Motorcycles are already so good on gas, is there much that can be done to improve their efficiency?

Question

Motorcycles are already so good on gas, is there much that can be done to improve their efficiency?

Answer 1

Considering the weight and horsepower of most bikes they are not efficient or good on gas. My bikes get around 42 MPG. None of them weigh over 700 pounds. Compare that to compact cars pushing 4 times more weight with similar horsepower acheiving close to bike MPG's.

Answer 2

Most motorcycle's are ridden agressively. I improved the mileage of a small yamaha 175cc  by 50% just by riding much slower and downshifting less often. Less fun riding but it was just a one time experiment.

Answer 3

O' yes, I am sure Honda is on it as we speak.

Answer 4

ride slow

Answer 5

well cars in europe have a four litres 100km goal.

most 50cc are 1 litre to 30km.

so there can be a vast improvement.

but would we be willing to pay the extra for such a bike.

Answer 6

Yes.  Get the federal government (EPA) out of our garages and smog gizmos off of our machines.

Answer 7

Do  you mean improve the efficiency of one particular bike, or bikes in general?

On a particular bike, run tire air pressure on the high range of allowable. Keep it tuned, the chain oiled. you might want to use a synthetic oil and synthetic gear oil (if you have separate engine/gearbox oil). My records show improvement in mpg with some ignition upgrades but this depends on the machine. You might play with some of the fancy new plugs out. they helped for me. I use Bosch +4's, but this is in my 4x4. A K&R filter may give better mpg, but you may have to tune your carb a bit as a result. Might get by with just tweaking the idle mixture. Tests show it doesn't filter quite as good as a good paper element, so in *really* dusty environments maybe I wouldn't use it. And maybe I would, to save money on non-washable elements. There are after-market jetting kits that claim to yield better mpg.

If you want to convert your existing bike to a really high mpg machine, you can go more radical. Increase the compression ratio. Play with advancing the timing, along with hi-test fuel. Maybe get a milder cam, good luck I doubt they exist. You could have one ground for you, but we are reaching here now! Tall high-pressure tires are good. Cover them well with fenders. Use a faring. Covert it to a diesel.

If you mean can the manufacturers build them for higher mpg? Sure! and cheaper and more durable too.

There is at least one diesel motorcycle in production. Think there is another in England.

Single cylinder engines have a thermodynamic edge over multis, everthing else being equal, and can bring down exceptional mpg.

I'd like to see a commuter motorcycle built. If I built one it would have One (1) exhaust pipe, one carb (or EFI), more paint than chrome, a single or big twin with a mild cam. Probably a belt drive over a chain. I love shaft drives, but they are expensive, heavy and are not quite as efficient.

GeoB

Answer 8

Certainly.  As you say, they're already good on gas, so nobody has bothered much to try to optimize their efficiency.  There's not much driving force for improvement.  Most motorcycles are pretty wildly overcammed, and not geared fast enough, to get all the gas mileage they could.  They could be more aerodynamic, too.

But then they wouldn't be as much fun, would they?

Answer 9

don't rev high or red line it all the time.....try to keep the throttle steady when riding....

Answer 10

Your riding style effects MPG. Lower RPM, not reving at red lights, and doing the speed limit, and making all right turns, will keep your MPG low.

All of that kinda takes the fun out of riding so.....

Answer 11

change you sprocket to smaller in back