i just purchased my first harley. i have a 2004 heritage. it runs like a champ but the fuel mileage sucks. i'm not much of a mechanic, can anyone give me some advise on mods. i can make to increase fuel economy and overall performance?

 

What kind of milage are you getting?Most big v twin Harleys get between 35 to 50 mpg depending on how you drive.

 

You will have to do some open road running to see what you actuall milage will be. Tank up, ride till the gas light comes on, if ya have one and fill up again. Do the math with your milage and amount of fuel on the second fill up. Enjoy the ride.

 

Is your bike EFIor carb? Maybe you just need a tune up especially if it's EFI as the computer controls the fuel/air mix and it mightbe running too rich. Also, do you have stage 1? high flowexhaust?These are things that can impact your fuel economy and performance and like the earlier post what exactly is your fuel mileage. Maybe it's not as bad as you think.

 

One thing to try is shifting later when accelerating if you're mainly driving in town. At crusing speed lower rpms seem better, but when accelerating more torque seems better for fuel economy.

 

May want to check/clean your air filter.