A Fuel Efficient Beast Gen 8 is.

[RC79NC001]

A Fuel Efficient Beast Gen 8 is.

Thanks to Grum for a previous post touting the efficiency of the 8^th Gen. It’s true.

Yesterday I went for a ride. I rode until the low fuel warning light came on . I kept riding.

When I filled up these were the numbers.

308 Miles. 5.43 Gallons of No Alcohol Unleaded to fill the tank to the very top.

That works out to slightly over 56 miles per gallon. I was not trying to maximize fuel economy but, I

Never was in VTEC mode either. Most of the riding was done in rolling hills and at one point I was

Stuck in stop and go traffic ( road construction ) for at least 10 minutes. When the 1 gallon remaining

Warning started flashing I became more conscious of not wanting to run out of gas before I reached

The gas station ( with no alcohol gas ) I wanted to patronize. That did not prevent me from passing

an aggressively driven truck  going up a steep hill.

 

 

 

[Magneto]

Impressive result but skewed by using pure gasoline. About 10% compared to corned gas.

[Cogswell]

The best I recall getting on my G6 has been in the low 40's and that was after installing the Rapid Bike.  If the 56mpg is closer to the low 50's on E10, that's still in the range of a 20 to 25% (or more) improvement over the G6.  Looking at the parts, between G6 and G8,  the injectors, exhaust cams and valves appear to have the same part numbers, while intake cams, pistons and head differ.  It would sure be interesting to know what Honda did to wring that out of it.  If anyone has a line on that, it would be great to get that intel.  

[Terry]

9 hours ago, Cogswell said:

The best I recall getting on my G6 has been in the low 40's and that was after installing the Rapid Bike.  If the 56mpg is closer to the low 50's on E10, that's still in the range of a 20 to 25% (or more) improvement over the G6.  Looking at the parts, between G6 and G8,  the injectors, exhaust cams and valves appear to have the same part numbers, while intake cams, pistons and head differ.  It would sure be interesting to know what Honda did to wring that out of it.  If anyone has a line on that, it would be great to get that intel.  

They probably just recalibrated the odometer so it reads 25% high....

[Magneto]

Who woulda think so many lawyers frequent the board 😉

 

Lawyer getting out of speeding ticket by airplane in Florida: (To unfamiliar, trooper in the plane times a car between quarter   mile marks purposely painted on a highway.) Q to Smokey in a court: how do you know marks are quarter mile apart? Sargent told me so. Court adjourn. Same Q to Sargent at next proceedings. I measured the distance with a tape myself! Lawyer: when was the tape certified for official  use last time - as required by statute? Eeeee.... Dismissed. Next case!

[fink]

That’s nearly 70 mpg by imperial gallons can’t get anywhere near that on mine. 

[slowbird]

That's really good but by no means an 8th gen specific feat imo.

My average for my 5th gen is 4.7L/100kms (50mpg) and my all time best is 4.3L/100kms (around 55mpg) and that's just normal riding. My 4th gen VFR750 did about the same.

 

I'm sure most bikes if the revs were kept down low like you did would get great MPG too. 

[RC79NC001]

It shows what a fantastic design the VFR is ( all generations ). Fun and efficient if you need it to be.

[dani]

I was also able to get 56 mpg on one long trip, but got scared and filled up at 245 miles although could probably go another 30-40 miles. My 2014 has a 2 bros exhaust. The 2007 VFR which is setup for touring with more luggage, tail pack and Aus made exhaust gets much less now. I think the exhaust made it eat more - more like low to mid 40's. 

[VifferCrab]

I’ve never understood fuel mileage posts,  no offense.  
 

I know exactly zero people that purchase motorcycles for their fuel efficiency.     Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’ve never once calculated MPG on any bike I’ve owned.   I ride it,   fill it up,  ride it again.    Rinse and repeat...

 

I’m not even sure I’ve ever looked at the price displayed on the gas pump since it’s such a small number.  
 

I dunno,  maybe it’s just me. 

[Grum]

2 hours ago, VifferCrab said:

I’ve never understood fuel mileage posts,  no offense.  
 

I know exactly zero people that purchase motorcycles for their fuel efficiency.     Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’ve never once calculated MPG on any bike I’ve owned.   I ride it,   fill it up,  ride it again.    Rinse and repeat...

 

I’m not even sure I’ve ever looked at the price displayed on the gas pump since it’s such a small number.  
 

I dunno,  maybe it’s just me. 

Have to agree to a degree, the good tank range on the vfr800 has always been in the back of my mind as one of the pros of the bike.

Tank range has often been seen as a bit of a  negative with the 1200.

It's just a nice thing to discover that better than expected fuel economy is a bonus, with longer distances between fill ups.

Kind of gives you a warm cosy feeling that all is good with the engine as well.

[VFR78]

I didn’t buy the VFR for the fuel range, but after having ridden across Australia and through outback Queensland, I’ve come to realise range is one of the most important things for my type of riding. There are some fantastic bikes out there eg Kwaka Z900RS Cafe etc, but 17 litres in a tank is a bit light on when crossing the Nullarbor.

 

There is one VFR drawback though, 22 litres up high can be a bit disconcerting, when you put your foot down on dodgy ground.

