Does wind affect MPG?

[Brian]

15FJ. Usually when I hit 180 miles on trip odo, I find a gas station and put in about 3.8 gals.

Yesterday when I hit 180 miles, I sputtered to the side of the road. Limped it to a gas station and put in 4.3 gallons.

The only thing that I can think that was different was the 2 previous rides were in pretty heavy winds.

Is that the cause? Fill up after a 165 mile ride today was back to normal so no engine issues.

[Eventhorizon]

Short answer .. Yes. Especially if its a stiff head wind.
Same with a car too, but not as much as a motorcycle.

My previous bike (VStrom 650) was notorious for eating fuel in heavy head winds. I would always do what you did measure mileage and refuel at a certain point. My certain point got a bit more conservative if it was windy or stormy as I was riding.

[whisperquiet]

I run a Givi top box only unless on a trip and remove the saddlebags for a little better fuel mileage riding locally.

I have huge, blocky 45 liter MicaTech saddlebags for my Super Tenere.  You can see a huge drop in fuel mileage with them installed when riding in a stiff frontal or cross wind.
 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by whisperquiet

[PhotoAl]

Oh yes!  A stiff headwind really impacts mileage.  I'm always watching mileage on my long trips and use several things to keep an eye on mileage.  I presume you have the same gas gauge the 2020 Tracer GT has.  Where it's full then half!  I always watch to see when it goes to half - usually between 95 and 120 miles depending on speed altitude and headwind.  Not sure if you have the instant MPG and average MPG but I use those to keep an eye on what's going on as well as gallons consumed.  Not totally accurate but gives me an idea.  Flip side of a headwind is a tailwind wahoo great gas mileage!  Most miserable is a headwind with rain that is not straight on but coming a bit from the side.  Then have the impact of mileage and have to struggle with constant steering corrections.  

Other stuff that affects mileage is fuel (E10 vs E0), altitude and speed.

Tracer has enough power to not be bothered by headwinds most of the time.  My previous bike was notocibly impacted when going uphill at higher elevations into a headwind.  Nothing like running 76MPH (in an 80 speed limit) going uphill into a stiff headwind and realizing the throttle is almost pinned - yea I could have downshifted and accelerated but just waited until I was over the long uphill grade.

[micah2074]

absolutely

 

[kilo3]

https://canadamotoguide.com/2016/05/04/motorcycle-aerodynamics/

[Instinct28]

It seems like that I'm only getting about 150 miles to a tank with my 2015 fj-09, it was like that before the ECU flash / Slip-on also.

[PhotoAl]

That's about what I'd expect riding on the interstate at 79 mph before the fuel light goes on.  Seems like my last 4 bikes were all about the same.  About 150 miles of interstate running before the fuel light went on.  2012 CBR600RR, 2014 Kawasaki ZX6R 636, 2016 BMW F800GT and 2020 Tracer 900 GT.  Tracer has a little bit bigger tank but will get over 150 easily.   If Have E0 fuel and am running around 65 it will go a lot further on a tank.

[Wintersdark]

6 hours ago, Brian said:

15FJ. Usually when I hit 180 miles on trip odo, I find a gas station and put in about 3.8 gals.

Yesterday when I hit 180 miles, I sputtered to the side of the road. Limped it to a gas station and put in 4.3 gallons.

The only thing that I can think that was different was the 2 previous rides were in pretty heavy winds.

Is that the cause? Fill up after a 165 mile ride today was back to normal so no engine issues.

For sure, and particularly after ~70-80mph.  Drag increases with the square of speed, and in this case it's the speed of you vs. the air, so a 30mph headwind is the same as riding 30mph faster in terms of drag. 

The Tracer's aerodynamics aren't terrible, but they aren't supersport aeros either. 

So, yeah, long story short, wind has a *substantial* impact on fuel economy - at least at highway speeds.  This impact is pretty minor though below 50mph. 

 

[KrustyKush]

While getting broke in to this new Tracer GT one of the things that flummoxed me was the fuel fill.  Here in California we have these vapor return lines on the end of the nozzle, and inside that nozzle is a switch that must be made before the pump will pump.  They are fine for cars but a little gimmicky for a bike.  I was unable to fill the tank all the way to the max without pulling the nozzle out and holding the vapor cap up by hand (to make the switch) and then gently pumping the last half gallon of fuel in. Point being, in order to get the tank full, a rider must pull the nozzle upwards so that the auto shut-off doesn't come on before the last half gallon of fuel goes in.

Mostly, though, I don't do this.  The Tracer has a good sized tank, and even with 4.5 gals in there it will go 200 miles before it dies.  That's plenty.  I can't take more than an hour or so on this bike before needing a break, so that works out well.  I can't see any point in working hard to exactly fill the tank while riding around town where there are lots of fuel stations.  Out in the wild where stations can be far apart, I would make extra care to fill it to the very top.