Cruising Range/MPG - How many miles on a tank of gas

[whisperquiet]

I've only owned my '19 Tracer GT for 2 months and 2300 miles, but if in familiar area, I will be fueling up between 160-180 miles and if on a trip anytime between 150-175 miles.  My Garmin GPS gives me some reasonable options while traveling.     I have been getting high 40 mpg when riding.

[betoney]

39 minutes ago, daboo said:

I reset my trip odometer with each fill-up.  When I'm on the road, I already have planned my max comfortable range.  In my case, it is about 160-180 miles.  Then as I'm going along, I'm keeping tabs on my average MPG and how many miles I've gone...and how many miles I need to go till the next fill-up.

I do the exact same thing and plan on around 180miles as well. 👍

[Yamagun]

Wow, this thread is timely!  I JUST learned what my max range is today.  I ran dry at 188 miles and was stranded for about 2 hours.    I assumed that I was good for about 220 miles based on the avg fuel economy saying 47 mpg.  Wow that was wrong! More like 39 mpg. The fuel light came only came on at about 175 miles.  Regardless of what the fuel gauge or fuel economy says in the future, I'll be looking for gas when I get close to 150 miles...if not sooner!

On a side note, this is the first time in my life that I ever ran out of gas in a vehicle that I was driving.  I tried using my AMA membership for roadside assistance.  I was on hold for over 30 minutes and finally gave up! 😡  Then I called my insurance company (Progressive).  They answered immediately.  I found out that my policy fortunately includes roadside assistance.  It took them about an hour to get to me but really glad I got the assistance.  I won't be renewing with AMA!  

[betoney]

23 minutes ago, Yamagun said:

Wow, this thread is timely!  I JUST learned what my max range is today.  I ran dry at 188 miles and was stranded for about 2 hours.    I assumed that I was good for about 220 miles based on the avg fuel economy saying 47 mpg.  Wow that was wrong! More like 39 mpg. The fuel light came only came on at about 175 miles.  Regardless of what the fuel gauge or fuel economy says in the future, I'll be looking for gas when I get close to 150 miles...if not sooner!

On a side note, this is the first time in my life that I ever ran out of gas in a vehicle that I was driving.  I tried using my AMA membership for roadside assistance.  I was on hold for over 30 minutes and finally gave up! 😡  Then I called my insurance company (Progressive).  They answered immediately.  I found out that my policy fortunately includes roadside assistance.  It took them about an hour to get to me but really glad I got the assistance.  I won't be renewing with AMA!  

Glad to hear that you were able to get some assistance.

I have had the "F-Trip" flash several times but the furthest I have ever ridden with it on is a little over 20 miles, I usually find fuel within 10 miles when riding locally, I never push it to F-Trip while on a road trip.  I also find the "Average Fuel" reading to be a bit optimistic, if it says 47mpg, my 'real-world' findings using math at the fuel fill up is closer to 44mpg, about +3 mpg higher than true mileage every time.

[joe72t]

I ran it dry and got to about 346 kms.  Std mode and driving it normally.  City and highway.

Cheers,

[Yamagun]

48 minutes ago, betoney said:

Glad to hear that you were able to get some assistance.

I have had the "F-Trip" flash several times but the furthest I have ever ridden with it on is a little over 20 miles, I usually find fuel within 10 miles when riding locally, I never push it to F-Trip while on a road trip.  I also find the "Average Fuel" reading to be a bit optimistic, if it says 47mpg, my 'real-world' findings using math at the fuel fill up is closer to 44mpg, about +3 mpg higher than true mileage every time.

Glad you posted this, thanks!  I didn't notice the FTrip on my display so just looked it up in the manual after seeing what you wrote.  Looks like it starts counting when the fuel light comes on with .69 gallons remaining gas in tank. 

*Mistake in my post - F-Trip  begins counting when last segment on fuel meter starts blinking, not when fuel light comes on.  

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Yamagun

[PhotoAl]

3 hours ago, Yamagun said:

Wow, this thread is timely!  I JUST learned what my max range is today.  I ran dry at 188 miles and was stranded for about 2 hours.    I assumed that I was good for about 220 miles based on the avg fuel economy saying 47 mpg.  Wow that was wrong! More like 39 mpg. The fuel light came only came on at about 175 miles.  Regardless of what the fuel gauge or fuel economy says in the future, I'll be looking for gas when I get close to 150 miles...if not sooner!

On a side note, this is the first time in my life that I ever ran out of gas in a vehicle that I was driving.  I tried using my AMA membership for roadside assistance.  I was on hold for over 30 minutes and finally gave up! 😡  Then I called my insurance company (Progressive).  They answered immediately.  I found out that my policy fortunately includes roadside assistance.  It took them about an hour to get to me but really glad I got the assistance.  I won't be renewing with AMA!  

