluk]

I'm also looking at MPG as a basis for a new bike. Ideally, I'd like to see >60mpg.

A few people in this thread mentioned that the greater displacement, the lower the mpg, which seems to make perfect sense. But why is it (based on the data collected at totalmotorcycle.com), that the Harley & Buell ~1200cc V-Twins all seem to get ~65mpg on the highway? Oddly enough, the Suzuki 650cc V-Twin bikes seem to be in the 50-55mpg range, and the 4-cyclinder bikes from Yamaha and Honda in the 600cc range look to be around 45-50?

Granted, the data is not generated using standard testing proceedures, but still...