big drop in mpg during winter

are you experiencing this as well?
I may add, during very mild mild winter. I used to get 3.1l/100km (75mpg) in August
and now like 4.3l/100km (55mpg) or worse. Weird that I got better mpg just when I bought the bike
6 months ago new then now after almost 6k km (~3.7k miles)
With such bad economy the tank is too small.

I normally see about a 10% drop in mpg during the winter. Also see it with my pickup truck. Keep in mind I’m in the southern part of the U.S. which has mild winters. In the U.S. fuel is reformulated for winter which is suspected to cause part of the drop. Also the air is denser which means more fuel to compensate and increased drag, engine takes longer to get to operating temperature where it is most efficient, etc. The mpg should return in the spring.

Keep in mind that mpg changes on a high mpg vehicle is more noticeable. A 10% drop on a 70 mpg vehicle is 7 mpg whereas on my truck a 10% drop on 20mpg is only 2mpg.

I am getting that right now as well, but I attributed that to my being a new rider on a new machine and learning to drive it.

I just have the lowly 700 but I can see a *humungous* pendulum swing from high to low in mpg numbers on my bike. The most I've ever seen on any of my 20+ motorbikes, ever. Like from low 40's to mid 80's or higher (US gal) and winter versus summer is just one of the things that can effect it. A few other owners have mentioned seeing quite wild numbers possible as well.

You are not alone.

I had a double whammy this year with mine. I put on Shad36 side cases and cold weather hit right after that!
Mine has gone down, but I don't think it is down 10%. More like 7%

L.B.S. said:

I just have the lowly 700 but I can see a *humungous* pendulum swing from high to low in mpg numbers on my bike. The most I've ever seen on any of my 20+ motorbikes, ever.

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+1. I get dramatic swings depending on wind, speed, temperature, luggage, altitude, etc. The only constant in my riding is my commute, and my MPGs drop from 68-70 MPG in the summer to 62-64 MPG every winter. That's about a 7-10% drop with nothing else really changing but temperature.

trey

I don't pay attention anymore but I remember last year averaging around 62mpg in the summer and 55mpg in the winter. I always keep the panniers and top case in place and ride the same roads everyday with the occassional sightseeing getaway. The bike is so much better on fuel than my car I don't even pay attention anymore.

Because I'm a nerd with time to kill at lunch, I made a quick chart. Nice to be able to dump all of my Fuelly data into Excel....



That's 2.5 years, 36k miles of data. If you stand back and squint, you can see how the overall trend dips in the winter each year

trey

Deckyon said:

I am getting that right now as well, but I attributed that to my being a new rider on a new machine and learning to drive it.

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Deckyon.................. NOT a criticism, just a thought. Where you say you are a "new rider" with a "new machine", try to develop the mindset that you NEVER, NEVER, NEVER "drive" a motorcycle. You ride a motorcycle. And it's not a semantics thing..... it's a mindset thing. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

I am puzzled by the drop in consumption mentioned above. My NC is used all year round. I mentioned on a UK forum that the average fuel consumption has decreased marginally as the bike builds mileage, and that is in line with the other owner with whom I was communicating. I did a check on the most recent tank used last week and it came out at 72 miles per imperial gallon. Most of my outings are in excess of 60 miles and I do not commute. I ride briskly. Perhaps we do not have Winter grade fuel here in Ireland.

SergeantChuck said:

I don't pay attention anymore but I remember last year averaging around 62mpg in the summer and 55mpg in the winter. I always keep the panniers and top case in place and ride the same roads everyday with the occassional sightseeing getaway. The bike is so much better on fuel than my car I don't even pay attention anymore.

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well, I would not pay attention as well but reserve flashing way too often gets my attention willy nilly

Don't forget the formula is changed during winter months on Gas throughout the country. This affects fuel milage, as well as air temp, both in negative ways.

I think the mixture for fuel is different in different parts of the country... but it's all a negative impact for millage.

Winter vs summer gasoline blends have been cited as a possible cause several times in this thread. This article: Gasoline gallon equivalent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia shows the energy content of the two (winter and summer) to be less than 2% different. With a typical 65 MPG (US Gallons) NC700X, that would account for barely more than a 1 mpg shift. I think factors like engine operating temperature, longer times running richer during warmup, and air density drag coefficient must be playing a much larger role than the fuel blend.

That's my seasonal consumption...

670cc said:

longer times running richer during warmup

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That particularly makes sense, especially when the bike is used regularly as a commuter.

Here's my 700S, showing the first 40,000km. The bike does a 100km each way commute, and majority of the riding is on the same road, so varying terrain is not really a factor.

In the states we not only experience MPG differences caused by seasonal fuel but also from 100% gasoline vs 90% gas/10% corn juice. And seasonal fuel on an especially warm day in winter or especially cold day in summer can play havoc with the MPG numbers. Personally, I just look at the long term average and not worry too much about the ups & downs.

ste7ios said:

That's my seasonal consumption...

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man, you don't get under 4l/100km in summer??? how come? are you racing all the time?

Considering my V6 VTEC gets a whopping 18 in the city, the 56+ I am seeing so far with the NC is miles beyond! Literally!