- This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 5 months ago by Jim.
MPG on a 07 Ninja 250
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October 2, 2008 at 1:32 pm #2186AndrewParticipant
I did my 3rd fill up last night and my MPG has been 47, 55 and 51. I was hoping the 3rd one would go up not down. My commute is all in town in traffic with numerous stop lights and signs. The first 2 fill ups had no commute but did have a mix of open road and parking lot practice.
I know I can ride in a higher gear to work the engine less and today I was working on shifting at a lower rpm. I think I have shifting at a high rpm because I have been rolling the throttle hard to give my self space behind me in traffic where possible.
Any other thoughts? As a comparison the guy I got the bike from is bigger than me and was getting 65 MPG. He’s an experienced rider who has raced and his commute is an hour of highway. So I probably can’t compare town miles to highway miles.
October 2, 2008 at 2:52 pm #13171BuddParticipantYou should be getting better than that. I would guess around 60mpg. What do you have your idle set at? Are you using regular gas? When you say you are reving it high, what exactly is high for you?
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
October 2, 2008 at 3:11 pm #13172MattParticipantMy lowest Mileage was about 50mpg, I mostly get above 60.
What are your cruising RPMs and your shift points?
In traffic (at or below 60kph / 40mph) I tend to ride between 5000rpm and 6000rpm. As I accelerate I let it get up to about 6500-7000 and then shift, once I reach my speed I go up until I’m cruising at the above speed.
Going any faster and I find the engine doesn’t like being below 6000rpm, so I cruise at 6000-7000 and accelerate with shifts happening between 7000 and 8000. Of course, if I’m feeling a little quicker I’ll hold off shifting until 9k-11k.
I’ve got a slightly different engine than you (tuned for a bit more top end power at the expense of mid range torque) but I think our shifting should be very similar. The newer 250Rs can probably get away with a bit lower cruising rpms.
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“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”October 2, 2008 at 3:13 pm #13173JimParticipantI get around 62 MPG on my 2006 Ninja 250. So your does sound a little low.
October 2, 2008 at 6:14 pm #13185AndrewParticipantI’m figuring that it’s probably the rider since the 500+ miles on the Ninja and MSF are my only bike experience. I also don’t drive a manual transmission so it could be all part of my learning curve.
1. Idle is just under 2K.
2. Using 87 octane gas as the MOM recommends.
3. I have been listening to the engine for my shifts and not checking the rpm’s. Today I have been watching them. So I think my tendency is to shift at higher revs. So I’m shifting between 7k and 9K and cruising at about 8K. I don’t think I’m consistent though and the faster I’m going the later I’m probably shifting.I’ve been concentrating on smooth shifting today and in keeping an eye on my revs. I can probably ride a gear higher than I normally do and shift faster. I know the previous owner said he spent a lot of time in 5th even in town. I rarely hit 5th gear but I probably need to start using it. I was thinking that 5th and 6th would be for highway speeds.
I have thought about adding an after market wind deflector which would help the MPG. I figure I need to get the rider to be a better rider for the best gain though. Practice, practice practice.
In my first week commuting I probably was running hot with my throttle hand to make sure I was out of people way and that I wasn’t slowing the cages down. Nailing the cages off the lights isn’t good for the MPG now that I think about it. I don’t think I was doing it intentionally though. Probably thinking about the cages and not the shifting.
I’ll stop rambling now.
October 2, 2008 at 7:31 pm #13194BuddParticipantI would take your idle down to about 1400. In the lower gears you can operate at about 5k rpms shifting at about 7. You can run 3rd at 5k and into higer revs, especially if you are going through some turns or want/need to stay in the power band. In 4th gear it won’t want to go at anything under 6K though. I can keep mine at about 6.5 in 4th riding around town.
Also, don’t rev at lights and check your tire pressure.
How many miles does it have on it?
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
October 2, 2008 at 7:54 pm #13197ilnamParticipantI like the specific guidelines here. Think these numbers are good for a GS500 as well? BTW I idle at 1200
October 2, 2008 at 9:30 pm #13204AndrewParticipantTire pressure is right on. I check it daily after getting a nail in the rear at one point.
Bike has 8500 on it and had 8000 when I bought it.
October 3, 2008 at 1:30 pm #13231AndrewParticipantHad a good day yesterday with my new approach of being the Zen rider and shifter. Only problem I noticed was a kid in a beater that whipped around me when I entered a 45 zone after a stopped right turn. I guess I wasn’t speeding up fast enough for him. I saw him coming but there wasn’t much I could do.
I was watching my idle closely after the comments yesterday and when I left work for the gym the bike started with no choke and was idling at 1750 or 1800. I figure it’s a 20 minute ride through heavy traffic. Once I was done at the gym and was riding home I noticed she was idling higher at 1900 to 2000. Is that because the bike was warmer? This morning I needed the choke to start since it was 45 and she was idling much lower at 1400. I presume that’s temperature related though.
October 3, 2008 at 3:27 pm #13241BuddParticipantYeah, once the bike warms up the idle goes up. You should ste idle on a warm bike. I got 70mpg on my last tank and that included a lot of 70+ mph on the interstate. I have the sprocket adjustment done though. You might look into that. New sprockets are like $50.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
October 3, 2008 at 5:15 pm #13256JimParticipantWhat is the sprocket adjustment if I may ask, and what does it do for performance on your bike.
October 3, 2008 at 6:12 pm #13259BuddParticipantYou can change out both the front and rear sprocket. making the front larger and the rear smaller. This is measured by the number of teeth. Stock is 14-45. mine is 15-42. Here is a better explanation.
My bike has always had it so I can’t compare. I get better mileage because I can keep my RPMs down lower.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
October 3, 2008 at 10:24 pm #13264JimParticipantThanks, something to think about doing someday.
October 4, 2008 at 12:14 am #13255briderdtParticipantEssentially the same thing.
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