4.00 gas prices.

[motorcyclezen]

I swear when I was lost on the backroads of Virginia and Maryland last Saturday, gas was like $4.9995 and $4.9999. Finally saw one bold entrepeneur who had it over $5.00. Seriously glad I topped of in DC in my "no splooge, holes in my tank throat at 3 and 9" modified Vision tank. I did about 4 hours of riding and still had a gallon left in the tank (drained it).

Glad to see that advice is still only $0.02

I'm so broke now, I can't pay attention.

Ed--

[motorcyclezen]

They sure do make diesel bikes. Thanks to DoD. When I was on an LHA (amphib helo carrier) every thing with an engine ran on JP-5 (jet/turbine fuel), That's everything from forklifts and tow motors to AV-8B Harriers.

The M-1 Abrams tank has a turbine engine that will burn any type of fuel.

Ed--

[zore]

So figuring that my little 550 gets the worst fuel mileage out of any of the bikes I have owned ever, I decided to do something about it.  My average mileage has been 41 to 43 mpg.  My first plan was to rejet to lean it out a bit but I thought I'd do something easy like, slow the f*%k down.  So I did, instead of doing 70 to 75, I'm now doing 55 to 60.  What did I get for all this lack of breeze?  48.8 mpg and that was in stop and go traffic. 

I'm going to still try jetting it down since she's a bit on the rich side anyway.  I'll keep you posted.

[h2olawyer]

With the choice of my F250 (460 V-8) and 9 MPG around town / 13 MPG highway or the 43 MPG Vision, I find the bike does just fine.   ;D  Not sure how the carb swap will change mileage, though.  Am headed out for a 100 mile ride this afternoon to test that out.

My parent's traded off their Lincoln Town Car (14 MPG city / 23 MPG hwy) for a 2005 Mercury Montego.  (Mercury's sibling to the Ford Five Hundred)  That car is almost as big as the Town Car but its 3 liter V-6 & 6 speed auto is much less thirsty @ 21 city & 29 hwy.  Mom likes big cars and says the Montego is a nicer car to drive than the Town car was.  There was some drop in power, but the Montego does everything competently - even climbing high elevation mountain roads.  However, about 95% of its mileage is around town.  They generally put between 2000 - 3000 miles a year on their car, so high fuel prices aren't that big a deal to them.

H₂O

[Night Vision]

So figuring that my little 550 gets the worst fuel mileage out of any of the bikes I have owned ever, I decided to do something about it.  My average mileage has been 41 to 43 mpg.  My first plan was to rejet to lean it out a bit but I thought I'd do something easy like, slow the f*%k down.  So I did, instead of doing 70 to 75, I'm now doing 55 to 60.  What did I get for all this lack of breeze?  48.8 mpg and that was in stop and go traffic. 

I'm going to still try jetting it down since she's a bit on the rich side anyway.  I'll keep you posted.

yep... I get close to 50's on 55-60mph backroad rides....... 70-80mph on the flyway results in around 40mpg

but doing 55-60 in stop-n-go traffic  ::) is tough to do around here  ;)

[Brian Moffet]

Remember, air resistance (drag) goes up by velocity squared.  That means if you double your speed, the drag will quadruple.  Over coming that drag comes straight out of the gas tank...

So, only go faster when you have a tail-wind  ;D

[zore]

I'm seriously thinking of getting a buell 1200 or another triumph sprint st.  That 955 could get 55 to 60 mpg just riding normally. 

[Night Vision]

mmmmm.... the STT looks interesting, Uly too.... funny, their hwy mileage is higher than city..... kinda like a cage 

[Rick G]

The problem I have with AZ. is the vast distances, If I run along at 65 mph I get very close to 50 mpg . But on a 250 mile ride it feels like I'm crawling along. Even  80 mph doesn't feel that fast , when the trucks are  passing you doing 90 to 95 . Some of them have slowed down a bit though.
I always feel nervous when they pull along side , I've seen those destroyed  tyre caps along the I'll probably have to shorten my rides (yuk)  or slow down eventually (yuk).

[Coil Coyle]

Hey Coil

Where do you get your Bush Fan club icons from!

The thing is the world is running out of it's most important finite reserve. We'd better get used to pushing the Visions soon. No new refineries have been built for ages because of this. Now if the world would get rid of those huge SUV's it may just last a bit longer...

Glyn,

          They got 'em here. http://www.motherearth.org/bushwanted/wanted.php you can even download a poster.

