[Whiskerfish]

Hello Gents. I just did my intro after being a lurker for a few years!


First of Feb I picked up a 08 (48,000 miles) as my first 6 cylinder Wing. Base model. Been going through and trying to bring the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance up to date. Nice looking bike but seems to have been neglected on the maintenance side and the fuel economy is not where it should be.


So Far I have:

Flushed Both brake systems
Flushed Clutch
Changed oil, filter
Changed plugs
Changed Air Filter (NASTY! maybe original)
Rebuilt front forks (Springs, bushing, seals, fluid)
Replace rear speaker wires
fixed the brake lever so the cruise works


etc etc etc lots of piddling stuff.


The reason I am here is a fuel economy issue. I have run through 6 full tanks so far in the last month and am getting about 35 mpg. For a while I thought I had a dragging brake issue but have eliminated that and no change. I do ride aggressively but yesterday I concentrated on being nice. 217 miles thruway and easy country roads fill up was 6.1 gallons for the same 35 mpg. Tire pressures are per the book and wheels spin freely. As a note it does have aftermarket Vance and Hines GL Monster Exhaust but no other performance/eng mods that I know of. Full set of wind wings and a Force 4 Tall Windshield

No error codes and no other issues. With nothing to go on I have ordered 2 new O2 sensors that will be here in about a week.

Looking for ideas or things to check in the meantime??

 

[Bullet Bob]

bump

 

[Captron]

That approx what I get for mileage 35- 38 MPG on my 2010
and I ride it very slow and easy, without trying to be a "hotrider" and I have 40,000 EASY (s)miles on my odometer ....
BUT I have to admit, it looks like it's time to replace that air filter.....Ugggggggggggggg

Ronnie

 

[griffalo]

I have an '07 Wing and I get between 32 and 38 mpg depending on my riding style. I've gotten as high as 41 before and as low as 30. I have just over 50k miles on the bike now, bought it with 36k on it. Don't forget that the speedo is probably off by about 6% so that will throw the odometer off as well. Not sure what you are expecting as far as mpg goes, but you're about average right now.

P.S. Welcome to the forum!!!!

 

[trewm]

I have an '08 with 103K and get around 40mph. Used to get around 42 but it dropped at some point. What kind of RPM are you running before shifting and what grade gas are you using? Unless you're throwing a code, your O2 sensors are fine. I had one go bad about 20,000 miles ago and it throw a code and my mpg when to under 30.

 

[JoeHall]

The MPG on my 2008 dropped to 30-32 during winter months, but recently with warming weather it is improving to 32-34. I know winterized gasoline is part of the problem in my region, and have heard all that means is they inject more air into the gas, which reduces MPG. Last summer/fall, I got 36-38 MPG mostly, but have topped 40 MPG a few times when riding on rural roads, at 40-55 MH.

So it sounds like yours is getting about average MPG.

 

[trewm]

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2013/06/what-is-the-difference-between-summer-and-winter-blend-gasoline/

 

[Whiskerfish]

40-42 is kind of what I have been expecting. I ride with several experienced 1800 guys and that is pretty much what they see. A few of us did a Black hills run last year and my poor 78 was drinking gas like water and they were buying drops and drizzles at each stop.



Yesterday's ride I took it easy and I really expected to see a jump from 35 but it did not happen. No codes but was told the O2 sensor code is triggered by a fault in the heater circuit not function? Either way I am thinking a soft failure could be responsible??



Hoping that tomorrow may be dry enough to get out for a ride. I plan to pull the plugs and inspect then throw some cleaner in the gas just for giggles.

 

[INTHEWIND]

That's about normal, my 2005 would get 35-40 if I rode nice.:smile2:
My new bike gets 48-50 routinely , if Im nice on 2 lane roads, I've seen 55 mpg.:smile2:

 

[Exultrarider]

Might be done already, but you can reset computer by running until fans come on without touching throttle.

 

[Andy Cote]

Not previously mentioned but most guys run higher than factory spec air pressure. Check the tires sub-board. for opinions (of which there are many).

 

[Hank VanKampen]

A lot of good comments already. If you run over 65mph with that big windscreen and those pipes I doubt if you will be able to improve on it. The only time I do better than 38-39 is if I run at 55mph or less. Good luck and just enjoy the feeling of twisting that grip.

 

[networkguy3]

Mileage

I get my best mileage in the mountains and that is about 38-42 when I'm not being excessively throttle happy.

You mentioned several things that are bad for gas mileage, your riding style, your windshield, and the wind wings all cost gas mileage. In Kansas, if I ride very sedately under 65 mph and there is no real wind to contend with, I can get 36, but that is very unusual. I generally get 33-34 MPG. i have far too much fun to get 40 MPG. BTW: I do shift generally at over 4K RPM.

