26 miles per gallon?

[Semper-guzzi]

26 sounds poor to me. I get. About 38-48 depending on how much wrist I give the 01 Jackal.

[Aaron D.]

Folks, he calculated MPG by dividing his odo reading by TOTAL TANK CAPACITY.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Where's that roll eye emoticon?

[MotoGoosy]

Where's that roll eye emoticon?

Yes, 26 is a conservative estimate, but when that light comes on, I get gas and it is empty when I open the cap and look inside.

[Triple Jim]

You'll be a lot closer to the real number if you use the miles traveled and the actual gallons on the pump display.

[Kev m]

Yes, 26 is a conservative estimate, but when that light comes on, I get gas and it is empty when I open the cap and look inside.

No it is not, not even remotely empty. And mathematically that was a horrible method of trying to guestimate mileage.

I can't think of a motorcycle I've owned in the past decade where I could actually see the fuel level past a certain point.

The California was definitely included. It could easily have more than a GALLON left and you couldn't see it.

I forget exactly when my low fuel light used to come on for the Jackal, maybe 3.4 or 3.6 gallons used OUT OF FIVE... now assuming there's MAYBE an unusable amount of 0.25-0.5 gallons, that still leaves ABOUT A GALLON LEFT (maybe more).

The only way to somewhat accurately calculate how much fuel you used (like on all vehicles) is to fill it up again and note how much it takes to get back to the same level, then use THAT number to divide into the miles traveled since the last fill up.

For example, let's say you went 140 miles before the light came on (that was pretty common for me IIRC) and you pulled over and put in 3.4 gallons, that would mean 140 miles/3.4 g = 41.2 mpg.

But if you did the same thing and divided by FIVE because you ASSumed (drink) the tank was empty then you would get 140 / 5 = 28 MPG, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's not a conservative estimate, it's a ridiculous guess.

[rocker59]

Loosely.  This week was the first time and I just took the mileage off the odo before and after fillups and divided it by 19 liters.

You have got to be kidding. 

How many miles on the ODO?  How many gallons on the fuel pump?

You're not putting 19L/5-gal into that tank.  more likely, you're putting in about 3.6 gallons at 120 miles, or so.

Which means your around town mileage is in the low 30s...

SMH... 

[190 Octane]

You have got to be kidding. 

How many miles on the ODO?  How many gallons on the fuel pump?

You're not putting 19L/5-gal into that tank.  more likely, you're putting in about 3.6 gallons at 120 miles, or so.

Which means your around town mileage is in the low 30s...

SMH...

That is spot on for both my 02 and 03.  Commuting/around town riding the light comes on at 120 miles and it takes around 3.5 gallons to fill the tank, typically putting my mileage in the mid 30's.  On the highway I usually get low to mid 40's, and up to 50 mpg whenever I can get corn-free gas.  I've had one trip where I dipped into the 20's, it was a ride along the coast fighting strong head and cross winds while trying to maintain 70+ mph.

[Mark West]

Loosely.  This week was the first time and I just took the mileage off the odo before and after fillups and divided it by 19 liters.

If you're measuring MPG, where do the liters come in?

As far as the mileage goes, I'd measure at least 3 tanks worth and see what the average is. If its still in the 20's, I'd get it checked. The worst mileage I ever got was 28 on my 01 Cal Special and that was riding about 100 miles into a hellacious headwind. Otherwise it got high 30's to low 40's.

[ejs]

 
My Cal.EV 1999 are between 0.55L to 0.65L pr.MIL.(high 30. miles)
 

[Aaron D.]

For some reason I suspect Mr. Moto Goosey is laughing. Every single post is like this.

[Chuck-D]

No it is not, not even remotely empty. And mathematically that was a horrible method of trying to guestimate mileage.
...
But if you did the same thing and divided by FIVE because you ASSumed (drink) the tank was empty then you would get 140 / 5 = 28 MPG, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's not a conservative estimate, it's a ridiculous guess.

well, it could be further from the truth. He could have estimated his mileage to be "potato"

[stmike]

For some reason I suspect Mr. Moto Goosey is laughing. Every single post is like this.

I really hope he's laughing; otherwise we're talking the proverbial "box of rocks" or "bag of hammers".

[rodekyll]

well, it could be further from the truth. He could have estimated his mileage to be "potato"

That reminds me -- my potatoes sprouted.  Well, some of them.  I'm 4/5 for seed potatoes and 0/5 for produce counter spuds of the same type.

This might be the most productive post in the topic.   

[rodekyll]

Already did it.  I call it a frankintater.  You core out a russet (I use a fid) and insert your choice of brat.  Wrap in foil and bake on the back of the grill.

[Chuck in Indiana]

That reminds me -- my potatoes sprouted.  Well, some of them.  I'm 4/5 for seed potatoes and 0/5 for produce counter spuds of the same type.

This might be the most productive post in the topic.   

I was wondering how that experiment would turn out..

[Kev m]

well, it could be further from the truth. He could have estimated his mileage to be "potato"

ROTFLMAO!

 

 Touche and good point.

[Aaron D.]

I was wondering how that experiment would turn out..

I've had some luck with produce potatoes, but many are treated to keep them from sprouting so as not to frighten the city folk. We had decent luck with a bag of Andean varieties.

[Lannis]

For some reason I suspect Mr. Moto Goosey is laughing. Every single post is like this.

You'd think that people would remember from month to month.   But people get hooked in every single time.   The newbies are probably wondering "Why are some of the guys not taking this nice man seriously?"

BWAAAHHHahahahaha.   Oh, wait, that's already been used ....

Lannis

[Guzzidad]

   I don't know if this applies to Guzzis or not but I experienced a drop in mileage from 44mpg to 30mpg on my Triumph Tiger. The mechanic at my local dealer suggested a lot of possibilities. I didn't buy into any of them. Finally I replaced the O rings on the end of the injectors and it cured the problem. Back up to 40mpg. Cost me about $2.50. The Tiger has 106,000 miles and runs like new. But my Guzzi only has 97,000 miles. Never had to pull the injectors yet. Don't even know if they have O rings or not.

[rodekyll]

Yes, they have what can only be described as the balloon tire of O-rings.  Way fat for the size, and capable of getting brittle over time and the bad effects of built-up crud/heat/cooling.  I just reviewed mine with about 30k on the clock -- getting a little stiff, but still look like they seal.  You can check with a squirt of your favorite check fluid (wd40 or whatever) at the injector root.  A 'noticeable' change in rpm strongly suggests a leaky o-ring.