Fuel economy claims

gyjoe · 02-17-2009, 09:57 AM

Okay, we've all been entertained by the 100+ mpg claims given by the manufacturers and vendors of the Chinese 200cc dual-sports, and have long since determined them to be heavily distorted. Detractors say that this is just a little more evidence that Chinese motorcycle makers and sellers lack credibility. But now it appears that Suzuki is jumping on the bandwagon by inflating their figures for the DR200:

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/DR200SEK9

Coincidence or has Suzuki felt the need to make the same claims as the Chinese? In any case don't get me wrong, I would love to have a DR, even if it would "only" get 70 mpg in the real world.

BillR · 02-17-2009, 06:27 PM

GYJoe wrote:

Quote:

Coincidence or has Suzuki felt the need to make the same claims as the Chinese? In any case don't get me wrong, I would love to have a DR, even if it would "only" get 70 mpg in the real world.

Tie your bike onto a test stand, no rider, no wind, no stop and go........
I bet my GY-5 would "really" get 105 mpg then.

Here's how the EPA says it's done:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml

Another comment on how a bike is tested:

Quote:

Fuel Economy Measurement

Motorcycle fuel economy is measured on just one test. That being the EPAâ€™s Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) city test. While your car is driven on the same test cycle, it is only one of 5-tests to determine a 2008 or newer automobiles fuel economy.

April, 2008 LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/classified/au...,4178645.story

Smoke and mirrors.

"Just smile and wave boys.......Just smile and wave."
:wink: (the penguin commander in the movie Madagascar)

Too much time on my hands, too much time on my hands.........
Bill

chriseck · 02-17-2009, 08:46 PM

Im getting between 62 and 70 mpg open road riding at 50-60mph on my Roketa 200 enduro.This depends on the wind/temp and road conditions for me. Mostly flat roads here in north Florida. I saw an ad on craigs list where the guy was saying a easy 100mpg with this 200cc Lifan enduro he was selling.Thats what he said he was getting. He must not have been good in math at school.

BillR · 02-17-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriseck

Im getting between 62 and 70 mpg open road riding at 50-60mph on my Roketa 200 enduro.This depends on the wind/temp and road conditions for me. Mostly flat roads here in north Florida. I saw an ad on craigs list where the guy was saying a easy 100mpg with this 200cc Lifan enduro he was selling.Thats what he said he was getting. He must not have been good in math at school.

I get the same numbers as you do on mine.
24 mile round trip commute to work, city/country road mix and you gotta ride with the traffic if you don't want to get mowed down :twisted:
Maybe if I kept it around 5-6k RPM (indicated 40-45mph and as we all know that ain't how fast you are really going :wink: ), I might see 80-90 mpg.
Gotta get a bicycle speedo and get some "real" numbers.......... :wink:
Bill

TheRealWorld · 02-17-2009, 09:45 PM

I put a small sprocket on the rear of my 250 Hi Bird and drive about 40 mph all the time and usually on the level. I used 10 gallons of gas to get 1000 miles on the odometer. There is a catch, my odometer says miles but it is really KM. So I might be getting as high as 70 mpg, but I drive slow and stay on the level. I am happy with it.

SpeedSouth · 02-17-2009, 10:17 PM

I've only checked mine once...it was 88 mpg.

I should get a chance to check it again before too long, and I'll have the gps to verify speed and distance. I might also have my smaller rear sprocket installed then too, which will make a difference.

I was thinking maybe some of the claims are a mix up between miles and km....but I'm just guessing. My speedo is mph, but the odo is km...so I had to convert before I did my math.

One other note about my 88 mpg....the clip on my needle is at the top (I think that's right) and allows the least amount of fuel flow possible through the carb. Any carbs with the clip further down the needle will be burning more fuel, I would think.