[Cogswell]

Range is also the main consideration for me vs economy.   Like in Australia, there are some places I go where stops are few and far between.  I also check it occasionally just as a check on the engine's overall health.  If economy becomes significantly off it could indicate something needs service.  I do the same with my cars. 

[St. Stephen]

19 minutes ago, Cogswell said:

Range is also the main consideration for me vs economy.   Like in Australia, there are some places I go where stops are few and far between.  I also check it occasionally just as a check on the engine's overall health.  If economy becomes significantly off it could indicate something needs service.  I do the same with my cars. 

Couldn't agree more. To get 300 miles on a tank would actually really change my motorcycle travel, for the better. Of course, the designers have to figure out where to put all that fuel. And looks sell on the showroom floor. But when I read, for example, 3.7 gallon tank, that is an automatic deal killer.

 

I've gone 200 miles on my 7th gen (without intending to!). But really, I fill up at 140 or 150 miles. My bikes have generally gotten 40-45mpg, so that really won't change unless you want to give up performance and get a 700 twin.

[RC1237V]

I always wondered if I could go more than 170 miles on a tank, if I would do so. It feels good to get the legs stretched and blood flowing in the bum, after a few hours in the saddle. Never went that far on the 3rd gen, and the 7th gen, well let's just say she's a big thirsty bitch... so 170 is about it.

[VifferJ]

+1 to the above posts, fuel efficiency isn't about fuel cost for me, it's about being able to make it to the next gas station in the rural parts of the PNW. I as well like to stop and stretch before riding through a full tank, but that doesn't mean there will be a gas station around when I stop to stretch.

 

 

 

[Skids]

Purely anecdotally,  the 8th Gen engine on my 800X burns less fuel for the same ride than either of my previous 5th and 6th Gens. 

 

It's not the main reason i bought the bike, but it is nice to know i can easily exceed 200 miles if i choose to. 

[VifferCrab]

Yep,   I'm willing to agree that I may be in the minority.   I also it's probably because I rarely,  if ever,  take my bikes more than say 100-150 miles from home.   So,   MPG and range just aren't things that are on my personal radar.  

 

Do you guys find that the Manufacturers stated average MPG is not what you see in real life?    

[TimC]

8 hours ago, VifferJ said:

+1 to the above posts, fuel efficiency isn't about fuel cost for me, it's about being able to make it to the next gas station in the rural parts of the PNW. I as well like to stop and stretch before riding through a full tank, but that doesn't mean there will be a gas station around when I stop to stretch.

 

I agree.  I'm going to stop every 60-90 minutes on a trip or long day anyway, but it's nice when my rest stop can be done at a gas station so I don't have to stop twice.

 

My current bike's 4.5 US gallon tank is smaller than I'd like.  I haven't really kept track of fuel economy, but I think it's around 40 mpg.  It should be higher, but my excess weight drags it down probably 10%.  (But I'm working on that.)  The problem is you can never really fill the tank.  The bike has no centerstand, and leans over 2-3 degrees more on its sidestand when compared to a VFR.  I can get 110-120 miles before the low fuel warning light comes on (there is no gauge on this bike), and I don't wait too long to find a gas station, and even then I can only put about 3 gallons in before the pump shuts off automatically.  (My bike has a fuel filler neck, so you can't really see how much fuel is in the tank while you're filling it.)

 

I ended up buying a couple small canisters for fuel, to carry with me on trips just in case I run out of gas between stations.  But between the two small containers it's only about half a gallon of gas.  Still, better safe than sorry.  Also, I started carrying a siphon hose last year during trips.  Hopefully I'll never need it.

[Mohawk]

I'm now convinced you all have broken right wrists. I couldn't get 50mpg out of my 5th gen if it was on a trailer 😂

 

Ride it like ya stole it 😁👍

[VFR4Me]

Some days you just wanna go for miles...8th gen tank and fuel economy sure help with that... allows you to put the tourer in the sports tourer 

[Calculon]

In all my previous bikes I checked and calculated MPG but I didn't really do that for my Gen 6 VFR.  However, I was very surprised that I could get 200 miles out of a tank without trying too hard.  It's a surprisingly efficient bike and that's great.  I rode my buddies Gen 8 all over the Tucson area and beyond and was equally pleased with the efficiency.  It's just nice to know when you are out on a tour that you got the legs to go the distance.

 

Another big plus is that it only requires 87 octane fuel.

[Airfiddler]

I once owned an NC750..........now that baby was frugal. 3.2 litres per 100 KM was easily achievable. I saw 2.9 on several occasions. 14 litre tank, same range as my VFR with a 22 lite tank.  I I could adjust the valves myself in 30 minutes. storage where the gas tank is normally. kinda miss those features....... that is until I go and look at my "Arrest me red" VFR. 🙂

[Smack]

I recall going for a 'mileage run' on my '86 750 once.  Those carburetors returned 55 MPG.

Wasn't all that fun; much better to ride 'normally' at 45-50 MPG.

[SpookyDriver]

I'm also in the "range matters" category.  I rarely calculate my fuel efficiency unless I'm on a timed ride, like some of the IBA challenges.  However, there are parts of Texas where I've had a few occasions when I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the next fuel stop (and more than once, I didn't.)  I often carry a 1/2 gal MSR bottle in my tail bag just for that reason when I'm riding one of my smaller bikes, including the VFR.  Luckily, I haven't needed to use it on any of my rides...yet.