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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Savage Gas Mileage
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Message started by sunny on 07/29/04 at 14:13:35

Title: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by sunny on 07/29/04 at 14:13:35

I am curious about how changing from stock effects gas mileage.

I get about 50 mpg.
my non-stock modifications are:
jardine pipe.
carburetor-airmix adjustment.

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by Greg_650 on 07/29/04 at 15:28:31

Well, well, well.....Look at it this way. Almost all bigger bikes are in the 30-40 mpg range so you are doing good anyway.

In truth, you will loose a little because of your mods, but it won't be that noticeable. The reason is that Suzuki engineered the bike to the really fuel efficient side of things. Hense you get backfires when stock. It was LEAN to keep the EPA happy, and to get great mileage.

On mine with all the changes, I get between 40 and 58. It all depends on how high you run the RPMs in each gear. If I just run around at a casual pace (shifting at 3500-4000) to and from work I get high 50s. However, I spent one afternoon chasing a Bandit 1200 through the mountains, and my mileage went all the way to 40...but then I spent most of my time in 3rd and 4th gear and the RPMs were much higher. It all depends on driving habits.

I average 110 miles before reserve (2.2 gals), so I usually fill at an even 100 anyway.

BTW - people usually complain about the small Savage tank, but in reality those bigger cruisers don't run all that much longer on a tank full than a Savage because their mileage is much worse. That's why some have those 5 gallon tanks. They have "range" but low mpg. Also, I read a review recently on the new BMW R1200 and the MPG was 38

Enjoy your economy bike :P

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by sunny on 07/29/04 at 15:36:33

the mileage i got kinda blew my friend away. he took me out on a long ride and he, on his vtx with a huge tank, had to refuel about when i needed to.

i might switch to a larger tank just for ease of commuting. it would be nice to have enough to get thoroughly lost downtown and still make it home.

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by Greg_650 on 07/30/04 at 02:41:08

That mileage is what I meant. Kinda funny when you think that older motorcycles were once really popular because of the good mileage. Even funnier when you think that my previously owned Malibu with a 3100 cc V6 engine got 29 MPG on the highway....now an 1800 VTX doesn't get much better than that. Ah yes, the old "bigger is better" issue again :P

You'll have a hard time finding a larger tank for the Savage because the frame is shorter than most bikes. Even a Sportster tank won't give you much more than the headache of trying to figure out how to make it fit. IMO 8)

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by sunny on 07/30/04 at 09:07:19

i read somewhere that the kawasaki en 500 vulcan might fit. if not, a guy in the office has a neighbor who manufactures bike tanks and i might go that route...
i'd like to have more than three gallons for riding around in the boonies out here.

my commute is 47.9 miles one way. then we always go out to lunch, which could be up to 5 miles one way, then we get lost downtown trying to find the one city street that dumps directly into the HOV lane, another 20 miles(that may be an exaggeration though)...
i ran out of gas 3 miles from home, had to switch to reserve.
at least i know the new petc_o_c_k works properly.

so it's all good!

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by Greg_650 on 07/30/04 at 10:28:47

You could also be the first known Savage rider with an auxillary fuel tank mounted on the luggage rack, too ::)

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by sunny on 07/30/04 at 12:00:37

whoa! what a great idea! :D

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by Greg_650 on 07/31/04 at 04:48:34

I've seen them on other bikes :P

Title: Re: Savage Gas Mileage
Post by Birdmove on 08/01/04 at 09:26:39

My 2002 Marauder averages about 47,but sometimes I get up to 52.I had a Geo Metro three cylinder car,bought new in 1990,that averaged 54 mpg.I have got the best gas mileages from the following:1980 Suzuki GS450(predesessor to the GS500)-65mpg;1984 H.D. XLX Sportser-64mpg;1982 Suzuki SP500 dual sport-66mpg;2001 Kawasaki KLR250 dual sport-72mpg;2000 Kawasaki EX500-62mpg. These are averages-for instance,when I was breaking in my KLR250 and staying under 4000 rpm,I averaged 84 mpg.