TheRealWorld · 02-17-2009, 11:17 PM

You are probably right on the C clip adjustment, as long as you can get it started and warmed up and your not climbing hills. I may check mine again when weather warms up. I keep my RPMs down.

katoranger · 02-18-2009, 07:59 AM

I get right about 70mpg with my mods. Clip is at the bottom, larger main jet, and opened up air filter and exhaust. I also usually ride it pretty hard. The best I saw was 75 and the worst in the low 60s. That was due to the gas tank leaking.

I think 80-90 is possible in the right conditions.

Allen

Cal25 · 02-18-2009, 10:54 AM

On my HiBird 250, I got about 70 miles to the gallon acording to the factory speedo. With the trail tech speedo, the MPG turns out to be 50.
Most of my riding ends up being at higher speeds on farm to Market roads.I suppose I would get better numbers if it was ridden at lower speeds around town. That said, I bought the bike for the enjoyment and not gas saving so I am fine with the results.

katoranger · 02-18-2009, 11:14 AM

My odometer is actually pretty accurate. I have check it against the GPS. My real mileage may vary be a couple mpgs. I convert the kms in miles and the figure the mpgs.

Allen

chriseck · 02-18-2009, 05:15 PM

I wish I had a tach to see what the 17/45 gear combo that I have is pulling.I see that some are using a 17/42 gear, which should lower the top end rpms alittle for better mpg. My speedo is reading 2-3mph slower above 50mph than what the gps says.The lower speeds are dead on perfect with what the gps reads. How many rpms less will the 42 gear pull vs the 45 gear that I have? Also ,will the bike still pull 5th gear? Do you have to drag the clutch in first with the 42 gear in order to get the bike moving? My top end is 65mph on gps, I weigh 210lbs.

katoranger · 02-18-2009, 09:07 PM

I don't think you will be happy with a 42 at your size. I plan to go back to a 45 when I need another sprocket. I think the 42 is a touch to high.

Allen

Dragon · 02-18-2009, 10:04 PM

I concur that HiBird 250 speedo and odo are very bad.

Some Prius owners are getting close to 100 MPG by driving extremely conservatively. It think the official MPG of the Prius is probably around 50. So, I think it's very possible for china bike to do 100 MPG if you ride very conservatively.

But, I never see people ride conservatively (except maybe goldwingers).

Q · 02-19-2009, 07:21 AM

I get just over 50 mpg on my old Goldwing if I ride easy. My Lifan GY5 usually gets about 65 mpg but just putting around slowly I've gotten over 80. It's probably possible to get 100 mpg but that would be steady riding at about 25 mph.

I have a couple Lifan 110cc powered Trail 90s that will do 100 mpg with easy riding.

Q

02-17-2009, 09:57 AM	#1
gyjoe Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Duluth, MN Posts: 230	Fuel economy claims Okay, we've all been entertained by the 100+ mpg claims given by the manufacturers and vendors of the Chinese 200cc dual-sports, and have long since determined them to be heavily distorted. Detractors say that this is just a little more evidence that Chinese motorcycle makers and sellers lack credibility. But now it appears that Suzuki is jumping on the bandwagon by inflating their figures for the DR200: http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/DR200SEK9 Coincidence or has Suzuki felt the need to make the same claims as the Chinese? In any case don't get me wrong, I would love to have a DR, even if it would "only" get 70 mpg in the real world. __________________ 2006 Lifan LF200GY-5
	0

02-17-2009, 10:17 PM	#6
SpeedSouth Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Atlanta, Ga Posts: 710	I've only checked mine once...it was 88 mpg. I should get a chance to check it again before too long, and I'll have the gps to verify speed and distance. I might also have my smaller rear sprocket installed then too, which will make a difference. I was thinking maybe some of the claims are a mix up between miles and km....but I'm just guessing. My speedo is mph, but the odo is km...so I had to convert before I did my math. One other note about my 88 mpg....the clip on my needle is at the top (I think that's right) and allows the least amount of fuel flow possible through the carb. Any carbs with the clip further down the needle will be burning more fuel, I would think. __________________ 2008 American Lifan LF200 GY-5 (930 km) - Sold 2007 Kawasaki EX250 - Sold 2006 Kawasaki EX650R - My new ride! 2005 Kawasaki EX250 - A new project
	0

