11-13-2015, 04:20 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 35
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Real fuel economy??
Ok everyone what are you really getting on your RX3? I typically fill my tank as full as I possibly can. After a 68 mile group ride last Friday morning and riding back and forth to work all week I traveled a total of 101.8 miles. I put in 2.955 gallons of premium today topping it off.. so after some quick math I'm averaging 24.23 miles per gallon.. how is that even possible? I ride very conservatively and I don't hot rod around town.. I've done one oil change and the valve adjustment. I've always used premium fuel and there's only 940.9 total miles on the bike. So what's up? Did I just get the one and only gas hog RX3? I'm kind of upset that I'm getting less than half of the advertised MPGs.. any suggestions to improve my fuel economy?
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11-13-2015, 04:24 PM | #2 |
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 176
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101.8/2.955=34.55 mpg
still low. I seem to be averaging around 58mpg or so on mine. |
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11-13-2015, 04:32 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 35
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You're correct it should read 34.55 MPGs.. Still less than half of the advertised 70 MPGs. I cant for the life of me figure out why im getting such poor fuel economy. I take really good care of the bike and like I said before I ride very conservatively. So who knows...
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11-13-2015, 04:51 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 144
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Obviously something's not right. How does it start and run? Is oil level holding steady? Any signs of black smoke from the exhaust?
First thing I would check is the air filter. Any sign of blockage? Maybe too much oil on the filter? If that looked OK I'd take out spark plug and check for rich running. And at that point I would give CSC a call. |
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11-13-2015, 07:45 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 25,054
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I average about 68 mpg, which is about twice the gas mileage you are getting. I think NoVa offered good advice; I would do as he suggested.
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Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894 |
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11-13-2015, 08:49 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 343
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55 average for me. Best I've seen is 58.
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11-13-2015, 11:04 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 25,054
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58 mpg is the worst gas mileage I've recorded. However, I ride conservatively.
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Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894 |
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11-14-2015, 05:38 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Sardis, BC, Canada
Posts: 25,977
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Quote:
Just spit ballin' here; perhaps an O2 sensor that is on the way out might not yet have triggered a code, but it could be causing the PCM to dump too much fuel in. Also, does the bike require premium? I'd challenge the notion that premium would result in higher economy, if the bike only requires 89.
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Weldangrind "I figure I'm well-prepared for coping with a bike that comes from the factory with unresolved issues and that rewards the self-reliant owner." - Buccaneer |
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11-14-2015, 06:27 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 343
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It doesn't require premium and you won't see any benefits.
We do have non-ethanol at all the Stewarts shops around here which is what goes in both my bikes. You do get better mpg with non-ethanol. |
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11-14-2015, 08:00 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Sardis, BC, Canada
Posts: 25,977
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That's what I figured. What does the manual recommend for octane? Does it specify R+M/2?
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Weldangrind "I figure I'm well-prepared for coping with a bike that comes from the factory with unresolved issues and that rewards the self-reliant owner." - Buccaneer |
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11-14-2015, 08:32 PM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 25,054
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Quote:
Fuel: Minimum 87 Octane However, the white sticker, placed on the left side of the frame next to the triple tree, specifies the following. Fuel: Unleaded Gasoline - 91 (R+M)/2
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Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894 Last edited by SpudRider; 11-14-2015 at 09:08 PM. |
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11-14-2015, 08:38 PM | #12 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 25,054
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I was burning regular fuel, which is 85 (R+M)/2 at Great Basin elevations. However, Gerry recommended a higher octane, so I switched to 87 (R+M)/2, which is the fuel I burn in my Honda CRF250X.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
__________________
Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894 |
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11-15-2015, 01:21 PM | #13 |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 35
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The bike starts and runs with no issues. The only thing that I've noticed is that at times it runs pretty hot. 4 bars is fairly standard for a normal day of riding around SoCal. I'm going to take a look at the air filter and the spark plug today and see what they look like.
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11-15-2015, 01:26 PM | #14 |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 35
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Forgot to mention the oil level is holding fine and there are no signs of black smoke or anything like that. I haven't seen anything on the instrument cluster indicating any fault codes. As far as running premium.. it's just something I've always done with my motorcycles. Just force of habit I guess..
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11-15-2015, 01:55 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 25,054
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Quote:
__________________
Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894 |
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