Motorway Tips

[j.silvs]

Hello,

I am riding to Hull for work on the weekend straight up the boring M1.

I remember last time I rode on the motorway my MPG was shocking!!

I know fueling etc. is different but any general rules of what rev range, gear or speed to stay in to maximise economy?!

Thanks,

[Shinigami]

as far as I was aware motorway riding gets better fuel economy as you're changing the throttle far less, less throttle movement = better mpg.

I get better mpg on my long motorway trips anyway
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[Minty]

I've heard that if you go faster, you'll get there quicker.

Never confirmed it, mind.
____________________
My fingers smell of your mum.

[prizefighter]

You always get better MPG if you ride everywhere on 1 wheel. Less friction you see...
____________________
ZX6r J1
Aprilia RSV1000R

[Monkeypony]

Tuck right in behind HGVs to make best use of the slipstream. The MPG improvement you'll see will be superb.......
____________________
Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[G]

For good economy; top gear, move the throttle as little as possible. Go slower - bikes have terrible aerodynamics, which is why a car which is slower off the line can often be faster at speed.

Presuming your bike is injected, it probably won't use any fuel with the throttle off, so try and plan ahead and shut the throttle instead of braking (but of course go for the brake if it could be dangerous.)

If you're stupid and want really good economy, slip stream trucks as close as you dare. Just don't be surprised when you die.
Ie; a cyclist doing 56mph on the motorway without anything particularly special it seems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wRtCbsYV3s - humans aren't likely to put out much more than a third of a horsepower, as an idea of the power he's likely to be using when pedalling!

[j.silvs]

Ok so,

Ride as fast as I can

Behind a truck

Whilst doing a wheelie

Superb guys, cheers

[kingsknight]

G has a very good point about aerodynamics. The MPG on my XT is SHOCKINGLY bad on motorways purely because of the lack of plastics and you get the full force of the wind on your chest non stop!
____________________
TS50 (sold) NS125F (sold) NSR125R-K (write off after 2 crashes) CG125 (nicked) XR125L-3 (Sold )-: ) DR125SM '11 (sold yay) XL125V '12 (In love with this bike) XT600E '04 (fun on the dirt)

[P.]

Rode the R1 300 miles on the motorway, got the equivalent of 200 miles to a tank, sat at an indicated 85 and left it there.

[Shinigami]

as a comparison, on the hornet I normally get around 45 mpg,

when I do my motorway trips to manchester, last one was 51 mpg,
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[Entertwainer]

and dont bother with leathers or the like. that'll add weight you see

[Doovy]

Only have the engine running on the uphill sections of motorway, engine off and in Neutral on all downhill sections.
____________________
Yamaha RXS 100 > Honda CD 250 > Honda Hornet 600 > Honda CBR 600RR > Yamaha RXS 100 > Kawasaki ZX6R J2 > Yamaha FZ1

[G]

[supZ]

most people would say you get better mpg on a long run (less stopping and starting which is where the majority of your fuel is burnt)

personally i just lob it in 6th and pootle along (as long as the engine isn't labouring of course) drop gears if you need to overtake but otherwise keep it in top gear and off you go.

if you want to get a bit more technical..

brake as little as you can. leave a big gap (surely you do anyway right? ) between you and the vehicle in front and if they slow down just roll off the throttle.

if you can do it without too many issues get into a race pose. sitting bolt upright creates a huge amount of drag.

don't accelerate hard.

the usual common sense stuff really.
____________________
CBR954RR - Daily toy
CBR600RR - Trackbike

[Slacker24seve...]

I just get 42mpg at ~90 and don't give it any more thought than that. Tucking in helps a bit but as I've usually got a big backpack on the effect is tiny.

Oh and get some good earplugs or well fitting earbud headphones.
____________________
Triumph Daytona 675 track bike + girlfriend's Honda Hornet 600
Selling a hack/winter bike for less than a grand? PM me.
Banger rallies are ace

[thx1138]

I once squeezed every last drop of maximum mpg out of my bike on the M1.

It was boring as though.

[moppy]

I used to do 90/100mph on motorways, but recently decided it's not worth the expense/bother if caught by the popo.

Sit at 75mph (indicated) now, thats about 4k revs on my bike in 6th gear. Ear plugs in, tuck in as much as comfortable, cruiser in left hand lane, make the journey interesting by having to switch lanes a lot

[Skudd]

Just coming back from London the other day I was getting 8mpl at 80mph and 12mpl at 65mph I did get up to 23mpl with the throttle closed when coming up behind some traffic and went down to 3mpl when I was accelerating away. At 90mph I was only getting 6mpl.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[-Matt-]

I tend to just stay in top gear at the lowest revs i'm comfortable with really - definately notice better MPG doing that with little throttle movement on the motorway vs A-roads and the like though.

I tend to actually stay in the inside lane when its clear plodding along at 70 when possible apart from the odd burst , leave a little earlier so you arent in a rush and i would of thought that'd reduce the MPG a lot vs going along at 90 the entire journey.

[G]

Get a double screen if you haven't got one.

140mph with on a ZX9R that and ear plugs felt a lot slower than 85mph on a KLR650.

Turned out that did cause some 'legal issues' .

Also - do you care what the random people on the motorway who see you will think?

[-Matt-]

Have got a double-bubble one, never really rode with the original to notice the difference but sure it must help a fair bit.

Not really the other drivers just the potential police-grief [thats presuming there is even a point to be had on tucking of course] always played on my mind, don't really use the motorway regularly so have just tended to put up with it on the occasions i do.

I tend to wear a backpack also, it is a 'streamlined' one but i guess thats probably not going to help my aerodynamics

[G]

The difference in sound/buffeting suggests it does make a difference, though I've never measured it.
But usually signs of obvious turbulence etc do lead to more power being required.

It's possible that securing your backpack on the pillion seat could actually aid aerodyamics a bit - as per the fashion for 'humps' a while ago.

[-Matt-]

Yeah that might be worth a try to be honest, i think it might be the fact my leathers have a hump as it is, so even though the packs stream-lined its streamed up on top of the hump which counter-acts it

[j.silvs]

I did see someone cable tie their backpack down on the ride home this morning and thought not a bad idea!!

[j.silvs]

This looks pretty good. Good reviews.

Only a fiver too:

https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_220871_langId_-1_categoryId_165547#tab1