Sorry to hear about your experience - it can be a tough teacher sometimes.  You got fewer miles out of the light the I would have expected which is good to know.  I ran 3 or 4 miles with it on one time - when I get close on gas even if I know how far the station is I slow down, when the light comes on I slow way down.  You got about what I would have expected for interstate and back road combined riding.  I very seldom  calculate the MPG but rather look at the range.  Have done a lot of long trips so watch to see when the gauge goes to half full, then I have a pretty good idea of how much further I can go before needing to stop.  On my first long solo trip I made the mistake of not stopping and getting gas because I didn't like the looks of the station.  Instead of turning around and going a few blocks or a mile or two I spent a good bit of time going slow and worrying about running out of gas.  I have been in some lonely places where running out of gas would have been a major hassle.  I carry a SPOT and a Garmin inReach Mini and have a couple of roadside assistance plans (not AMA) but still would have to wait.  

[mellow]

One thing I love about the garmin 595 is the up ahead function that only shows things along your route so when it says there's gas 10 miles away, you know it's on your route.  Previous garmins would show 10 miles away but then you select them and find out it takes 30 miles to get there and the one you just passed was your best option.

[Ride365]

11 hours ago, Yamagun said:

Wow, this thread is timely!  I JUST learned what my max range is today.  I ran dry at 188 miles and was stranded for about 2 hours.    I assumed that I was good for about 220 miles based on the avg fuel economy saying 47 mpg.  Wow that was wrong! More like 39 mpg. The fuel light came only came on at about 175 miles.  Regardless of what the fuel gauge or fuel economy says in the future, I'll be looking for gas when I get close to 150 miles...if not sooner!

On a side note, this is the first time in my life that I ever ran out of gas in a vehicle that I was driving.  I tried using my AMA membership for roadside assistance.  I was on hold for over 30 minutes and finally gave up! 😡  Then I called my insurance company (Progressive).  They answered immediately.  I found out that my policy fortunately includes roadside assistance.  It took them about an hour to get to me but really glad I got the assistance.  I won't be renewing with AMA!  

Are you riding like a bat out of hell? I can't seem to get less than 40 mpg no matter how hard/fast I ride, and the onboard mileage computations are pretty damn accurate from what I've been seeing. 

[nhchris]

If you ride lots of high speed roads (70 and above) consider a gear change to improve mileage.  I went to a 17 tooth front and now turn 4200 rpm at 70 mph.

On my FJ gas mileage seems very rpm-related.  Mine increased 10% with this change to around 55 mpg.

Most of my riding is on two-lane twisties between 50 and 70 mph with occasional (unavoidable) runs on interstates at 75-80 mph.

Edited December 2, 2020 by nhchris

[betoney]

6 hours ago, mellow said:

One thing I love about the garmin 595 is the up ahead function that only shows things along your route so when it says there's gas 10 miles away, you know it's on your route.  Previous garmins would show 10 miles away but then you select them and find out it takes 30 miles to get there and the one you just passed was your best option.

I love the “up ahead” feature on my Garmins. Yes, it works only when you are on an active route, otherwise searching for gas shows stations in any direction.

[micah2074]

I start looking for gas at around 180 miles. Longest trip on 1tank, 227 miles. She took 4.63 gallons when I filled her up. 

[Yamagun]

8 hours ago, Ride365 said:

Are you riding like a bat out of hell? I can't seem to get less than 40 mpg no matter how hard/fast I ride, and the onboard mileage computations are pretty damn accurate from what I've been seeing. 

No but I was riding in the mountains and reving it out a bit now that I've passed the break-in period.  Nothing crazy though. I'm going to pay more attention to my gas mileage and how I'm riding.

[Yamagun]

8 hours ago, nhchris said:

If you ride lots of high speed roads (70 and above) consider a gear change to improve mileage.  I went to a 17 tooth front and now turn 4200 rpm at 70 mph.

On my FJ gas mileage seems very rpm-related.  Mine increased 10% with this change to around 55 mpg.

Most of my riding is on two-lane twisties between 50 and 70 mph with occasional (unavoidable) runs on interstates at 75-80 mph.

That's a big improvement. I assume you had to buy a larger chain?  Do you notice less torque in the lower gears with your new setup? 

[HGP61]

28 minutes ago, Yamagun said:

That's a big improvement. I assume you had to buy a larger chain?  Do you notice less torque in the lower gears with your new setup?

Haven't done this with My Tracer but changed up one tooth on My previous bike, CBF 1000. There was enough adjustment at the swingarm to cope with the difference and standard chain was ok. It did make a very slight difference in fuel consumption but only about 1/2 a litre in a 19 litre tank. Not realy enough to get excited about.  No noticeable difference in acceleration. Something I may consider for the Tracer next year If I manage to get a European tour planned because that will probably involve a good few days of motorway blasts to get to the good bits.