;D
Coil

[Rick G]

Maybe we can just push them up a mountain and coast down, that would take dedication.
I don't believe motorcycles are part of the problem. If a million motorists would ride a motorcycle 2 or 3 days a week , we wouldn't have a problem for along time.

[macroars]

...or if Americans accepted less horsepowers in their cars. As I stated earlier, I am riding my VW Eurovan more fuel efficient than my Vision.

[kwells]

My V gets around 47mpg when riding normal so that's more than acceptable.  I was getting 50mpg on the Sprint a couple weekends ago when me and Inane did Guanella pass and some dual sporting.  Last weekend 2up and loaded with camping gear I got about 45mpg on the sprint.  Fuel injection definitely is a plus for varying terrain and altitudes.

[Brian Moffet]

On the freeway, I get about 50, riding in San Francisco city streets, it's 40.  I've seen some cars that do better, but I really can't afford a new one right now (wife is unemployed) so it's off to work I go on my Vision...

Brian

[h2olawyer]

...or if Americans accepted less horsepowers in their cars. As I stated earlier, I am riding my VW Eurovan more fuel efficient than my Vision.

Used to be a hot rodding phrase, but applies to fuel economy just as well:  Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?

I get a real kick out of all the people complaining about high fuel prices yet they refuse to slow down at all.  With the semis mostly going 60 - 65 & much of the rest of the traffic trying to go well over 80 when they can, it makes for a more dangerous situation as well.

The higher horsepower here is nice to have when going over the high passes & towing trailers / hauling heavy loads, but for the most part, I agree with macroars statement.  However, it needs to be a market driven change & NOT legislated from Washington DC.  Mom just traded off her big Lincoln with a small but thirsty V-8 for a still large Mercury but with a much more economical V-6  & 6 speed auto that gets better mileage in town than the Lincoln got on the highway.  Sure it ain't no rocket ship, but the performance is adequate.  Haven't had a chance to try it out much in the mountains, but it goes great on the Interstate.  EPA states 29MPG highway & from what I've seen, that's pretty close @ 75MPH.  However, it handles surprisingly well for a large car.  It runs on a modified Volvo XC-90 suspension so the ride is more 'european' (firm) than traditional large American cars.

We are seeing the change already as sales of large pickups & SUVs have plummeted over the last couple years.  Ford & Chevy have delayed the introduction of their redesigned pickups - Ford until later in the year & Chevy indefinitely.  More technology is also coming into play.  V-8s that cut several cylinders when the power isn't needed have been around for a while, but now they actually work smoothly.

Fuel around here (Northern Colorado) was over $4 for a couple weeks, but is back down to around $3.95 now.  Diesel is still close to $5, though.

H₂O

[kwells]

To be perfectly honest, I don't sweat the gas prices and in fact applaud that fact that it is high.  I've always felt that any real lasting changes will come from (as H20 states) market driven.  If you don't mind paying the price to do it...I say drive your SUV or sports car 85mph.  Those that cannot afford to do it shouldn't bitch about it when they have to fill up twice a week.  The US economy was built on super cheap fuel and these macro economic changes aren't sitting so well for those that thought they'd look cool driving a giant truck or SUV.  Image over substance has a price.

[Rick G]

My first car ,bought by my father, was a English Ford Consul  (what do you get when you cross a ford Consul with a Ford Cortina ? you get a Concertina  LOL)
One of my first cars was a NSU Prinz , 583 cc air cooled , parallel twin . Single over head cam driven by monkey motion, So I'm no stranger to small cars. I just traded my really clean '76 Dodge ,extended cab pickup, for a '88 Honda Accord (the old ones have 4 cylinder engines )
Its pretty straight , except its half way through a paint job. I'm going to love the mileage!!

[inanecathode]

I drive a 72 beetle. I run dual 34 weber carbs, a stinger exhaust, it blows fuel if you stomp it, and it runs on hippies.
It gets about 22 miles per hippy, but i never really drive it that much. Not the greatest fuel economy, but i dig the car, and thats how i roll. If i ever get concerned about fuel economy with a cage i'll drive a metro or something similar. I dont ever see that happening though :).
I guess it all ties in with the green movement. But honestly i dont see how driving a hybrid and giving al gore money is going to make chinese coal plants any more efficient :o

[zore]

Hybrids are good on gas, they are not good for the envirnment.  You can get a Prius for 22k that will get 44 to 50mpg or you can get a yaris that will do 35 to 40mpg at 11k.  You then have to think about what happens to all those batteries to expose of.  They really need to get 90mpg or better to really consider it green.

[kwells]

drive a scooter...70-100mpg...under 3k