02-18-2009, 07:59 AM	#8
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	I get right about 70mpg with my mods. Clip is at the bottom, larger main jet, and opened up air filter and exhaust. I also usually ride it pretty hard. The best I saw was 75 and the worst in the low 60s. That was due to the gas tank leaking. I think 80-90 is possible in the right conditions. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

02-18-2009, 11:14 AM	#10
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	My odometer is actually pretty accurate. I have check it against the GPS. My real mileage may vary be a couple mpgs. I convert the kms in miles and the figure the mpgs. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

02-18-2009, 09:07 PM	#12
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	I don't think you will be happy with a 42 at your size. I plan to go back to a 45 when I need another sprocket. I think the 42 is a touch to high. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

02-17-2009, 08:46 PM	#3
chriseck Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Palm Harbor Fl. Posts: 52	Im getting between 62 and 70 mpg open road riding at 50-60mph on my Roketa 200 enduro.This depends on the wind/temp and road conditions for me. Mostly flat roads here in north Florida. I saw an ad on craigs list where the guy was saying a easy 100mpg with this 200cc Lifan enduro he was selling.Thats what he said he was getting. He must not have been good in math at school.
	0

02-17-2009, 09:45 PM	#5
TheRealWorld Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 817	I put a small sprocket on the rear of my 250 Hi Bird and drive about 40 mph all the time and usually on the level. I used 10 gallons of gas to get 1000 miles on the odometer. There is a catch, my odometer says miles but it is really KM. So I might be getting as high as 70 mpg, but I drive slow and stay on the level. I am happy with it.
	0

02-17-2009, 11:17 PM	#7
TheRealWorld Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 817	You are probably right on the C clip adjustment, as long as you can get it started and warmed up and your not climbing hills. I may check mine again when weather warms up. I keep my RPMs down.
	0

02-18-2009, 10:54 AM	#9
Cal25 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Terrell and Grapevine Tx. Posts: 1,585	On my HiBird 250, I got about 70 miles to the gallon acording to the factory speedo. With the trail tech speedo, the MPG turns out to be 50. Most of my riding ends up being at higher speeds on farm to Market roads.I suppose I would get better numbers if it was ridden at lower speeds around town. That said, I bought the bike for the enjoyment and not gas saving so I am fine with the results.
	0

02-18-2009, 05:15 PM	#11
chriseck Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Palm Harbor Fl. Posts: 52	I wish I had a tach to see what the 17/45 gear combo that I have is pulling.I see that some are using a 17/42 gear, which should lower the top end rpms alittle for better mpg. My speedo is reading 2-3mph slower above 50mph than what the gps says.The lower speeds are dead on perfect with what the gps reads. How many rpms less will the 42 gear pull vs the 45 gear that I have? Also ,will the bike still pull 5th gear? Do you have to drag the clutch in first with the 42 gear in order to get the bike moving? My top end is 65mph on gps, I weigh 210lbs.
	0

02-18-2009, 10:04 PM	#13
Dragon Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tejas Posts: 834	I concur that HiBird 250 speedo and odo are very bad. Some Prius owners are getting close to 100 MPG by driving extremely conservatively. It think the official MPG of the Prius is probably around 50. So, I think it's very possible for china bike to do 100 MPG if you ride very conservatively. But, I never see people ride conservatively (except maybe goldwingers). __________________ Chinabikeless
	0

02-19-2009, 07:21 AM	#14
Q Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bend, Oregon Posts: 348	I get just over 50 mpg on my old Goldwing if I ride easy. My Lifan GY5 usually gets about 65 mpg but just putting around slowly I've gotten over 80. It's probably possible to get 100 mpg but that would be steady riding at about 25 mph. I have a couple Lifan 110cc powered Trail 90s that will do 100 mpg with easy riding. Q
	0