New owner, gas mileage question?

[Jowen423]

Hi everyone!

So I just bought a 150cc buddy international a few weeks back and I am only getting about 50 miles to a tank. But every time I fill up I can only in 1 gallon max, and my feul gage is as far in the red as it can go

How many miles can get out of 1 tank, I though it was supposed to be around 80...

please help

[bpatrick5]

I posted a question the topic a while back. Here's the thread.

http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15115&highlight=gas+tank+capacity

[iMoses]

wow, 50 per tank is not much... perhaps you will get more after the break in period... the way you ride is one of many determining factors as far as mileage is concerned.

I'm 6', 230lbs., and I get about 120 miles per tank on our 125cc Buddy. Though that is normal riding... when I have to ride WOT I notice that I get a lot less mpg

[ed85379]

After 4 recorded tanks, it looks like I am averaging 71mpg on my broken-in Blackjack. But only 4 tanks isn't much to base an average on, so I'm still withholding judgment.

Also, my commute is almost entirely stop & go traffic with lights, so I wouldn't expect to get the "ideal" 90mpg advertised for the BlackJack.

[Skootz Kabootz]

Check that you are indeed filling up the tank to capacity (1 inch to spare from the top). If you are just sticking the nozzle in the tank and letting it shut itself off it will not be filling all the way until full (in CA). You need to pull the sleeve back manually and then fill up.

Gas milage will improve as the scooter breaks in (about 2000 miles). I now average just under 80mpg on my St. Tropez and can go about 115-120 miles max on a full tank before I'm pushing the scooter to the nearest gas station (I ride hard and would probably get better milage if I'd just ease up ). If I'm not running it really dry my fill ups are generally about 1.1 to 1.2 gallons on average. Something in that general amount. You can check my Fuelly log (click on the icon in my signature).

You'll also find your top speed increases considerably after the break-in period. I gained 10-15 mph.

[gearhead]

with 50mpg... what's there to worry? that's still great gas mileage hehe

[Dooglas]

The fuel gauge is notoriously unreliable as your 1 gallon fill-ups appear to demonstrate. I would expect your mileage to increase to the 70-80 mpg range unless you weigh over 300 lbs and go everywhere WOT.

[Jowen423]

Thank for all the info everybody

ok so sounds like it will hopefully get better. Just filled up my third tank last night 150 miles overall total. Was so nervous that I was gonna run out of gas on one of the hills in SF while trying to get to a gas station with the needle totally in the red.

I could see that was still gas in the tank when I took the cap off, a bit worried that maybe there is something wrong with my gage....

[Howardr]

And remember, your tank holds 1.5 gallons or so. If you're only able to put in 1 gallon, you've still got a lot of miles left in your tank when it shows empty.

Howard

[MYSCTR]

[ericalm]

It may also be that you're not actually completely filling the tank. This is a particular problem in CA and other states that require the gas nozzle sleeve, which will often cause the pump to shut off too soon.

From this thread:

[gearhead]

is this common in texas too? I know there is a shut off on the spout when the gas reaches near the nozzle.

[MYSCTR]

[ericalm]

[cheez37]

[TVB]

[Dooglas]

This is why I gas up from a fuel container in my garage whenever possible.

[bpatrick5]

I've never ran the St. Tropez out of gas, but typically fill up when the needle hits the stopper at E. To date, the most I've ever added was about 1.15 gallons. In AZ, the gas pump doesn't have that sleeve around it. So, you can just cantilever the filler in the buddy tank and generally fill it. I suspect that I'm generally filling it with about .2-.3 gallons remaining. I get about 75 mpg between fill ups. One day, I'm going to run it dry and see what the fill up looks like.

[Skootz Kabootz]

Well it had to happen some time (OK, maybe it didn't have to happen, but it did).

I ran out of gas... so here are the facts and figures for your edification:

Miles travelled since last fill up: 115.0
Gallons to fill empty tank: 1.424
MPG until running out of gas: 80.8

I tell ya, running out of gas happens quick! Fortunately I was only about 1/2 mile from a gas station. Incase this helps anyone, here's something I learned,

when running on fumes, the engine will continue running longer on level ground or pointing downhill than it will going up hill. I was traveling up hill when I sputtered to a stop. Once I got to the top of hill the flatter angle of the gastank allowed the gas to shift forward enough that I could start the engine again for a little bit. Ask me how happy I was to discover this It stalled out again just as I pulled up to the pump about two blocks away. Perfect. All in all I only ended pushing my scooter about 500yds uphill.

[Hwarang]

I kept detailed files last summer. I averaged out at 81.3 MPG on my Buddy125. The engine is least efficient if you do a lot of driving above 50 (with it wound out for long stretches).