Over 100 BMPG

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:12 pm

After I had 1400 miles on my Buddy, I started checking the miles per gallon more accurately (actually the Buddy miles per gallon which with the odometer error is probably 10% high) and I'm getting slightly over 100.

I do much of my riding on local mountain roads and at speeds in the 50 - 60 mph range. I weigh in at 130 so that is probably a factor.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:15 pm

I'm getting around 90 before I get to a quarter of a tank, I could probably ride 120+ miles before I ran out of gas.

EP_scoot · Post by **EP_scoot** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:28 pm

WOW Tazio, that is fantastic!
I wonder if the BDUs are such because the speedometer is set for normal motorcycle size 16"-17" wheels? Having the smaller wheel would gives us the error. But now that I am thinking about it, if you are off only 10% or so, that theory would not make sense as it would make you be off a lot more..

Hmmm . . . back to the drawing board.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:51 pm

I had a 10% error on my 1985 VW Vanagon also. It was designed for 15" wheels originally but when they built them, VW used 14" wheels. Since there are no decent tires available for that weight vehicle in 14" size anymore, I installed the 15" GoWesty wheels which corrected the speedometer/odometer and improved the handling.

Perhaps the Buddy speedometer was used on something with 12" wheels.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:00 pm

Wait, so your saying 1 BDU= 1.1 mi. or .9 mi.

zekeo · Post by **zekeo** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:01 pm

A mechanic told me that motorcycles originally made their odometers fast so that warranties would run out faster...

Christy · Post by **Christy** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:36 pm

wait...i'm confused.

I know the speedometer is fast, but the odometer is wrong too?

I figured it measured miles correctly just not speed.......

no?

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:55 pm

So if I'm averaging 80-85 Buddy MPG, am I getting more like 90 MPG in real life
or more like only 75 MPG?! ...OOO, THAT WOULD SUCK!

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:16 pm

The speedo is 2-3 mph higher than you really are going. And I think the odometer is slightly off too, you may be going 10 miles, but it will say 10.8 or 11 miles.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:26 pm

DANG!

So what you're sayin' is I'm getting LESS mpg that it says? ...lame.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:45 pm

Now I'm curious. I just assumed that the odometer would be off the same percentage as the speedometer.

I have a Garmin 305 Edge that I use for cycling that is extremely accurate. I will use that and actually test the odometer milege against GPS milege. May not get around to it for a few days but will post the results when I have them.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:50 pm

Well, yes and no. It has been proven before that the buddy can get 90-100 miles per gallon truthfully. It's just the odometer "may" be off slightly.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:55 pm

My Blur odometer is WAAAY off, I've tested it with a GPS and it's closer to km than miles, but it's not KM either. The speedo usually shows about 110% of the GPS speed (the mph difference gets greater as you go faster, 110% of 20mph is only 22, but once you get to 65mph, it says you're going 71 or 72!) Of course speed isn't part of the mileage equation, but that gives you an idea how accurate the odometer might be.

there are many factors that affect mileage: accessories, modifications, wind, grade, road surface, tires, but I think the two most important ones are rider/gear weight and riding style.

A 90-lb'er who never goes above 2/3 throttle is going to get WAY better mileage than a 250-lb'er who's revving it out to race to the next stoplight and braking a lot. I think a 90lber could pull 100mpg under the right conditions, but most of us aren't getting close to that.

With such a small gas tank and such an inaccurate speedo and odometer (it seems like they might even vary from bike to bike or at least from year to year), I don't think anyone's getting a "real" MPG figure unless they're doing the full-on anal-retentive gas/mileage logbook over at least a few weeks of riding and averaging it out, then adjusting to their real mileage by comparing the odometer to some carefully-conducted GPS tests. I don't know anyone who can show me the paperwork that they're getting 100mpg, if you can, awesome, I'd love to see it (and I bet Genuine would, too!), I'd be very happy to be proven wrong, but I bet most Buddy owners are lucky to get 80mpg. Which is awesome, but it's not 100.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just think if you guys tested your mileage accurately, you'd be disappointed. Which you shouldn't be, because it's still loads better than just about anything else out there. Vespa claims 60mpg, and I bet they don't come close to that under 'real' conditions, either.

Bb.

Bethers · Post by **Bethers** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:37 pm

If the speedometer is off, the odometer is off also - unless something different is done on the scooters than is done in cars, trucks, etc. And I can't imagine that - as they work together.

Filled my tank today - must admit gas prices don't hurt as much when I was only getting .86 of a gallon