Best MPG and Longest Range

[Jammin'John]

I'm looking into getting a Road Star Silverado. I see that the carburated ones have larger gas tanks than the injected ones.
Is the MPG better with the EFI ? If so,does the smaller tank give more range than the larger one that's on the carb ones ?
Is it cheaper to put big air and slipon's on a carb bike than to do the same on an injected one ? Is rejetting the carb as expensive as getting a fuel manager ?
Are cams expensive for this bike ?

JJ

[Shotround]

if youre looking for 40mpg while doing 75mph+ for hours on end, give up. ive tried and failed, but im no mechanic so you may fare better. i ride with a guy that has a 2004 goldwing that has twice the range and probably has autopilot.

[Jammin'John]

I ride between 60 - 70 all day. Twist it up a bit now and then.

[Shores]

Lots of questions here. I have gotten 50 before on my 2008 fuel injected but that was cruising on the freeway for many hours cross country at about 65 or 70 miles per hour. I don't think anyone here would recommend slip-ons for increased performance or mileage. You're better off with the stock mufflers, true duals or two into one exhaust. Fuel injected road Stars run horrible with a fuel processor so don't even go there. Just use the stock ECU like all of us do. You cannot remap the ECU on a fuel injected road Star but you can fine tune a carburetor if you know what you're doing. I doubt you'll get the mileage with a carbonated roadstar that you do with a fuel injected one. Carb mods are no comparison to the high price of an aftermarket fuel processor. I wouldn't worry at all about the fuel tank size, just get a small half gallon gas can to put in your saddle bag if you're concerned. The cam guys can answer your questions about that but I don't believe you're going to get better mileage and you're going to put a ton of money into it for minimal performance increase. Ride the road star for what it is and spend your extra money on a second hot rod motorcycle.

[Jammin'John]

WHY would they run bad with a fuel processor ? I had big air and a slipon on my Stratoliner and it ripped !

[Mr. Miyagi]

44 mpg at 75 mph is the best that I have gotten with my 09 fuelie. I am often on the highway for tanks at a time.

[Jammin'John]

That's terrific ! I spend most of my ride between 60 - 70.

[MikeyC]

I’m right there with Mr.Miyagi. Thou a head wind will kick your a$$

[Brad_G]

Is that 75 on the speedometer? If so it's actually probably only 70 which for mine seems to be a sweet spot for how it runs.

[Brad_G]

from Solon, IA

It seems on my fuel injected model I generally get ~36 pretty consistently. I've gotten over 40 a few times but it's infrequent. Since I'm in the midwest many of our fuel stops sell only ethanol blend so if you have non-ethanol fuel you may get better mileage that what I see. Generally it seems some of the carb guys post a little better mileage. But as Shores says, the carb needs to be tuned right.

[Jammin'John]

36 is not so great. We do have lot's of no ethanol stations around here.

[Shores]

My typical 200 to 250 mi day rides with a combination of rural and urban riding is 38 to 42 mpg on my fuelie.

[Brad_G]

Did you go to the 33 tooth pulley?

[Jammin'John]

That's terrific !

[Shotround]

i must be doing something wrong. the only time i get over 40mpg is when im on the scooter.

[Brad_G]

[GreenMachine]

I generally get 40-50 mpg riding mostly back roads on my carbureted 1600 with a big air kit, and pipes. Usually I’m in the low to mid 40s, and I tend to really twist the throttle coming out of the twisties.

Tuning the carb is easy and affordable if you listen to the advice here. I’m running a 37.5 Mikuni pilot, Baron needle in the 4th groove with spacer & one washer, and a 170 Mikuni main. I futzed with the jetting a ton when I first got my bike 12 years ago; this setup gave me the best performance and mileage. If you get a 1600 with pipes and free flowing filter, I’d just use these settings and forget about it. The 1700s generally run well with a 40 pilot, Baron needle set the same as the 1600, and 172.5 main with pipes and an aftermarket filter. Some guys run a little different settings depending on their specific bike/equipment/altitude, but these will get you in the ballpark, if not right where you need to be.

[Jammin'John]

I'm looking for a 1700 ! Carbs may be a good thing.

[Father Pobasturd]

If you are worried about MPG's you may want to look elsewhere. The Roadstar is a fine machine, but it's based on 100 year old technology. If you plan on a lot of long distance hiway riding, there's dozens of bikes that are more economical, more comfortable, and just better suited for touring duty. Sure, many members here have made baggers out of them, but it's not what they were meant to be. Weigh your decision carefully.

[Jammin'John]

I'm riding a Vulcan 200LT. Same kind of bike. I rode my Stratoliner 192,000 Smiles. Got high 30's to low 40's for mileage. I ride a Valkyrie. I'm not touring. I just ride a lot of 200 - 300 mile days.

