28 mpg

[DEmily]

I have never taken time to determine the mileage. I get around 125 miles or so before hitting reserve. I'll have to check?

[jetmechmarty]

And to think I've been unhappy with 35 mpg! I'm 225 lbs+. I have logged about 40 mpg on a trip. Mine is a SG w/ 26K on the clock. The 50 mpg it gets keeps my XS650 on the road for the daily commute.

[ARRON]

my 79 special is getting 173 khm before the light comes on, i have carbs off a 82 maxim they are jetted wrong for my bike

[thuffman]

resistor v. non-resistor caps

Geezer, please enlighten me re: non resistor caps. Thanks, Tim.

[macnut xj]

Yeah, I'm wondering about the resister caps too. I know the theory behind them (electronic "RF" noise suppresion, same as resistor plugs in your car), but I'm wondering how you check them. Is there a resistance check you can do on them? And where can you get non-resistor caps? I don't expect to ever mount a stereo on my bike, so I could care less about RFI issues.

[graybird78]

My bike's 80sg. get consistent 33-35 mpg 70 mph. I'm 6'3" and weight 250lbs. bike is a full dresser. fairing ,trunk side bags and carry 20lbs extra junk around.

[randy]

John, the caps should read 5K oms each. you can unscrew them from the end of the wire and then test through each one. While you've got them off, clip 1/2" off each wire before you screw the cap back on. The wire end is a common point of corrosion and will cause the same symptoms as fouled plugs, bad caps, dirty carbs,water in fuel, etc. etc.

HTH

Randy

PS I get a consisent 40MPG on Swam Thing and the best I've ever gotten is 45. I hit reserve around 150/160 mi. This is with a mix of city/highway. I commute 40 mi a day to work M-F and then go home from NYC to PA 100 mi on the weekends.

[Dennyz]

SF: 30-35mpg, jardine 4:2. 140 mains, K&N filter, drilled AB
SG: 32-38mpg, K&N filter, drilled AB, '78 carbs, stock exhaust
F: 35-42, 4:1, 145 mains, 45 pilots, K&N, drilled AB

If I go 80mph on the interstate, all three bike get around 30mpg.

[Geezer]

Originally posted by Dennyz
SF: 30-35mpg, jardine 4:2. 140 mains, K&N filter, drilled AB
SG: 32-38mpg, K&N filter, drilled AB, '78 carbs, stock exhaust
F: 35-42, 4:1, 145 mains, 45 pilots, K&N, drilled AB

If I go 80mph on the interstate, all three bike get around 30mpg.

I'm still jealous. I can’t seem to get the Mongrel to do better than 32 MPG and it seems to do the best around 65~70 MPH. I thought the Vetter Windjammer would put a damper on the mileage but there was no noticeable change. I’m going to go through the carbs over this winter and maybe give it a valve job and cam chain but I’d be surprised to see much of a change.

I’m looking forward to seeing how my 70 standard resto-project does.

Geezer

[xsrider]

I can squeeze 140 miles out of my 4.0 gallon tank. highway traveling; that computes to 35mpg. Since it's a special [no gas guage] I rarely go over 120. I am usually looking for a gas station between 80-100 on the trip OD.

You guys are making me jealous. I did a cylinder & head replacement [and moved from KY to NC] and I am just getting "Bike" back together. New fuel lines and clutch spring shims are the last couple items to do.

[randy]

You guys gotta remember. I went through this bike top to bottom, over 7 months. The only thing I didn't do was open the motor except for valve shims. I was lucky to get a motor that had 150psi compression on all 4.

In addition, I had all new or refurbished ignition, plug wires, caps, plugs, jets, filters, exhaust & re-pinned every electrical connection, blah, blah, blah.....before I ever turned her over. if I didn't have a good MPG value, I'd be pissed.

Randy