[bluegill]

Hey folks. New here. I bought my '11 Stryker new on Christmas eve. Then I was away for a while so this week was my first week of riding. I crossed 210 miles today. I am severely dissapointed in my mileage. The last 0 on the guage appeared at 60 miles of the first tank. But since I had no idea how much gas was in it when I bought it I didn't worry too much. Then the second tank gave me 23 mi a gallon and the last 0 came on again around 70. that's all city mileage. I rode with some guys today on country roads and got much better. the last 0 came up at 100 miles and I rode another 10 home. The "reserve mileage countdown" has not come on yet so it's possible I might get 130 out of this tank.

But being new to the bike I have no desire to push it and run out of gas so maybe I am just learning the bike. But 60 miles? There are guys here talking about not worrying until 120-130 miles. why am I half that?

will it get better as it breaks in?

Does anyone add seafoam? does a new bike need it? Will it help since the gas is ethanol added?

I realize there are other threads on mileage and the reserve tank. I guess my question is do I have anything to worry about with my new bike is this normal and should I be adding seafoam from the beginning.

My previous bike was a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 so I was used to 50+ mpg. I realize I'm not going to get that with this bike but my heart sunk when the fuel guage came on at 60 miles on the bike.

Otherwise, i love this bike and is an awesome next bike from my dear old vulcan

thanks for insight in advance
John

 

[thibbits]

Sounds to me like you might want to take it back to the dealership and tell them what is going on. It might be something as simple as a float adjusment.

 

[11Stryker]

Hey Thibbits- No floats in Fuel injection units. We do not have carbs.

OK John- So City driving is not going to produce as good a mileage as Country. and I do use seafoam on occasion. Best mileage will come from non-ethanol gas if you have any in your area. Only downfall with non-eth is cost is usually 30 cents more per gallon. Your best tank full of gas might get you 150-160 miles at best on the norm.

 

[ROADKILL]

The only reason to add seafoam is if you think you got some bad gas or if you're planing on storing the bike for awhile.....I don't have a Stryker- I've got a Raider on it I know that if when I turn on the key and start the bike without letting the guages cycle then I will get a false reading on the fuel guage - so I don't know if the Stryker is the same.

 

[quantumrider]

I believe that a new bike (or car) will always get low mpg 'till it's broke in somewhat. Any car I bought new did that and both my v star 950 & the stryker did that. The stryker settled to mormal mpg after a few tanks as did the 950 & the cars. But I did use "the ride it like you stole it" break in method.

 

[BillyD66]

OK just to get a real feel for things what is your actual mpg? This takes 1-2 tank fill-ups but if you use trip-2 for the total miles between fill-ups and divide by the gas you put in you'll come up with this value. City(ie stop-n-go) will obviously kill mileage as will really hard throttle twisting but on average I get 36-38 and have since tank #1. Highway or long distance rides can generate 50+ mpg but the MFG # was 40mpg so you should be shooting to get that +-2 mpg with "normal" driving.
If you live in a more extreme environment you'd have to adjust your expectations up or down as the case might be.

The other potential issue with the gauge being "off" is separate and would need to be addressed if the mpg you calculate is not agreeing with what you see.

 

[wyntress]

My bike ranged between 28-30 when I first got her. But I did the slow and steady method of breaking her in for the first 2k miles. Even with the mods I have on her now, I still get around 36-38 mpg. So, be patient just for a bit. Do your calculations every week for the rest of the month. Let Feb go by, and repeat the measurements again in March. If there is no change, then I would think something may be off.

 

[toby]

25 to 30 mpg town and mountain twisties average speeds 15 to 35 mph. Freeway can get as much as 50 mpg. average 40 mpg. Getting 150 to 170 per tank should be the average norm. Unless you do nothing but city travel then you should hit the gas station 80 to 100 miles to be safe.
As for the timing of the indicators coming on, the low fuel light should come on before the last 0/ 1/4 tank marker disappears, then the trip meter count down comes on when the last 0 disappears. At that point you should have 10 to 25 miles to go depending on where you are ridding/ freeway vs city.

 

[bluegill]

Thanks guys for the input. I appreciate it.

I'll fill up tomorrow and see what my mileage was today out in the country. I did figure the previous mileage and got 24.8 mpg, all city stop and go. Maybe I shouldn't be so disappointed in that. Also, maybe I am over reacting to the last 0 coming up and should wait for the reserve light to start worrying.

As suggested, I'll track it for the first month and see how it does. The dealer is doing a 600 mi check on it so when I get to that point I'll have a better idea and mention to them.

Maybe I just need to get to know the bike.

I am trying to go slow and easy during the break in period. I understood the manual to say no sustained 1/3 throttle for 600 then no sustained 1/2 throttle up to 1000 mi. so that is how I am riding. Did have quite the blast today. but since most of my week day riding is across town, that's not an issue.

Thanks a lot for the help

John

 

[wyntress]

Btw, while I am sure you already know this, but those "0"s you are reffering to are 1/4 tank level increments. That last 0 is actually just your tank being 1/4 full, plus reserves.

 

[bluegill]

yea, I think I over reacted to that last 1/4 tank indicator. thanks

 

[Saltyseafarer]

Filling up, I straddle my bike and get a crapload more gas in the tank than just sitting on the stand, by keeping the bike upright, burping the tank a lot. When I first got the bike my per tank mileage was dismal to say the least. I started using Gas Cubby app when Filling up and started getting 38-40 mpg by calculation after she broke in. So hang in there. Also altitude affects your mpg' s quite a bit.

 

[wyntress]

Filling up, I straddle my bike and get a crapload more gas in the tank than just sitting on the stand, by keeping the bike upright, burping the tank a lot. When I first got the bike my per tank mileage was dismal to say the least. I started using Gas Cubby app when Filling up and started getting 38-40 mpg by calculation after she broke in. So hang in there. Also altitude affects your mpg' s quite a bit.

I also fill up the tank while upright. It does make a difference.

 

[thibbits]

I was talking about the float on the inside of the tank that connects up to the fuel gauge sensor. If it's not working right it could cause errors when reading the gas level. How many gallons are you putting in the tank when you are down to the 1 quarter mark?

 

[sfcmcgan]

The only reason to add seafoam is if you think you got some bad gas or if you're planing on storing the bike for awhile.....I don't have a Stryker- I've got a Raider on it I know that if when I turn on the key and start the bike without letting the guages cycle then I will get a false reading on the fuel guage - so I don't know if the Stryker is the same.

Yep! I experienced this myself! On the other hand... I get 135 (approx) before my reserve "F" trip comes on.. When I fuel up I usually put around 3.4gal in the tank. I know I can go at least 19 miles on the "F" trip gauge... so all things being equal... I can get approx 154 miles out of a tank.

 

[BOOLSHOT]

I do 90% stop and go to work, and my mileage sucks. Mine gets 29.2 average over 1700 miles. Still low miles, so hopefully will get better. If you want an easy way to keep track, get the Fuelly app.

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

 

[bluegill]

Well it turns out i got 38.6 mpg on back roads. So it looks like my cityvs country mileage is in line withh others. I filled it leaning on kick stand then stood it upright and got another .4 gallon. The Fwarning light came on abt 120 mi i think.

So i guess in stop and go i can expect mid 20's and highhway 38. My vulcan 500 was 40's-50's. but that's comparing apples and oranges.