On my 04 R1150 rockster with 5.4Gal tank, I can get around 190mi per tank +/- 10mi depending on my load and speed. Warning light comes on at 140 to 160 this also depends on the speed and load. Miscalculated my mileage once and was left on the side of the road but AAA came thru, I needed a rest anyway.
Interesting. Inline 4 superbikes are a lot more efficient then. One would think it would be the other way around since twins don't need to rev so much to make X amount of power/torq compared to an inline 4.
I commute 255 miles every two days then fill up with 20.5 lts, the most I pushed it was 265 miles. Oh, its an S10 by the way
I had a VTR. Most of the older ones had an issue with a torn diaphragm that would make them drink more fuel. It is amazing what a $26 fix did to my mileage - went from 31mpg to 40mpg in relatively mild riding. Also, most inline 4's are fuel injected these days. Still, a ZX9 from that era was 20% more economical. In Europe, the VTR's fuel tank grew to 19 liters from 16 in 2000 to remedy the issue.
My Buell S3T will give me about 250 miles to a tank, and my Honda ST1300 gives 300+ at motorway/autoroute speeds (usually 75-80MPH). On the Honda, I can ride all day with maybe ten minutes for a snack when I refuel. On the Buell, five or six hours riding a day is enough and I need a decent break after the first tankful.
What kind of fuel economy does something like an R1 return? Or a GSXR1000? I have no idea, but if it's more than 40mpg, I'd be surprised. The twins you're thinking of are long stroke, undersquare twins in cruisers. Oversquare, short stroke twins have huge pistons and huge carbs/throttle bodies. They can be efficient in steady-state riding, but thier fuel economy can dip dramatically with lots of throttle opening. My 1100cc Guzzi sport bike returns 44mpg in steady-state highway riding, but will drop into the 30s when flogged.
I have been through 3 liter sportbikes, that can be classified as "superbikes". All of them gave at least 40 mpg on my highway commute at 80+ mph indicated (ahem...) In order of appearance: 06 GSXR 1000 - Consistently 43 mpg, highest I have seen 45 mpg. Must have been the tail wind 06 CBR 1000 - 42 mpg no matter what I do or how I ride :huh 09 GSXR 1000 - 40 mpg highest, sometimes I have seen 38 mpg Truly the 05 - 06 GSXR 1000 is a marvel of how a liter "superbike" should be. Amazing , once in a lifetime engineering.
Right wrist dependant, but if you restrain yourself commuting you can get well into the 40's. I used to ride with a guy that spent alot of time tuning his ZX10, on his "commuter map" he could get well into the 50's and only loose maybe 10-15hp on the top end. Jap I4's are frightening in their engineered ability.
Not exactly an R1, but I had an '02 FZ1. Worst it ever got was 39 mpg. Best was 52 mpg. Over several thousand miles it was very consistently in the 42-45 mpg range. BTW the 39 was on a cold, windy day in the twisties. The 52 was loaded down with 3 Givi cases having fun in Arkansas on 123 and 341 (?).
Not exactly a large range compared to some of the bikes on here, but I consistently get 150-160 miles before reserve on my ZRX1100, riding in a semi-sane manner. I got 173 miles before reserve on one fill-up, riding 65mph steady for what felt like an entire decade across central Nebraska. Tank holds a little less than 5 gallons, reserve hits around 3.8 gallons.
I have basically zero experience with them, not having owned or ridden one since the 1980s, and my Honda CB650SC Night Hawk. I just prefer the feel of V-Twins.
2009 R1200rt- 7.1 gals 46-53mpg depending on fun factor. Currently bike computer says 49mpg, 96 miles travelled, 245 miles to empty.
2005 FZ 1, 5.6 gal. tank with light on at .9 gal reserve average mpg consistently in the 48 to 50 range. Best, ( the same as previously stated 52 and 39 being the worst.) The 39 was flogging it hard when I was 120 miles from home. Will say my speedo reading was using three digits at times. The 52 was loaded down with saddle bags, tail case, gym bag and tank bag and they were all full. I do have different gearing, but I have matched miles with my garmin so I know I am as close to accurate as possible. I also own an 09 Versys, and my best is 58mpg with different gearing but I didn't go over 50 mph. Was cruising the country side that day. So it is a long range performer if need be, its just my intown bike and the FZ1 is the mile eater.
5th and 6 gen VFRs have a touch over 5.5 gallons. You can reasonably expect over 40 mpg in most circumstances. Two hundred mile tank range is handy out West. Three times I have had at least 240 miles on a tank on tour. Typically I get at least 42 when fully loaded.
I just discovered this the other day. That, plus being 100 lbs lighter than a Bonneville makes it even more sexy!
Unfortunately I rarely get on the interstate - I usually just ride the Superhawk around town. My riding style could be described as "spirited". Like, how you would ride after you had a lot of spirits. Kidding. One day I hope to take a long ride on I-40 and hit that magical 30mpg. I once had a Katana 600 that would return well over 200 miles per tank. That was a good little bike. It was one of my first, so I didn't appreciate that it did many things well. I was in college and would fill it about once a month. Gas was like $1.50 back then too. My monthly gas bill was $10-12.
As previously reported, the Honda ST1300 has a spec'd 7.7 gallon fuel capacity. It is divided between an upper and lower tank. I have taken mine to 350 miles with the final countdown of range remaining from the trip computer having gone blank. I think that happens when it gets down to 20 miles remaining, not sure. But, the lower tank still had about a half gallon of fuel remaining when I refueled! I thought for sure that I must be running on fumes. In my experience, the trip computer is very conservative. I believe it would be possilbe to get 400 mile range from the ST1300 without any auxillary fuel... It must be noted that this applies to steady touring speeds of 70-75mph or less. The ST does not get great fuel economy in stop and go city driving conditions where 35 mpg average fuel consumption can be experienced compared to the 50+mpg at cruising speeds. I just recently completed a 2,000 mile trip with wife and luggage that involved some great southern California lane splitting in traffic that was really some spirited, fun riding and the ST1300 performed quite immpressivly! Got right at 50mpg average for the whole trip. Love the ST and its V4 pedigree!
The C10 Kawasaki Concours (1986-2006 model) has a 7.5 gallon tank. My '03 goes about 220 miles before reserve, and can do about another 80-100 after that.