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Fuel efficient coasting?

Jt105

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What is the best way to coast with the NC700?

By habit, when coasting down a hill or to a stop sign/light, I will pull in the clutch. The motor will go to idle. When traffic begins to move or the light turns green, I'll downshift, give some throttle and let out the clutch. This was the way to do it when bikes used carburetors to save fuel.

I have heard that the newer fuel injected motorcycles are smarter and will cut the fuel when coasting while in gear.
Will the NC coast or engine brake down a hill and cut the fuel? Or will it burn more fuel because the engine is spinning faster in gear?

I have a number of stoplights and stop signs on my commute. I try to coast and time the lights so that I don't have to stop. Not quite hypermiling, but i try to avoid racing to the light only to stop and wait there for it to turn green.

JT
 
With fuel injection engine should be using no fuel when engine braking... (with RPM well above idle).
It will use fuel when idling (even if you are idling while in gear with the clutch engaged).

That said, if you are engine braking you slow down faster than if you are coasting, slowing down costs momentum which you need to use fuel to get back...

I'm sure there is some perfect algorithm for when to coast and when to downshift for the best fuel economy... I don't know (or care) what it is
 
The NC cuts the fuel off when the throttle is closed. Of course there is engine braking at work then so we can’t just close the throttle and coast w/o engine braking like a manual transmission can.

I have observed that when running down a long grade under closed or partial throttle the digital mpg display goes in the high 90’s or pegs at 99.9 so I’m not sure there will be much fuel savings between clutch-in idle engine coasting vs just enough partial throttle to not have engine braking. You can only go downhill so long. :)
 
I've noticed that letting off the throttle in 6th gear there is very little engine braking. It is almost as good as pulling in the clutch. On my next tank, I'll make an effort to try coasting in 6th gear more to see if I notice a difference.

JT
 
I've noticed that letting off the throttle in 6th gear there is very little engine braking. It is almost as good as pulling in the clutch. On my next tank, I'll make an effort to try coasting in 6th gear more to see if I notice a difference.

JT
There are so many variables to MPG a tank or three is of not much use when the savings we are discussing are so minute. Just my opinion.

If you set up a Fuelly account and tracked it for a year then I'd pay attention.
 
I don't do much engine braking as I unlearned the habit a few years ago with cars. It was pointed out to me that changing brakes is easier than clutches and allowing the engine to idle is better than spinning it up, especially it you drop it into a too low gear as I did often. Remember that the less times the engine turns, the less wear and tear there is on it. That's one reason I went with the NC in the first place because it doesn't run at 10,000 rpms on the freeway. Also consider that over 100k miles on your bike if you get about 70 mpg you are only using about 1428 gallons of fuel. At $3 per gallon that's only $4284, less than the cost of a new bike. Getting 75 mpg instead is about $4000, a savings of $284 over the life of the bike. So saving a few mpg's may not be worth a decrease in durability.
 
I believe clutches only wear when they are slipping. Most bikes can go to 100,000 miles on a clutch and longer.
I leave it in top gear and just ease off on the throttle.
On the DCT when I am coming up to a stop I put it in sport and it down shifts pretty much where I would do it. Then take off in sport and when I get up to speed put it in Drive. 2012 model. Otherwise I ease off the throttle and let it slowly downshift and ease up to the light.

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I believe clutches are built to last a long time when treated well, particularly Honda wet clutches. I replaced the clutch plates in my 1972 Kawaski but that's the only one of twenty something bikes to follow and I like a perfectly timed throttle-blipped downshift for the right gear at the right time. Haven't worn out a Honda engine yet either...one has 194,000 miles on it now with the first 180,000 under me.
 
[...on the DCT when I am coming up to a stop I put it in sport and it down shifts pretty much where I would do it...1WiseGuy2]


Not that I've tried but I assumed it is NOT possible to shift between D and S when the bike is still rolling?

All this talk of squeezing another ounce of mileage from a bike that normally returns 65-70 mpg is pure madness. I could somewhat understand it if our fuel was $7+ per gallon as it is across the pond, but the latest fuel prices where I live is around $2.45 per gal.
 
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No, not madness. Just trying to better understand how the engine and fuel injection works under certain conditions.

JT
 
[...on the DCT when I am coming up to a stop I put it in sport and it down shifts pretty much where I would do it...1WiseGuy2]


Not that I've tried but I assumed it is NOT possible to shift between D and S when the bike is still rolling?

