One Year With My NT and This Forum!

[Rocky]

Well, a year ago yesterday I joined this great Forum and picked up my brand new NT 700. What a great year it has been! My NT has 8858 trouble free super enjoyable miles on her. The average MPG gauge for this year is an amazing 64.9 as of this morning. (I know, optimistic meter but still...) I would like to thank the members of this great website for all the information and banter over the last year, it has been fun and I look forward to many more years. I can honestly say my NT is the favorite so far of all the bikes I have owned.
Thank you all!

 

[tawilke46]

Rocky, I will have a year on this forum this November. Can also say my participation on the forum has been very enjoyable.
I have learned a lot about the NT and riding in general. A lot of really knowledgeable, experienced, and friendly folks here.
My NT is coming up on 6k miles, had some extended down time due to surgery this year.
Have not been keeping up with my total avg mpg like you have, but my gut feel and my spot checks tell me I am getting consistent 55 to 58 mpg (actual) over this past year. And that is as good as my '98 Pacific Coast got over 9 years of ownership.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rocky, Happy Anniversary!

You guys are getting better mileage than I do. I filled up today on my way home from my 48,000 mile service and had only gotten 41.9mpg. I had been running 80mph on the way in to Denver and back out, but I've never gotten (that I can remember) over 60mpg but once. My overall average is 46.6mpg, which isn't too bad, I don't guess. I have a lot of 1.1 mile trips and they're not great for mileage. I've also got a lot of miles on I-76 at 79-82 mph and that's not conducive to extraordinary mileage either.

So, I'll quit griping and once again, say, "Happy Anniversary, Rocky!"

 

[Herb]

I'm amazed by the 64.9 average mpg on the computer. Mine sits at 55.2! What's you secret?

 

[Phil Tarman]

My computer says 51.2 but my calculated is at 46.5mpg.

 

[artemedes]

I joined April 2011 on the day I bought my NT too. I am only at 9000 miles. I have enjoyed this forum and the NT very much. My biggest problem with the NT is not finding enough time to ride it. I try to commute with it regularly, but 5 mile trips to work are sometimes not worth the effort to put on motorcycle gear.

My optimistic average MPG is 56, but I calculate it manually every time. Usually ends up being 52mpg. In the winter I ride even less, so the bike sees mostly in-town stop and go traffic and winter blend gas. In the winter my calculations are often low 40's. I would like better, but my car driven in the same situations only returns 15mpg.

Best mileage I have seen is on a long trip on two lane highways averaging 60-65. I calculated to get over 60mpg 3 tanks in a row.

 

[junglejim]

My fuel mileage shows to be 62.3 mpg on the display, but acutal in usually 55 -60. On my Spearfish trip I had a high of 63 and a low of 42 over about 20 tanks of gas. The difference is headwind/tailwind and speed. Also at home here I'm able to buy regular gas (no ethanol) and that helps some.

I've been on the forum since April 2012 and bought the NT in May of '12. It is now at 7K and I just put on a new rear PR3. The miles I put on in the heat of the summer really ate away at the tread quickly. The tire was doing better lately in ther cool weather, but I changed it out anyway. New tires are great! I've enjoyed the forum and the NT. Our riding season is coming to an end quickly here in the northland. I'm hoping to get in one more long weekend on the bike. The next decision is weather to do the 8K service this fall or wait till I get it out in the spring. In about a month or so the NT will live in my horse trailer until the snow melts.

 

[tawilke46]

My mileage average may be a little higher mostly because I ride mainly back roads at about 50 to 55mph. I take my time and enjoy the ride. I am in no hurry to get anywhere in particular, most of the time.
Only occasionally ripping on the super slab at 70 to 80mph. I try to avoid the Interstate system whenever I can.

 

[RedLdr1]

What is the "bad news"?

Based on your requirements there is no really "bad news"... A few farkles and you should be in great shape...

 

[Rocky]

I'm amazed by the 64.9 average mpg on the computer. Mine sits at 55.2! What's you secret?

Hey Herb, I think I get such great mileage (on the meter anyway) is the dynamics of my commute. 35 miles one way with a lot of hills (OK, mountains) and really no high speed. I do hit 70 now and again on the highway to work but the speed limit is 50. I do love to listen to my driveshaft whine desending long hills and seeing my MPG meter read 99.9! I am not a real agressive rider (on the NT anyway, my Turbo is another story!) and do not really spin the motor between gears, and have a tendancy to cruise at pretty low RPMs as my bike feels good at 4 grand, and again 'cause I have a "backroad commute" my speeds are lower than they would be on an interstate.

 

[RedNigel]

You wont even know the topbox is there after a week or so. In a brutal, gusty crosswind you might catch more air than if you didnt have it. I have had mine for 2.5 months and its just part of the bike to me. I carry my lunch in it on the way to work and store my helmet and tank bag during the day
My wife and I are about to take our very first 'motorcycle only' trip. Only 3 days. I'm letting her have the whole topbox and I am taking the left pannier. Our raingear, tire repair stuff and tools take the right one.

