can anybody tell me what the average/typical fuel economy loss is when attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. has anybody ever studied that? i think that my loss might have been as much as 15-20 mpg. i thought that was kinda excessive. it will run the speed limit with no problem tho!
joe. 75 xs650/70's american eagle
I've been averaging 30mpg on my daily commute. 2000 Roadstar 1600 w/ Champion Daytona hack. I've had other Roadie owners tell me they get low 40's solo. Best tank that I've tracked was 36mpg. Still trying to replicate that!
Turtle
I normally find a 20 to 25% reduction in mileage each time I've mounted a sidecar. Lose the windshield unless you're carrying a passenger, it will make a big difference.
My Royal Enfield Bullet has been getting anywhere from 60 to 65 MPG with the hack. Without the S/C it is suppose to get 75 to 80 MPG but I don't know. I've not had the S/C off since I got the Bullet two months ago.
At this time I've got 205 miles on a tank (3.8 gallons) of gas but I'm running it dry to see what "the limits" are. Normally I refill around the 175 mark.
Footnote: MPG is while running between 50 and 55 MPH.
yea, i don't understand it either. before i attached the SC, the yamaha 650 was getting 45-50mpg, now with the SC, about 33-35. i was wondering because i was thinking about attaching a SC to my HD roadking. of course the HD would have a heavier sidecar! the roadking gets anywhere from 43-57 the way i ride it. i've had a blast with the sidecar!
that Enfield Bullet, wow! will it run hiway speeds?
I lost almost 40% of my mileage. Went from 275kms down to 160kms (divide by 1.6 to get miles].
YAMAHA V-STAR 1100 WITH BIMMER SIDECAR [200LBS SIDECAR]
Hi;My Honda 1500 with Daytona 2+2 car gets between 25-30 MPG,get better on my car but is fun bike.
I've got a Dneper mounted on a 1983 Honda GL 650I. The sidecar is a bit heavy for a 650cc tug.
I've never checked fuel consumption with out the sidecar. I'm told that my bike should get as much as 50 MPG. When I was first learning how to ride with a sidecar, I got 37 MPG. As I gained experience and confidence, it dropped to about 30 mpg. Fuel consumption is directly affected by your driving habits. If I push the bike up to 80 mph for any length of time I get as low as 25 MPG. Thats a 50 % drop in fuel efficiency, but a 50% increase in thrill factor. It's a balancing act.
I took of the sidecar of for to run in the engine after an engine overhaul early this year.(2001, Jawa 350ccm, 2 stroker with Velorex 562 without windshield)
Without sidecar 3,3 to 3,6 l/100km (71,6 to 65,6 mi/gal)
with sidecar (3,8) 4.15-4.35 l/100km ((62) 60 to 54 mi/gal)
I was astonished how little is the difference 15 - 20%
Regards
Sven
Hi Jammer,
Interesting. Did you change the gearing on your XS? I ask because I have my sidecar hooked to my 1977 XS650D, and have the stock gearing and a windshield. I get (if my odometer is accurate) between 46 and 50 mpg, depending on things like the particular road and wind conditions, traffic--all the things that can result in down-shifting into 4th for any length of time.
Without the chair, the bike got around 50 mpg, but I rode it more aggressively as a solo bike, and now I am very aware of the price of gas, and I keep a light throttle hand, and usually run at around 60 miles per hour.
On a trip from Washington to Montana, I averaged around 45 mpg, but that included three mountain passes, going each way. I'm happy with it, and when I tell car drivers about it, they growl in a most gratifying manner....
(How do you like your XS as a sidecar bike? This is my second sidecar on the same bike, and I really like it.)
Honda VTX1300 cruiser with Velorex 563 Tour Sidecar.
I lost approximately 5 mpg when I mounted the sidecar.
It's not really a fair comparison in my case, because I was prone to pushing the envelope a bit before attaching the side car. I got 70mpg on a 150 mile ride where speeds never exceeded 55mph. I got as low as 48mpg on a run down to Florida where I held a pretty steady 90mph. My normal mileage ran right around 60-62mpg. Since attaching the side car I've been experiencing 52-55mpg if I maintain 55 to 60 mph. I rode 190 miles of freeway last week and held speeds at 65 to 75 mph and got 50 mpg. This is all with stock gearing and I'm quite pleased.
i have changed the mufflers to a freer flowing exhaust and added k&n air filters, raised the needles on the carbs and larger main jets to compensate for the air/exhaust modifications. gearing is still the same. it was like that before i added the hack tho, and still getting good fuel economy! and i will admit, altho i have lost fuel economy, i have gained on the fun factor!
btw barb, my american eagle and yamaha 650 r pretty well matched all the way around and i just really enjoy it. it gets alot of attention. i miss the fuel economy i used to get, but, i just roll with the punches. what kind of hack is on your xs650d?
