I believe the GL1800 tank holds 6.6 us gal. however, I never intend on getting that close to the bottom... have never neede more than 5.8 gal. to fill up, and that's too close for me. Hacks are too hard to push to the next station!
I try not to go over 150 miles, and usually at 120 miles start looking for the next station when I know there are plenty around. When I'm in unfamiliar areas, I start looking a lot earlier. Sure wish I could go at least 300-350 miles before I have to stop for more fuel. An aux. tank might be in my future...
Originally written by RocketMan on 8/3/2006 7:50 PM
Sure wish I could go at least 300-350 miles before I have to stop for more fuel. An aux. tank might be in my future...
My goal is 250 Interstate miles between stops. That would make me happy.
I have an aux tank on my beemer...3.5 gal extra. with the 6 gal reg tank i can go close to 300 miles, but my butt dont last that long.
mike your butt must be harder than mine...Hee hee!!
My FJ 1200 used to get around 40 mpg with two wheels.
After adding the sidecar I seem to average 25 mpg.
Originally written by Bob in Wis on 8/3/2006 7:29 PM
I have an aux tank on my beemer...3.5 gal extra. with the 6 gal reg tank i can go close to 300 miles, but my butt dont last that long.
mike your butt must be harder than mine...Hee hee!!
Or my seat is softer. :0)
I had a Hannigan GTL added to my GL1800 this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Outstanding service from Dave Keesee who did the install.
I drove home to Marietta, GA on Wednesday Night, back roads/US64 to Monteagle TN where I picked up I24 and then I75. About 420 odometer miles. With no sidecar experience, I travelled much slower, and was very gentle with the throttle.
I expected to get around 28-30 MPG, and got much better for the first 3 full tanks. Dave suggested some of this might be due to the car rear tire. He was correct - my odometer error increased from around 3% to 6%.
The odometer MPG for the 3 tanks - 36.88, 40.41, and 35.49. The corrected MPG: 34.67, 37.99, and 33.36. I expect these numbers to decline as I become more confident, but I don't expect the sidecar to ever be driven as fast as the 2-wheeler.
I generally add around 5.2 - 5.5 gallons, but noticed I needed 6.2 gallons in Feb and Nov last year - don't expect to wait that long with the sidecar.
I did have a little panic attack Wednesday Night on US64 East as it came under I65. It was about 9:00 local time and the BP was already closed as was the station acros the street. I needed gasoline and sat at the BP for a while. I could check into a Motel 8 across the street, and I could probably go down I65 and find fuel. I just kept going east on US64 and found fuel pretty soon.
My highest speedometer reading on Wednesday Night was 75 and the 18 wheelers just blew by me. I generally move left at interstate on ramps and speed up past the merging cars and then return to my original lane, to minimize my proximity to the mergers. Didn't do this Wednesday Night, but noticed speedometer readings of 80-85 at merge points on Friday. Guess I can expect my MPG to decline to 28-30? An aux tank would sure be nice.
Got to go ride a bit and get me some experience. Note to self - Steer, don't lean and don't put the left foot down at traffic signals.
Bill
With a Kawa 1600 Vulcan Classic and a Velorex 562 and 125 pounds of ballast, I get 25 MPG in town and 32 MPG on a trip. This is atill a new bike with about a thousand miles on it so it will get better mileage once it is completely broken in. Without a sidecar, it is rated at 42 MPG. I put the car on it right away so I do not know if the non-car MPG is accurate. I am pretty happy with what I get.
Originally written by GeorgiaBill on 8/6/2006 8:56 AM
I had
My highest speedometer reading on Wednesday Night was 75 and the 18 wheelers just blew by me. I generally move left at interstate on ramps and speed up past the merging cars and then return to my original lane, to minimize my proximity to the mergers. Didn't do this Wednesday Night, but noticed speedometer readings of 80-85 at merge points on Friday. Guess I can expect my MPG to decline to 28-30? An aux tank would sure be nice.Got to go ride a bit and get me some experience. Note to self - Steer, don't lean and don't put the left foot down at traffic signals.
Bill
Bill,
If the 18 wheelers are blowing past you at a reading of 75 your speedo is off.
I found out last year on the 'states, my speedo said 70 -72 and all the trafic, including the trucks were blowing past me.
over the winter I installed a lynx digital enduro Speedo calibrated VERY accurately, and found out my bike speedo was 10-12 MPH slow at bike speedo reading of 70 MPH..I was actually going 60 instead of 70 . at stated 80MPH on the bike speedo I was actually going 70. this summer it all fell into place on the highway. kept right up along with the rest of the traffic at the lynx accurate 70 MPH reading.
If your speedo was registering 75, you were probably going 67-68 MPH. thats why the trucks and others were blowing past.
Noe if I travel at actual 70-72 lynx speed, my bike reads 80-82...way off.
Thanks, Bob. That was just sloppy communication on my part. I rode at about an indicated 65 on the interstate. That's about a real 61 on my rig, according to my GPS. This was after midnight, and the trucks seemed to be haulin'.
For my 400 mile initial sidecar trip, I rode very slowly, never exceeding an indicated 75.
Bill
After years of a non working odometer on my R90/6 I finally broke down last season and had a new one installed and recently thought it might not be a bad idea to get a handle on MPG instead of just stopping for gas every 100 miles or so.... So, R90/6 with subframe (Jay Gieses) Ural sidecar with windscreen, and my 6'5" 285 lb. + frame - average on back roads 30 mpg. Suspected I would be closer to 25 mpg and will start monitoring this better in the future to fine tune.
My 2 cents,
Dr. Raoul Duke
When I first bought my Honda GL650 Silverwing with Dneper sidecar, I was getting 37 mpg around town. When I cruised at 70 yo 75 mph, it dropped to 27 mpg. That was with a full fairing, sidecar windshield folded down and a cover over the chair.
I have put on 5000 hard miles since then. My milage has dropped to 34 around town. I did a compression test yesterday and found I was 50 psi below factory minimum specs. Time for a rebuild.