 

[Rich]

For some reason, Phil seems to get the worst mileage of any of us. I've never had a tank below 48. And this summer I had occasion to do quite a bit of 80+ MPH riding (at higher elevations - UT, CO, WY, MT). With no wind I would see 52 MPG or so. Significant headwinds in some stretches would take it down to 48. At modest sustained state-highway speeds (such as up and down the island), 58-60 is common.

I got my NT last October and have put about 11,000 miles on it since then. It beats my previous bike (a ST1300) in gas mileage by at least 10 MPG, given any particular circumstance for which I have data.

 

[Phil Tarman]

For some reason, Phil seems to get the worst mileage of any of us.

Simple reasons, Rich. Speed and wind on the interstate. Really short trips around town that never let the bike really get up to operating temperature. It's hard work to ride more than a mile when you're going someplace in Fort Morgan.

 

[Rich]

Simple reasons, Rich. Speed and wind on the interstate. Really short trips around town that never let the bike really get up to operating temperature. It's hard work to ride more than a mile when you're going someplace in Fort Morgan.

I see the short-trip deal. I have very few tankfulls where there is significant startup-drive-shutoff of a mile or two.

But I got way better mileage at 80-85 when riding around elevations not very different from yours on the highways. And even when bucking headwinds at these speeds, I never have seen a tankful get below 48.

 

[Rocky]

Simple reasons, Rich. Speed and wind on the interstate. Really short trips around town that never let the bike really get up to operating temperature. It's hard work to ride more than a mile when you're going someplace in Fort Morgan.

Does any one think the dozens of farkles Phil has added contributes to the weight and wind drag?

 

[Bear]

Does any one think the dozens of farkles Phil has added contributes to the weight and wind drag?

I don't think so. Traveling at high speeds, the inertia would compensate for the weight. Of course on the downhill runs, weight works for you---uphill it goes against you. It is the same as in bicycle racing. My 16 lb Merckx is great uphill but my 28 lb Touring bike goes like a witch downhill. My average milage is 55.2--less when I get into the twisties--feels so good to just roll that throttle and regulate the heel angle with a good countersteer. As the fun quotient goes up, the milage goes down.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I'm sure that the +4" CeeBailey adds some drag. The big lids may add some drag, but I can't really imagine that they make a huge difference.

I'm heavy, about 240 in street clothes. I've got quite a bit of weight in the right pannier -- tools, bike cover, gloves, cold weather gear including a heated jacket.

I'm still getting 10-12 mpg better than I did with the Concours, so I'm happy.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I was very curious about milage to and from Reno so I took careful notes and milage reading and speed readings.
(The on board computer is worthless...too bad it cant be calibrated...it may have some use for a relative reading, though)
I weight 175 with light riding gear on. Load measured without gas is 110 lbs. Plus 4 Cee B, big lids, big duffles....
With no wind, riding 55- 65 through Oregon on two lane, I get 55 mpg or a bit better.
Pushing the speed up to 75 on the interstate takes the milage down to 50...80 through Montana on the Spearfish trip dropped the milage
to high 40s.....all these readings change with terrian, wind speed and direction, density altitude, temp, phase of the moon, etc.
Like Phil says, its better than a Connie for sure.
When I get some time out of the time bucket, I want to make a chart of computer instantaneous MPG reading vs Speed on a calm day.
This is about my one year time on this forum....great place full of lots of fun folk and good intellegence and one grumpy old guy.
(Fun factoid. Before and After the Reno trip, I meansured the tire wear. The 1750 mile trip cost me .023 in of tire wear. They are now down to
.067 tread left at 6200 miles. Legal minimum in WA is .0625 in of tread. I personally think tire wear isnt linear but those new PR3s in the basement are
looking really good right now....)

 

[Pick]

I took a 1700-mile trip from northern IL to Nashville and back a few weeks ago. I knew the computer mileage was fairly optimistic, but I was disappointed when I found out how much. Over about 10 fill-ups, it ranged from 11% to 18% higher than actual mileage. I got an actual 59 mpg on the Natchez Trace at a steady 50 - 55 mph (67+ mpg indicated). On the way home, at 70-75 mph (all interstate) with a VERY cold and strong cross/head wind (and Cee B. +4 all the way up), it dropped down to the lower 40s. Overall, I've averaged right at 50 mpg with the bike, but that only includes about 2500 miles. I'm happy with that, but I was thinking it would be 5 mpg better. I get over 40 mpg with my Honda Fit.

 

[Warren]

On the trips I make from Nashville to St.Louis on the expressway I have never gotten better than 39 mpg with my Honda Fit Sport with automatic. Its is usually around 36 mpg but its pretty hilly which causes the car to down shift alot trying to maintain 75 going up some of the hills. I pretty much can count on averaging 50 mpg with my NT. The best I have done is 65 mpg and the worst around 49 mpg.