hey guys.....
So I got a new bike(used) in the spring & haven't really been able to ride it too far(riding around town only) & was topping off the tank intermittently. Just kinda realized I might only be getting 13-15 mpg. I'm a new rider... so kinda was riding hard on the gears at 1st (taking longer to switch gears & throttling a bit more than neccessary). I haven't had the bike worked on as the seller had listed all new fluids. I'm thinking it might be time for new spark plugs or cleaning the air filter (K&N) & wanted to get some opinions. The bike has an evo engine with about 12,000 miles & runs great. No problems besides the poor gas mileage.(& no gas smell, so I'm unaware of any gas leaks...no visual indicators of leaks either)
???thoughts????

 

We might be able to give you some thoughts, but the lack of info in your post makes it really difficult.

Are you referring to the 2010 softail custom that you wrote about in your other posts or is it some other bike.

If it is the 2010, I don't think you have an evo. I though softies had a twin cam starting in 2000.

Has any one done any mods? (pipes. air cleaner, tuner, aftermarket brakes, etc.)

Also, where are you riding? Is it all city, do you get out on the highway at all?

Finally, how are you checking your gas mileage? If you are really only getting 13-15 mpg, that means you can only go about 75 miles before you run out of gas. That mileage doesn't make sense. I get 13-15 with my truck while I am pulling a 5,000 lb camping trailer up and down the mountains of Colorado.

 

You're not going to get the optimum mileage ripping around town. I'll bet you're getting better than 13-15 though. What model of bike are we talking about here?

 

Holy crap somethings wrong for sure

 

It's the same bike but it was customized by a builder with an evo engine & Dyna trans. Vance & Hines big shot exhaust, Dyna 2000 high discharge ignition, seton big breath kit, & a 2 piece 5g tear drop 2 piece(side by side) gas tank with petcock. That's all the modifications I know/can think of off the top of my head that might be relevant

 

Are you figuring your MPG's the right way? Take the miles you rode and divide them by how many gallons you used.
I topped of my tank yesterday morning. I rode 138 miles and put in 3.164 gallons. 138 miles divided by 3.164 gallons equals 43.615 MPG's.
Thirteen miles a gallon doesn't seem right on a bike.

 

Yea kinda....I have a trip function on my speedometer. I had filled the tank & went 50miles (over the course of 3 short trips over a week). Bike hasn't died yet & not on reserve yet either, but opened up the tank for a peek....seemed light, & it looked close to empty. It is a teardrop tank so where the gas caps are(1 on each side) is at the high point of the teardrop ark so it's kinda hard to tell. But I'm guessing from what I could see ~ 3 g gone.... So 50m/3g=~ 16mpg

 

Dump question, could it be the short trips??? Starting & stopping the bike & constant gear shifting on back roads that are hill-y??? I get it up to 45ish but a lot of stop signs & what not - keep me in 35-40mph range & 1,2,3 gears w/4th & 5th when I get it to 45-55mph on main rds/Routes

 

It's a Harley, they all do that

Seriously though, check for leaking gasoline. Unlike oil, it will not leave a spot because it evaporates fast,

 

That's just it, you're guessing. Fill tank to completely full, then clear trip meter/odometer. If you don't or can't then just record the current mileage on 1st fill up. Ride it and the following time you fill up take the odo miles divided by the quantity of fuel you just pumped, voila! Now you'll have an accurate MPG reading and your not eyeballing or guesstimating how many gallons you've used by looking inside a dark fuel tank.