How Motorcycle MPG is Measured
by Steve
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Susan Carpenter, who writes the motorcycle columns for the Los Angeles Times, has a new piece out that explores how motorcycle manufacturers measure the gas mileage of their vehicles...
Since there's no standardized motorcycle MPG test, where are these fuel-economy figures coming from? In the case of Yamaha, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson (which has been providing MPG figures since 1982), they're based on the EPA emissions test the manufacturers are already required to perform to sell bikes in the United States.
Here's a link to her full article...
http://www.latimes.com/.../la-hy-throttle2apr02,0,498246.storyIt's perhaps good reading to understand a little understood aspect of the industry standards. But what Susan is actually doing is setting up a question that will likely raise its head in the months to come.
And that simply is a challenge to the fact that motorcycles are offer greater fuel efficiency and cost of ownership compared to cars.
There already is a segment of society opposed to motorcycles, or more appropriately, motorcyclists, and seemingly support any kind of legislation that might reduce their numbers from the roadway.
And with rising gas prices, the motorcycle manufacturers are gearing up to release MPG figures that they hope will open the flood gates of new sales.
It'll be interesting to see how the anti-motorcycle society addresses this.
Labels: Gas Mileage
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5.2 Gallons of Gas in a 5.0 Gallon Tank
by Steve
Monday, April 24, 2006
On the way back from the Yuma Prison Run today, we stopped in El Centro to fill up our gas tanks.
The gas tank on my Harley Ultra Classic was down to its last drop, I thought for sure I was going to run out of gas on the freeway.
When I filled up the tank, the gas pump showed 5.2 gallons was delivered. The tank on the Ultra holds 5.0 gallons, according to Harley.
So how did I get 5.2 gallons in there?
First of all, I didn't actually fill it all the way up to the rim of the tank opening. I did top it off, but I still left some air space in the tank, mostly because I couldn't pump anymore gas into it without having it spray back out at me. If the tank actually is 5.0 gallons, then I probably had 4.9 gallons of gas in it.
My guess is that I got ripped off. The gas station probably tweaked the pumps to show that more gas was delivered than was actually pumped. Considering there are very few gas stations along the desert stretch of the I-8, they figured they could get away with it because most people are just happy to get gas.
Moreover, most people are not as keenly aware of their gas tanks as bikers are, so most people wouldn't even know.
Labels: Gas Mileage
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