Gas mileage by different speeds

rick71454 · Post by **rick71454** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:40 pm

Hello Buddyland:

Anyone notice how your miles per gallon might change by the way you accelerate, cruise speed, and decelerate? Anyone figure out the actual cruise speed that gets you the best MPG?

Rick71454
Portland Oregon USA

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:33 pm

acceleration not so much. I can be heavy on the throttle and it doesn't seem to affect it by more than 1 or 2 mpg, so no reason not to flog them.

However, lots of stop/go traffic, riding into the wind, or long periods on hilly roads/WOT do seem to drop it more significantly.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:32 pm

Wind has been the biggest threat to my top speed and best MPG's. That stuff sucks.

I don't see much difference when I "baby it" for a tank vs. riding the hell out of it. So I ride the hell out of it.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:22 pm

Yeah, I've tried babying vs. thrashing, but it seems to me the biggest factor is the stop & go of my route. During the summer when I rode to work almost every day (no kids to take to school!), I'd be in the 67-70mpg range, based on taking pretty much the same streets day after day. Pretty stable. But on weekends, if I could get away for a few hours and take a longer/faster trip, I hit my best tank mpg of 97 or so. This was doing around 50-60bmph on state/US roads with few stops.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 11:42 pm

Yup, starting and stopping is the biggest contributor. This is why city mileage is so much less than highway.

With a small-engined scooter, the number of factors that can have a discernible on MPG is vast. Basically, any change in conditions, from weather to how much pizza you had for lunch. Because of this, there's no optimum speed for best MPG. BUT…

Here are a few ways to improv/maximize your MPGs:
1. Tire pressure! Keep it around 30psi front/back, measured when he tires are cold, i.e., the scoot's been sitting. Invest in a decent gauge, not that $1 stick thing from the Walgreens check out line.
2. Replace the tires when the tread gets down to the wear indicator bars.
3. Get a windshield.
4. Keep the scooter properly maintained. Engine oil changes every 2K. Yes, the proper weight and viscosity matter. Gear oil changes every 4K. Clutch and variator cleaned, belt and rollers replaced as needed. Valves and brakes checked as recommended.
5. Ride sensibly. Don't be aggressive. Don't ride like I do.

6. Plan routes that avoid stops and hills.
7. Don't worry too much about it.

Hypermiling (driving/riding to maximize fuel economy) on a scooter like this will likely yield very small results. Your main benefit will be, maybe, in how far you can go between fill ups. As far as cost savings, negligible.

Assuming $4/gallon gas price, the difference in gas cost per mile ridden when you're getting 90MPG vs. 120MPG is 1¢ (rounding up). Even at $5/gallon, your savings would only be ¢2/mile. As your fuel economy improves, your savings will actually decrease. At $5/gallon, rounding up to the nearest cent, the savings between 120MPG and 140MPG is 0. (Here's an easy to use calculator.)

You're not going to be able to improve your economy by 20-30 MPGs unless you invest a lot of money into making an already very efficient engine more efficient, which kind of defeats the purpose!

monnoracing · Post by **monnoracing** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:00 am

If its over 70 mpg im happy. I have noticed the cold weather drops the mpg along with top speed.

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:44 am

There are lots of contributing factors, as ericalm mentioned, however, speed definitely can be a factor.

My Buddy 125 typically gets 85-90 mpg, EXCEPT:

If I do predominantly freeway riding (like on a long trip) it drops a bit (80-85), and when I took the MSF course (2 days of stop and start, and pretty much 10-20mph max, for 4 hours each day), it got 65 mpg.