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[DagoRed]

'05 1800R with 4500 miles, K&N Filter, V&H Bigshots, and a Cobra FI2000R.

I've been calculating 33 - 35 MPG with mixed city/highway use.  My VTX is a daily driver and I'm interested in getting the most MPG I can.  Should I be wanting/getting more MPG?  Is there a better way?  I was also wondering if I needed the Cobra fuel thingamabob as well; it came with the bike.  If not, can the ECU be remapped by JC for best MPG with the current aftermarket components installed, or do I have to get a PCIII for that?

Thanks all,

DR

[SouthernXer]

Personally, I would get rid of the Cobra thingamadingy and get a PCIII and let JC tune it for you.  He should be able to find an optimum map for mileage.  That Cobra thing only adds fuel IIRC.  The PCIII will add or subtract fuel.  Johnny can dial in a flat air:fuel ratio that should help.  However, I can hardly recall very many 1800's getting that great of fuel mileage anyway.  35mpg is gotta be pretty close to norm with a few exceptions of course.

  Just my .02. 

I know there are a lot of folks that have the Cobra thing but I have never bought into that type of technology.  I am a PC guy.

[hipshot]

Cobra only adds fuel; the PCIII can add or subtract. You can't remap ECU> Get a PCIII and have JC install a custom dual map. As far as your MPG, that depends on how you drive. I average about 38mpg, mostly in town & Farm to Market roads, but I'm not a real aggressive driver.

[crow57]

'05 1800R with 4500 miles, K&N Filter, V&H Bigshots, and a Cobra FI2000R.

I've been calculating 33 - 35 MPG with mixed city/highway use.  My VTX is a daily driver and I'm interested in getting the most MPG I can.  Should I be wanting/getting more MPG?  Is there a better way?  I was also wondering if I needed the Cobra fuel thingamabob as well; it came with the bike.  If not, can the ECU be remapped by JC for best MPG with the current aftermarket components installed, or do I have to get a PCIII for that?

Thanks all,

DR

Guessing if you put a couple jillion trilliion miles on it, you would still never save enough fuel to offset the cost of a PCIII.  It's just not going to make that much difference, plus you can play with the settings on the Cobra to get it as lean as you want it.  The 2nd pot is for mid-range rpm, that's mainly the one you'd want to adjust.  The mpg you stated is pretty typical for a 1800, that's just the way it is and there's not much you can change (other than your riding habits) to make it do much better.

[hooter]

Well let me add my .02 to this. I get bacically 33 to 35 MPG with no PC3 or any addons that regulates my fuel MPH. Now I will say in New Mexico I was banging 40 to 42 MPG at 80 t0 85 MPH. I found out later that they don't have ethonhal (I know that's not spelled right) additive to there fuel. I just kinda wonder sometimes if that might play a part in the lower fuel mileage.

[johnnycheese]

'05 1800R with 4500 miles, K&N Filter, V&H Bigshots, and a Cobra FI2000R.

I've been calculating 33 - 35 MPG with mixed city/highway use.  My VTX is a daily driver and I'm interested in getting the most MPG I can.  Should I be wanting/getting more MPG?  Is there a better way?  I was also wondering if I needed the Cobra fuel thingamabob as well; it came with the bike.  If not, can the ECU be remapped by JC for best MPG with the current aftermarket components installed, or do I have to get a PCIII for that?

Thanks all,

DR

Guessing if you put a couple jillion trilliion miles on it, you would still never save enough fuel to offset the cost of a PCIII.  It's just not going to make that much difference, plus you can play with the settings on the Cobra to get it as lean as you want it.  The 2nd pot is for mid-range rpm, that's mainly the one you'd want to adjust.  The mpg you stated is pretty typical for a 1800, that's just the way it is and there's not much you can change (other than your riding habits) to make it do much better.

Okay if a Cobra only adds fuel...................................... how can you make it as lean as you want it??

I still have no idea why V-Twin owner are the cheapest riders in the world?
they will spend over $100.00 on a pair of grips, thousands in chrome and yet want to be cheap on how the baby runs.

