With gasoline prices topping $4 per gallon for 87 octane pretty much everywhere in the country right now, it seems like a good time for some tips on how to improve your fuel economy. While these tips are specifically oriented to motorcycles, they might apply to your car, truck or SUV as well – it’s best to consult an article about that.
Provided you’re not ready to switch to an electric motorcycle, updating your riding habits will make the biggest strides towards improving your fuel economy. Because hard acceleration quickly flows fuel through your injectors, moderate your right hand a bit and be smooth and deliberate with the throttle. By coming off a full stop gently and consistently, you might not be first off the line, but it will delay your next visit to the gas station.
Similarly, maintain a steady speed as you ride. If you’re constantly speeding up and slowing down, you’re killing fuel efficiency. Using cruise control (if your bike is so equipped) will help keep your speed close to a specific spot on the dial.
Short shifting to keep your revs low can help with fuel efficiency, but that has two caveats. First is you have to be sure not to lug the engine – that is, you have to make sure you’ve got enough revs to be appropriate for the gear you want to be in. Lugging the engine long term can damage pistons, cylinder walls and even valves if things get bad enough. If you ride a BMW with a liquid-cooled boxer engine, especially the R 1200 or 1250 generations, I do not recommend short shifting at all. Based on my observations from around George’s now-closed shop, Gridlock Motors, keeping your revs high enough to provide critical cooling oil flow around the stator could help it stay functional in the long run. Whatever money you might save by short-shifting your R 1200/1250 could be offset by a wide margin by having to replace the stator.
Rolling off the throttle ahead of an expected stop – also known as engine braking – can save fuel by reducing engine speed gradually. It has a knock-on effect of prolonging the life of your brake pads – not that those are expensive, but if you can make them last a long time, you’re saving money overall.
Mediate your top speed. No matter how aerodynamically designed your bike is, at speeds above 60-65 mph, air drag on your bike increases rapidly. You might use half your fuel efficiency getting to 60 and the other half getting to 70, especially if you have giant square panniers on your motorcycle.
Speaking of aerodynamics, there’s some things you can throw in here that will help. If you don’t absolutely need them, leave your giant top box and bolt-on (or throw-over) panniers at home. Use a tank bag and a tail bag instead, both of which become aerodynamically hidden by the front of your bike and your body, respectively. You can also tuck in a bit – even on an ADV bike – to improve air flow over your body. If your windshield is adjusted to best suit the bike and your body, so much the better. And not to put too fine a point on it, if you can drop some weight, your fuel efficiency will improve as a result. That weight can come off you or out of your panniers, but either way, extra weight on the bike means using more fuel.
Maintenance plays a bigger role in fuel efficiency than most riders realize. Start by keeping your tires properly inflated – or even a pound or two over, if you dare. Underinflated tires steal fuel efficiency by increasing rolling resistance, which makes the engine have to work harder. You don’t want to over-inflate by too much, though, as that will affect the longevity of your tires (as does under-inflation, incidentally).
Secondary to your tires is making sure your final drive is properly maintained and adjusted. If you have a drive shaft, makes sure it is properly lubricated and the oil in the final drive is correct in both viscosity and amount. If your bike has a belt drive, make sure it’s properly tensioned. For those of you with chain final drives, keep that chain clean, lubricated and properly adjusted – a dry, tight chain will rob fuel efficiency and lead to unwanted replacement of the chain and sprockets.
Make sure your combustion is as efficient as it can be by making sure you have a clean air filter installed and staying on top of your spark plugs and fuel injectors. If everything is clean, your combustion will be as efficient as possible, which means using the least amount of fuel necessary.
When it comes to oil, you want to use the correct viscosity for your bike and riding conditions. Modern motorcycles might use 5W40, while older bikes could require 20W50 – but whatever the spec is, stick to it. Oil of the correct viscosity means the engine is exerting the least internal drag it can, or at least the amount the engineers who designed the thing expect it to exert.
Finally, there are some riding strategies you can use to improve fuel efficiency. You get zero miles per gallon while idling, so don’t sit and let your bike warm up for five or ten minutes when you start it for the first time that day. Several studies done in the last decade show that – at least as far as modern vehicles are concerned – idling for more than 10 seconds is less fuel efficient that shutting off the engine and restarting it. Of course, shutting your bike off repeatedly while sitting in traffic isn’t a good idea and you probably shouldn’t do it if you’re last in line at a really long light. Be judicious and use common sense and you can save a little fuel while waiting for a draw bridge, train or funeral procession or while forced to wait in a construction zone.
Modern motorcycles only need about 30 seconds of idling on startup to get the oil properly circulating to “warm up.” From there, the best way to warm up your bike is to ride gently for a few minutes until the engine comes up to operating temperature. If you ride an older bike with carburetors, you may be used to a longer warm-up period before riding, but chances are you’re waiting longer than you need to. A couple minutes will do the trick; ride gently at first just like a newer bike to finish getting the engine up to operating temperature. Be sure to remember to turn off your choke if you had to leave it on when you first got going!
Sticking to high-quality fuel from busy name-brand stations will also help, simply by making sure you have fewer deposits building up in your fuel system. You can also use aftermarket stabilizers and additives like Yamalube Ring Free to keep your fueling system clean and efficient. What you save at a no-name pump you may well lose in fuel efficiency and long-term degradation of your fueling system, but don’t beat yourself up if you occasionally get gas at Joe’s Stop ‘N Shop. Just make sure you’re using the grade of gasoline recommended in your owner’s manual.
Most sat nav systems and turn-by-turn apps provide the choice to opt for the most fuel-efficient routes, so take advantage of that ability if you can. You can also spend a few extra minutes before you head out to plan your stops; this is especially helpful if you’re making a lot of short hops for work or personal business. Minimize those cross-town trips by looking at a map and grouping nearby things together in one leg of your journey. (This is also excellent advice if you’re on some kind of scavenger hunt, like the Grand Coddiwomple or maybe the Iron Butt Rally.)
When it comes down to brass tacks, fuel efficiency on a motorcycle isn’t about riding in fear of the throttle. Ride with intent using smooth input, a well-maintained bike, some awareness of speed and drag and planning for best results. Doing all of these things together won’t take the fun out of your ride and will keep more money in your wallet.
None of the things mentioned here will be miraculously transformative, and none of them will make your 1300 cc adventure bike run like a 300 cc commuter. But all of them combined can lead to real gains in fuel efficiency. Even improving your stats by 3-5 MPG will save you money over the course of a year, and it’ll save you even more if gas prices continue to climb through the summer.