 

[Whiskerfish]

SNIP What kind of RPM are you running before shifting and what grade gas are you using? SNIP .

Was not much shifting yesterday, just cruising. 20 miles of thruway (65-70 mph) to get out of town then rural roads (45-60 mph) in a big loop then 20 miles of thruway to come back into town on the other side. Saw 2 red lights and maybe 4 or 5 stop signs the whole route. Running regular 87.

 

[Bipeflier]

Get with your 1800 riding buddies, all fill up to the bottom of the filler neck while on the center stands, ride the tank out, repeat fill and compare amount of gas used. That will give you a good read.

I don't think you are that far off.

Honda mileage can account for some differences also but if you all ride together at the same speed mileage really doesn't count.

 

[grayelky]

I have an '08, and usually get around 38. I have gotten as high as 41, but that was before I learned to ride the GL1800, and use the throttle. I suppose I could get 40 MPG again, but I did not get the Wing for great mileage, I got it to enjoy. Which means around 36-38, if I am lucky. When I pull my trailer, I lose about 2 MPG.

 

[traveler46]

Hello Gents. I just did my intro after being a lurker for a few years!


First of Feb I picked up a 08 (48,000 miles) as my first 6 cylinder Wing. Base model. Been going through and trying to bring the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance up to date. Nice looking bike but seems to have been neglected on the maintenance side and the fuel economy is not where it should be.


So Far I have:

Flushed Both brake systems
Flushed Clutch
Changed oil, filter
Changed plugs
Changed Air Filter (NASTY! maybe original)
Rebuilt front forks (Springs, bushing, seals, fluid)
Replace rear speaker wires
fixed the brake lever so the cruise works


etc etc etc lots of piddling stuff.


The reason I am here is a fuel economy issue. I have run through 6 full tanks so far in the last month and am getting about 35 mpg. For a while I thought I had a dragging brake issue but have eliminated that and no change. I do ride aggressively but yesterday I concentrated on being nice. 217 miles thruway and easy country roads fill up was 6.1 gallons for the same 35 mpg. Tire pressures are per the book and wheels spin freely. As a note it does have aftermarket Vance and Hines GL Monster Exhaust but no other performance/eng mods that I know of. Full set of wind wings and a Force 4 Tall Windshield

No error codes and no other issues. With nothing to go on I have ordered 2 new O2 sensors that will be here in about a week.

Looking for ideas or things to check in the meantime??

I've owned an 01, 03, and 12. All three bikes ran in the area of 36MPG when I rode the 2-lane running between the small towns around here. When I ran a consistent speed on the 4-lane, 38-40MPG was normal for me,

 

[Hick]

Hello Gents. I just did my intro after being a lurker for a few years!


First of Feb I picked up a 08 (48,000 miles) as my first 6 cylinder Wing. Base model. Been going through and trying to bring the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance up to date. Nice looking bike but seems to have been neglected on the maintenance side and the fuel economy is not where it should be.


So Far I have:

Flushed Both brake systems
Flushed Clutch
Changed oil, filter
Changed plugs
Changed Air Filter (NASTY! maybe original)
Rebuilt front forks (Springs, bushing, seals, fluid)
Replace rear speaker wires
fixed the brake lever so the cruise works


etc etc etc lots of piddling stuff.


The reason I am here is a fuel economy issue. I have run through 6 full tanks so far in the last month and am getting about 35 mpg. For a while I thought I had a dragging brake issue but have eliminated that and no change. I do ride aggressively but yesterday I concentrated on being nice. 217 miles thruway and easy country roads fill up was 6.1 gallons for the same 35 mpg. Tire pressures are per the book and wheels spin freely. As a note it does have aftermarket Vance and Hines GL Monster Exhaust but no other performance/eng mods that I know of. Full set of wind wings and a Force 4 Tall Windshield

No error codes and no other issues. With nothing to go on I have ordered 2 new O2 sensors that will be here in about a week.

Looking for ideas or things to check in the meantime??

My 07 with 120,000 miles on it get an average of 37 mpg.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Full set of wind wings and a Force 4 Tall Windshield

Have you tried lessening how much wind you push ... remove the Wind Wings and go back to a stock windscreen.

 

[Soontobeone]

The lowest I've had on my '07 is 34mpg, and the highest is 47mpg. I mostly do freeway. However, I have noticed that using 10w-30 oil gives me consistently better mileage, than 10w-40 oil. That big windscreen is an MPG Killer.

Since you changed the spark plugs, you might want to consider changing out the spark plug wires, especially since you said that maintenance seemed to be lacking.