[brianmac]

like outboards, the fuel consumption velocity increases at the higher rpms. 65-70 is sweet spot. you could take it to a dyno guy, and he cout set your AF ratios at all rpms to improve economy.

[Jammin'John]

60 - 70 is where I live !

[Shores]

Did you go to the 33 tooth pulley?

Yes

[Jammin'John]

Would that lower RPM's ?

[Shores]

Would that lower RPM's ?

My 2008 came stock with a 32 tooth primary front pulley. I changed it to a 33 tooth from an earlier model and it lowered the RPMs at cruising speed about 500. A lot of folks change the front and the rear but I just went halfway and changed the front only for a higher ratio. You can read tons of comments on this forum regarding the erratic behavior of aftermarket processors on the road star specifically. I don't know why they don't work but all I know is that they generally don't work. We've had a couple people who have got their bikes to successfully run with one but they aren't convinced that the performance was any better than just using the stock ECU. Most folks take that $500 piece off and use it as a paperweight. I am running the stock ECU with freedom performance true dual exhaust in the universal k&n intake filter. Runs like a bad out of hell and has 70,000 miles on it.

[Tykes_Place]

My 2005 has a big air kit, true dual exhaust, highway gearing. I'm big, ride in the mountains, and 80mph is my friend. I rarely see 30mpg. But I don't much care. I don't ride a Roadie for the mileage.

[Jammin'John]

We have too many deer around here for 80+ mph to be my friend and I can't afford the gas mileage I would get @ 80+. I'm retired with a small fixed income.

JJ

[Jammin'John]

So,is the range about the same between the larger gas tank carb bikes and the smaller tank EFI bikes @ 60 - 70 mph cruising ?
If big air and a pipe are involved would the carb bike be easier and cheaper to tune ?

JJ

[MidnightRide]

I have the Hypercharger on a carbed 1600. Runs great. On a solo run running at 60-70 mph a few years ago, I got 55 mpg. I documented it on the old RSC site. I can squeeze 5.75+ gallons into the tank so theoretically can run over 300 miles on a tank til dry. I have run 250 on occasion, and even when riding 2-up I don't even start thinking about gas until I'm over 200 miles. With two riders we generally get 45-50 mpg, as documented at Starfest last summer.

I think I'm ready to sell the bike. Fly in, ride home. I just don't ride it enough and need to get more time in my boat and Jeep during the non-snow months.

[Shores]

So,is the range about the same between the larger gas tank carb bikes and the smaller tank EFI bikes @ 60 - 70 mph cruising ?
If big air and a pipe are involved would the carb bike be easier and cheaper to tune ?

JJ

You can't tune a fuel injected road star. You can't remap the stock ECU and adding an aftermarket ECU is feudal. You can add aftermarket pipes and intake but other than that there's not much you can do. The advantages are that you will have absolutely no problems with it. So to answer your question, a carbonated roadstar costs more to tune but it's extremely inexpensive to do so when you do the work yourself.

[D-Fresh]

I've got a FI bike with aftermarket pipes and stock air cleaner. On back road jaunts with plenty of throttle twisting i'm looking for fuel at about 160 miles when the fuel light comes on. Never calculated the MPG, don't ride my bike for that...

[MikeyC]

I am also looking for fuel at 160 miles. I have hit 200 on a tank but I don’t count on it. When I’m on the road I carry an extra 2 gallons if not 4 gallons I hate walking

[Mr. Miyagi]

I just rode back from Fort Smith, Arkansas and the Steel Horse Rally. The speed limit on Arkansas highways is 55 MPH. It is slow but a nice ride if you like small towns and friendly folks. I had 2 tanks that went to the best fuel milage that I have ever gotten but I am usually riding interstate highways and Texas highways with 75 MPH being common.

[MidnightRide]

Your speedo goes up to 140?

What was your actual mileage on the trip?

[Mr. Miyagi]

It's a shade under 200 miles each direction. I filled up here and rode almost to Ft; Smith. I attended the rally and stopped in DeQueen, AR on the way home to get fuel. There were .2 miles difference in my mileage and .05 Gallons difference in fuel. one was 3.65 and the other was 3.7 Gallons. This one was the 3.65 stop home. I bought Shell 87 octane both times so I could use my fuel rewards card. 45 MPG

[Jammin'John]

So it seems that the carb bikes are easier to tune and have a longer range per full tank !

JJ

[Brad_G]

The carbs are user serviceable (if one knows what they're doing), so yeah. Plus they don't loose tank volume due to fuel pump internally. So they are at an advantage there as well.

[Lug Nut]

You're going to be very similar gas mileage to your liner. Maybe slightly better with a road star. It also depends if you're using a fairing or a full windshield or naked. If you're going 60 to 70 on a roadstar with the windshield with a properly set up carburetor good exhaust good air intake etc. Expect low 40 MPG realistically.

[Jammin'John]

Thanks for the info !

JJ