All this talk of squeezing another ounce of mileage from a bike that normally returns 65-70 mpg is pure madness. I could somewhat understand it if our fuel was $7+ per gallon as it is across the pond, but the latest fuel prices where I live is around $2.45 per gal.
Yes, you can shift anytime you want to. From manual, sport, or drive. Doesn't matter.
For me fuel mileage is an indicator of the health of the bike, but also a game on how high I can get it sometimes. ie; Yesterday, I even drove the speed limit for 3 hrs in my diesel VW touareg just to see what kind of fuel mileage it would get. Side note: it too can be switched to sport, manual or drive on the fly! [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
I don't do much engine braking as I unlearned the habit a few years ago with cars. It was pointed out to me that changing brakes is easier than clutches and allowing the engine to idle is better than spinning it up, especially it you drop it into a too low gear as I did often. Remember that the less times the engine turns, the less wear and tear there is on it. That's one reason I went with the NC in the first place because it doesn't run at 10,000 rpms on the freeway. Also consider that over 100k miles on your bike if you get about 70 mpg you are only using about 1428 gallons of fuel. At $3 per gallon that's only $4284, less than the cost of a new bike. Getting 75 mpg instead is about $4000, a savings of $284 over the life of the bike. So saving a few mpg's may not be worth a decrease in durability.

The clutch isn't what's providing the braking force when you are engine braking, it's the compression in the engine (unless you are slipping the clutch the whole time) so the clutch will wear less from engine braking then the brakes will wear from regular braking.

And normal engine wear (from the engine doing what it's designed to do move the piston up and down) is unlikely to be the wear and tear that takes a bike off the road... (it's half a fit engine** and those things can run for 100s of thousands of miles in a car, and even then the engine failing is rarely the reason for a car getting scrapped anymore.)
 
Yes, you can shift anytime you want to. From manual, sport, or drive. Doesn't matter.
For me fuel mileage is an indicator of the health of the bike, but also a game on how high I can get it sometimes. ie; Yesterday, I even drove the speed limit for 3 hrs in my diesel VW touareg just to see what kind of fuel mileage it would get. Side note: it too can be switched to sport, manual or drive on the fly! [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
if mileage is an indicator of the health of the bike, mine must be in pretty awful shape ;)
 
The clutch isn't what's providing the braking force when you are engine braking, it's the compression in the engine (unless you are slipping the clutch the whole time) so the clutch will wear less from engine braking then the brakes will wear from regular braking.

And normal engine wear (from the engine doing what it's designed to do move the piston up and down) is unlikely to be the wear and tear that takes a bike off the road... (it's half a fit engine** and those things can run for 100s of thousands of miles in a car, and even then the engine failing is rarely the reason for a car getting scrapped anymore.)
I cringe whenever I hear the reference to "Half a Fit engine" (it isn't, not even close) but your points are valid.
 
[...on the DCT when I am coming up to a stop I put it in sport and it down shifts pretty much where I would do it...1WiseGuy2]


Not that I've tried but I assumed it is NOT possible to shift between D and S when the bike is still rolling?

I often shift between modes 'on the fly'. There's a limited access drive that I like to do in S & then I shift to D when I turn off into the community. For that you only need to close the throttle. But for hyper-milers you can't shift from D into Neutral while the wheels are turning (according to the owner's manual).
 
if mileage is an indicator of the health of the bike, mine must be in pretty awful shape [emoji6]

Junkie I almost put something in there about wrist usage and exercise! Hahahahaha

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I believe clutches are built to last a long time when treated well, particularly Honda wet clutches. I replaced the clutch plates in my 1972 Kawaski but that's the only one of twenty something bikes to follow and I like a perfectly timed throttle-blipped downshift for the right gear at the right time. Haven't worn out a Honda engine yet either...one has 194,000 miles on it now with the first 180,000 under me.

Now you've got me curious.... are you talking about a bike here?
 
Now you've got me curious.... are you talking about a bike here?
Yes, talking about bikes. In 2018 I sold my '05 Honda ST1300 with 180,000 miles on it. That's not really high mileage in the ST world. There are quite a few over 200k and some over that with 430,000 miles the highest I know of.
 
Yes, talking about bikes. In 2018 I sold my '05 Honda ST1300 with 180,000 miles on it. That's not really high mileage in the ST world. There are quite a few over 200k and some over that with 430,000 miles the highest I know of.
I'm giving my son my 2007 ST and it only has 46,000 miles. Told him it should last him his whole life if he takes care of it... he is 19.

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