So...this is my setup

1. Heavy breather air filter
2. Vance and Hines straight shots with Big City Thunder Monster Baffles
3. Stock carb (don't know about needle position though, not really a carb guru)

I've read on websites that 42-50 mpg is normal for stock FXD's...is it normal to get just 28mpg? I just rebuilt the engine, and this is the first month riding it. I tend to avoid heavy traffic, but sometimes it's inevitable.

Home to college: 6 miles
college to work: 2 miles
work to home: 8 miles

16-18 miles a day, 1st through 3rd gear,
15 Litres/ 3.96 gallons of gas give me 111 miles before going to reserve...

 

With that kind of riding, thats all your gonna get. Get it out on the highway man!

 

Thats a lot of city driving, shifting, and stop and go. You'll here stories of people getting 100MPG here but don't believe it. Now if that was hiway mileage then I'ld be concerned.

Plus who knows what kind of gas your getting there.

 

yup totally right! the worse mileage you can get is when your @ 0 miles an hour intraffic. almost as much gas going in but your getting nowhere!

 

Thank you for your replies...for a second there I thought something was wrong with my bike.

I'll try different routes then, even if some are longer they usually have less traffic, and I can use the rest of the gears...

 

Awesome rebuild thread! Love the start-up video at the end.
Great work - you can write a book!
George

 

I get a consistent 46mpg with lowest ever being 42mpg on 2002 WG.

With the driving you do sounds like you are eating all the gas accelerating between red lights. I avoid being in town if all possible. Just don't enjoy riding a motorcycle in a hornets nest of cars.

 

Thank you friend! It was the longest 2 1/2 months of MY LIFE, I'll tell you that! Blood, sweat and tears (and nuts and bolts, lol)

 

Yeah, I hate it too, but I can't help it: the bike's all I've got to move around!

 

Traffic is almost certainly the enemy here, although the short distances may also be a culprit. You supposedly really need to ride at least ten miles at a time for the best health of the engine, according to my tech and the popular wisdom of my younger years. That may have changed with the new motors, but since you're using an older one... All stop and go traffic, and accelerating through just the bottom gears will really kill mileage. Also, you may be jetted a little rich (better for the engine, worse for the environment and mileage). All that said, though, my FXR was only getting about 35 in mixed driving, so all city, 28 isn't horrid.