[Elderjay]

I've been hearing a lot about oil and riding style, but I almost always get 29.9 mpg. The only time it goes up is freeway riding under cruise control. I used to get 33 mpg using the same techniques.

I use castrol without friction modifiers and a purolator long filter. After reading a recent post here I wonder if I'm not losing MPG because of the oil. I hear most of you say that oil affects shifting, but mine shifts pretty smoothly. I average 80 mph on the freeway and I do like to 'get on it' occasionally, but I did that before.

Before anyone suggests it, I have started it cold recently without touching the throttle until the fan kicked in. No change. I do have the original crush washer.

Oh yeah, I have 14k on the clock.

 

[phil H]

I GET PRETTY MUCH 40 MPG 1 OR 2 UP.SPEED DOESN'T MAKE A DRASTIC DIFFERENCE.

 

[pmstsc]

on the interstate i average 42mpg 1 or 2 up. in town it drops to around 38. i have 6k on mine. went on a trip today (270 mi), crusing around 80 honda miles/hr and got 43mpg.

 

[WingAirSpeed]

usually 40+. Thats at high speeds to boot.

 

[Guest]

I have always gotten 40-43 mpg.

 

[Wanderer]

Under 30 is a bit low but not out of the ballpark. Could be a bad sensor for the ECM screwing things up?

Mine is normally 34 mpg. I can ride it with little right wrist and get 40+ but, for me, it's not as much fun. Ride it the way you have the most fun and screw the gas mileage

 

[Guest]

I have only checked mileage one time, that was while on vacttion this past summer. 2 up, lots and lots of luggage (because of 2 up, you guys understand), either around town slow driving or around 90 on the interstate. At the end of the trip the average was 42 mpg. i was pleased considering the weight and type of driving.

 

[Elderjay]

Does anyone else use castrol? I'm curious if it could be costing me?

 

[Guest]

Castrol? No - AmsOil

 

[sdlyon5]

I generally run 36-40 MPG. Just an overall average. I don't check it all the time though. I switched to Amsoil at 12k miles and may have seen a slight improvement. I don't notice any great difference in shifting noise as others have claimed. Seems to me the 2nd gear clunk depends a lot on the RPM's at which you shift.

 

[chuck_b24]

Does anyone else use castrol? I'm curious if it could be costing me?

Hello what weight do you run??? 20/50 would cost you a little milege..10/40 should not....chuck..

 

[leaddog11]

gas mileage

I use castrol. Have for many years in all vehicles. I use 10W40 in bikes and I get a consistent 41-42 mpg with the 05 wing.

 

[MOPMan]

MPG

I doubt that your brand of oil would make enough difference to measure, but a higher weight oil might make a difference - especailly on shorter (10-15 mile rides). Wind is a much bigger factor - and you have lots of wind out there!

If you use to get a few more MPG than now, I would look for a restricted air filter (all that desert sand). If that's not the problem, I would ask you to consider if you have changed your riding style - more throttle after you got it broken in.

If you initially were shifting at about 2000 rpms and now you are shifting at 3000 rpms, that alone will drop your mileage several mpg and may explain why your mileage is up on longer (interstate) riding.

When comparing MPG with other riders, we need to talk actual or according to the bike's (inaccurate) odometer. We have recorded all fuel and odometer readings since new.

During the last 55g miles, we've used mile markers on several highways to determine that our GL1800 logs 107.2 miles whenever we travel 100 miles. (Slightly lower with a new rear tire, higher with a worn tire)

We get (corrected) 35-41 mpg most of the time. Much of the time we are pulling a heavy trailer but we are conservative riders most of the time. An mpg of 41.3 using our bike's odometer is more like 38.5 mpg, so until we started making corrections, we thought we were always getting over 40 mpg. That's depressing - maybe we shouldn't talk about corrected mpg after all!!

 

[jasonJonas]

here are the stats for my 05...

2005 Honda GL1800
Date Range: Beginning of Time to End of Time
Total Miles: 18,021.0
Total Cost: $1,160.82
Total Gallons: 492.729
Miles Per Gallon: 36.574
Price Per Gallon: $2.36
Total Liters: 1,864.979
Miles Per Liter: 9.663
Miles Per Dollar: 15.524
Cost Per Fillup: $12.62
Miles Per Fillup: 195.0
Gallons Per Fillup: 5.356

most of the miles are interstate miles and interstate speeds and have ranged from a low of 31 to a high of 47. just depends on the kind of driving you do. i'm quite happy with the 36.5 overall average.

almost always seeing ~30 mpg average would be a concern for me.

 

[MOPMan]

here are the stats for my 05...

Miles Per Gallon: 36.574

If those stats were on our bike, the corrected mileage would be only 34.123

 

[jasonJonas]

If those stats were on our bike, the corrected mileage would be only 34.123

yep. i'm not adjusting for actual miles. good point. how optimistic are the odometers. that's something i've never tested on the gl. may need to go for a ride before football starts.

edit: just saw your post above on how optimistic your odo is. hmmm... that sure seems like a lot. my other bikes are typically 6-7% optimistic on the speedo, but only 2-5% on the odo.

edit2: went for a ride to nashville today. using the gps i found the odo to be 4.5% optimistic over 200 miles.

 

[Hazle]

36 to 40

Id say Mine is Close to Jonas depending :?:

 

[Jchefboyardee]

avg 37 [email protected] 75 mph, 48 mpg @ 68 mph per two trips that i have clocked.

 

[cycledude]

average 43 mpg with my 02

previous 01 averaged 42 mpg but i think it might of had slightly more HP

 

[biglefti]

Ditto!!!

Under 30 is a bit low but not out of the ballpark. Could be a bad sensor for the ECM screwing things up?

Mine is normally 34 mpg. I can ride it with little right wrist and get 40+ but, for me, it's not as much fun. Ride it the way you have the most fun and screw the gas mileage