35mpg... is it me?

[jimmyd]

My new VRX 400 is getting 35mpg commuting in Central London, based on the first two weeks I've owned it. That's putting 8 litres in and the engine starting to splutter at 100km.

Is that fairly normal for a 1995, carb-fed Honda?

It's a pretty low-revving V Twin, but the power seems to come about 5k, so I tend to rev it to get away from lights etc... though I'm rarely at wide open throttle...

[WannaBeDude]

Have you checked fuel lines and the tank for any leaks ?
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Jogging on, destination living.

[matto]

I wouldn't have thought that was unreasonable in slow or stop/start traffic city traffic. Take it for a spin somewhere nice at the weekend and see how different the mpg is

[barrkel]

That doesn't sound right to me. My SH300 gets 65 in the city, and that's with full throttle launches almost every time, and a lot of repeated hard braking / full acceleration - much more than would be comfortable on a motorbike in traffic. Scooter CVT loses a good 15% of its power too. For comparison, it gets about 85mpg on the open road.

Is the air filter OK? Choke stuck? Is it running rich?
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
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[pinkyfloyd]

As above said. Check your air filters.

V Twins tend to have low rev power, yours doesnt. I'd have a check of the air filter first then move on from there. Carbs may need ballenced, fuel line may be broken somewhere but somethings not right. I've a 1000cc V2 and it does around the same per gallon and that is pretty normal. No way a 400 should be using that much,
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[jimmyd]

Cheers guys. I've found out (from another VRX owner) I should be getting between 160-200km on the full 11L tank (8L main, 3L reserve) - I haven't done the maths but that seems a little higher than I'm getting. But not by a huge amount...

I have a receipt for new air and oil filters 5 months ago (previous owner), and I've checked for any fuel and air leaks. Will give it a proper once over tomorrow, check the plugs and see if the air filter is clean/correct - suppose if it's not standard it could be limiting air, but surely that'd just lead to sluggishness rather than using more fuel?

It's all a bit weird, despite being a '95 bike it's only done 16k miles and has been well kept so I'm not sure why the carb would have changed in any way.

[AshScott]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but my friend had an issue like this on his 125, and he was running on reserve tank o.O - may be worth having a look (if you have a reserve that is!)

[binge]

Seems pretty low to me.
But that said, I'm currently returning around 100mpg out of my daily.

[Teflon-Mike]