[snake]

Ditto Hooters comment...in higher elevations like Denver, my bike gets 40 MPG. Around here, just 33-35.
That's just what you get for riding the big motor. Hot rod cars with big motors suck more gas. So do bikes. Style matters too...If riding two up I get better MPG than by myself. Reason=I ride WAAY more conservative than my regular aggresive riding. Her helmet will be wacking the back of my helmet almost everytime I change gears if I ride "normally" for me, so I ride like you're supposed to when I'm two up. In higher elevations, the octane level is reduced at the pumps to correspond with the air density.

[snake]

If distance between fill ups is a concern, you can get one of these 1 gallon tanks



or the 2.25 gallon



or even bigger if you want.
The 2.25  ought to carry you about anywhere stateside you need to go between fillups in addition to your regular tank.

[jmdaniel]

I still have no idea why V-Twin owner are the cheapest riders in the world?
they will spend over $100.00 on a pair of grips, thousands in chrome and yet want to be cheap on how the baby runs.

Exactly. Actually sitting down with a calculator, and figuring out what +2-3 mpg will save you, as opposed to what it costs, is a useful exercise. Of course, you have to also add in all the extra love Al Gore will send your way... 

[crow57]

Exactly. Actually sitting down with a calculator, and figuring out what +2-3 mpg will save you, as opposed to what it costs, is a useful exercise. Of course, you have to also add in all the extra love Al Gore will send your way... 

OK, I'll bite.  At 2.70 a gallon, 35 mpg = 7.714 cents per mile.  38 mpg = 7.105 cents per mile, a difference of 0.609 cents per mile.  35000 cents for a PCIII divided by 0.609 = 57,471 miles to pay for the PCIII in fuel savings.   If gas is more than $2.70, that number goes down.

But here's the thing...  There's an optimum fuel/air ratio where there is exactly enough air to oxidize the fuel, aka stoichoimetric combustion, which for gasoline is 1:14.7.  (14.7 units of air to 1 unit of fuel).   In the real world, since fuel isn't perfectly atomized and distributed in the combustion chamber, you actually need a slightly richer mix for optimum performance.    Any richer than that, you're just wasting unburned fuel out the tailpipe. If the mixture is lean, more air than needed, you're just decreasing performance (some of that space used by the extra air could have been used for more fuel to burn).  Rather than use a lean mixture to reduce performance and save fuel, you should strive for the optimum fuel/air ratio and use your throttle hand to save fuel, and still have the extra oomph there for those moments you want it.

[jmdaniel]

Exactly. Actually sitting down with a calculator, and figuring out what +2-3 mpg will save you, as opposed to what it costs, is a useful exercise. Of course, you have to also add in all the extra love Al Gore will send your way... 

OK, I'll bite.  At 2.70 a gallon, 35 mpg = 7.714 cents per mile.  38 mpg = 7.105 cents per mile, a difference of 0.609 cents per mile.  35000 cents for a PCIII divided by 0.609 = 57,471 miles to pay for the PCIII in fuel savings.   If gas is more than $2.70, that number goes down.

My point exactly. 

[DagoRed]

This is where building a solid business reputation is worth its weight in gold.  I'm just a noob to the street bike scene and not a big fan of sucking on the aftermarket teet (bike was bought as is); however, I have heard nothing but accolades of a JC tuned experience and hit or miss comments about the Cobra Fi2000R.  Soooo, because my bike is a daily driver, and a keeper for a while, I think I'll sell the Cobra fuel processor and get a PCIII/JC dyno.  I appreciate everyone's honest discussion.

I did replace the stock Dunlops this weekend with E3s and I cannot believe the difference in handling and the confidence boost.  I highly recommend that updgrade sooner than later.

DR

[DagoRed]

Here's my Austin CL ad if you, or someone you know, is interested in a Cobra Fi2000R for their ride. 

Cheers, DR.

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/455366463.html

[Txcruiser]

Who's JC that tunes the bikes? Where is he located and how much to tweak a PowerCommander? I just bought my PCIII and will be removing my Cobra FI2000 if anyone is intrested in it, It's for sale, $75.00.  Will that pay to get my PCIII Tweaked? I have a set of V&H Bigshots on their way also. So as soon as they are installed, I will be looking to get it tuned.  I met a guy in Leakey this weekend, but he's WAY down south in Corpus.

Gas mileage??? What's that, I know I get about 2 days of smiles from a $10.00 bill at the Gas Station

[Kentagious]

johnny cheese, he's good, he's in Round Rock. Look him up under members section, his phone # is at the bottom. He's also inviting VTX's to his place on Nov 17th.