Gas consumption

7752 Views 47 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Elevenjack, 24 d ago

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · Mar 4, 2022

With oil hitting $115 per barrel, I cannot help but noticed that the CB has one of the highest gas consumption out there for comparable engine size.
On average, I'm getting between 37-39 mpg.
If I make an effort to ride really leisurely and be cognizant of my right hand, I can hit 40-41 mpg but we are talking really unspirited/lame riding.

Just as a comparison with my other bikes, I am getting around

43 MPG for 2005 CBR1000RR
46 mpg for 2018 CBR1000RR SP
48 mpg for 2021 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX (which has a larger engine)

What are the reasons for this engine behavior in the CB ? I thought the SC80 is a variant of the SC77 ?
I also noticed that the operating temperature of the Ninja runs a lot cooler than the Honda's.

1 - 20 of 48 Posts

Bevo

· #2 · Mar 4, 2022

Aerodynamics is one factor. Cold temps seem to affect gas mileage in a not good way. Thermostat closes when water temp drops to 169F if I remember correctly. It constantly opens and closes in cold weather and the water temp toggles up and down one or two degrees. My SC60 was similar to my NSC as far as gas mileage and all my CBRs got better gas mileage when cruising.

I had a CB500F that got around 38mpg on the highway.

Reactions: 1

BigOne-94-14

· #3 · Mar 5, 2022

There's several old threads on this. You can get 25mpg if you really try. And better than 50 if you drive like a granny. I typically get 35-36 with a mix of commuting and fun.

Reactions: 1

Reagenn

· #4 · Mar 5, 2022

I get around 40-42mpg with 97octane non-ethanol. Must be all downhill...

Reactions: 1

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 5, 2022

Reagenn said:
I get around 40-42mpg with 97octane non-ethanol. Must be all downhill...

Not sure if the octane made a difference as the CB's engine was detuned in the factory to have less compression compared to the CBR's; thereby, requiring less octane from the gasoline.

Bevo said:
Cold temps seem to affect gas mileage in a not good way.

Good point. May be this has been the case for me as I have not driven my CB in regular summer weather yet since I bought it last October when the cold rains were already arriving.
I will keep this mind when the weather warms up this season.

BigOne-94-14

· #6 · Mar 5, 2022

Cold temps .. air is denser. Equals a bit more power. Potentially fuel saving, unless you react to the power with glee...

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 5, 2022

BigOne-94-14 said:
Cold temps .. air is denser. Equals a bit more power. Potentially fuel saving, unless you react to the power with glee...

I get that but @Bevo was also talking about the thermostat going ON/OFF frequently. Sounded like he was on to something ...

Reagenn

· #8 · Mar 6, 2022

ArtyY said:
Not sure if the octane made a difference as the CB's engine was detuned in the factory to have less compression compared to the CBR's; thereby, requiring less octane from the gasoline.

Good point. May be this has been the case for me as I have not driven my CB in regular summer weather yet since I bought it last October when the cold rains were already arriving.
I will keep this mind when the weather warms up this season.

Lol. I meant to say 87 octane. 97 is not even available around here.

Reactions: 1

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 6, 2022

Reagenn said:
Lol. I meant to say 87 octane. 97 is not even available around here.

Sorry, I didn't know it was a typo.

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 7, 2022

Weird ... in the last gas fill-up, I noticed that when I entered the numbers into Fuelly.com, the gas consumption shot up around 50.88 MPG.
Well, my CB is trying to prove me wrong. It may be a one off. We'll see.

For those who are interested, here are my records for my CB since I bought it --- every fill-up is recorded.

Black Ed CB1000R (Honda CB1000R) | Fuelly

BigOne-94-14

· #11 · Mar 7, 2022

ArtyY said:
Weird ... in the last gas fill-up, I noticed that when I entered the numbers into Fuelly.com, the gas consumption shot up around 50.88 MPG.
Well, my CB is trying to prove me wrong. It may be a one off. We'll see.

For those who are interested, here are my records for my CB since I bought it --- every fill-up is recorded.

Black Ed CB1000R (Honda CB1000R) | Fuelly

Make sure you are not mixing US and British gallons. 40mpg US is 50mpg British.

Arcimboldi

· #12 · Mar 7, 2022 (Edited)

In #3 post BigOne-94-14 nailed it and said:
...And better than 50...

If the OP wasn't write only this max mpg was plenty good explained.
You all Pol Espargaro obviously ain't.

Bevo

· #13 · Mar 7, 2022

ArtyY said:
the gas consumption shot up around 50.88 MPG.

That makes no sense. Maybe you didn't actually top off the tank or those 81 miles were all down hill

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 7, 2022

BigOne-94-14 said:
Make sure you are not mixing US and British gallons. 40mpg US is 50mpg British.

I did not change anything in Fuelly.com. Was using one consistent unit of measure all along.

Bevo said:
That makes no sense. Maybe you didn't actually top off the tank or those 81 miles were all down hill

Yes, it does not make sense. May be I was riding like granny (ha ha

). Like I said, I did not change anything in Fuelly and how I recorded the info and the way the tank was filled.
The only thing I noticed was different was the gas price (went from $3.8+ $4.22).

I'll keep this in view and report back.

Bevo

· #15 · Mar 7, 2022

That last trip either had an error in miles or gallons, or it was drastically different than the others to go from 42.4 average to 50.9 on your last fill-up. 42.4 average is legit on both the CBs I've owned.

Bevo

· #16 · Mar 10, 2022

So today on my commute the air temperature was 45 F and I was cruising at 75mph. As soon as the water temp hit 170 F it would indicate 169, 168, and 167. Sit there for a few seconds and climb back to 170. Rinse and repeat. Water temp never got above 170 F while at 75 mph. So the low end of optimum operating water temp for the NSC begins at 170 F.

Reactions: 1

liver.larson

· #17 · Mar 11, 2022

Not sure I have a lot to add here, but I get 36-38 on average (US, up in PNW). Not too much variability in my experience.

On a road trip, I encountered an Ethanol-free gas station. For that tank, I got more like 50. Before that, I did not realize there were ANY ethanol free pumps out there.

ArtyY

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 11, 2022

liver.larson said:
Not sure I have a lot to add here, but I get 36-38 on average (US, up in PNW). Not too much variability in my experience.

On a road trip, I encountered an Ethanol-free gas station. For that tank, I got more like 50. Before that, I did not realize there were ANY ethanol free pumps out there.

Interesting findings about pure gasoline. Thanks for sharing.

BigOne-94-14

· #19 · Mar 11, 2022

www.bellperformance.com

The Major Differences Between Ethanol and Gasoline

This article explains the major differences between ethanol and gasoline.

www.bellperformance.com

The Differences Between Ethanol and Gasoline

A gallon of gasoline provides one-third more energy than a gallon of ethanol.

Blending ethanol and gasoline at a ratio of 85 percent to 15 percent (E85), the blended fuel is nearly thirty percent less powerful than pure gasoline. Ethanol is similar in acceleration, power, and cruising ability, but ethanol miles per gallon are less than pure gasoline.

Reactions: 3

Bevo

· #20 · Mar 11, 2022

ArtyY said:
Interesting findings about pure gasoline.

A pump can occasionally be found in Texas

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