Fuel efficiency

[R-Rated]

Check local listings but for some unknown reason fuel prices have risen at least 30% in the USA ( sarcasm). So I compared my bikes' mpg today. Weather and routes were the same.

My 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra scored 51.3 mpg on the hilly highway ride through the countryside. He bike is stock on the power train and has less than 9k miles on it

My 2014 Harley-Davidson ElectraGlide Ultra Limited scored 46.7 miles. It has a stage 1 kit and has 118,900 miles on it.

Either bike is getting better mpg than most cars except...

A few months my wife found out she has to report to the office three days a week going to 5 days a week soon. So before the gas prices had a reason to climb we bought a used 2015 Toyota Prius. It scores about 60 mpg.

Now I need to find a new excuse to buy my next bike.

 

[Theodor]

I have never owned a car, that has taken as much fuel, as my big bike does. I think I have only driven one car that took as much, and that was a big American V8. Normally I get somewhere around 29-33 in that American way of measuring fuel, on my bike. Average car does ~47
Then again, no car ever makes me feel as good as my bike does, so the difference does not yet seem bad enough to stop riding my bike.

 

[Drakhen99]

That's awesome mileage! @R-Rated , is that hand-calculated, or what the bike's MPG screen says? I haven't checked what my 2024 Road Glide screen says, but my 2019 Street Glide Special was always 5+mpg higher than hand-calculated.

That said, my 2019 SGS got 37-45 MPG, and my 2024 RG has been getting 35-39 MPG, both hand-calculated.

My 2025 GMC Canyon gets about 17.2 hand-calculated MPGs... but the services are cheaper, so it evens out.

Your Prius was a prescient purchase of personal conveyance.

-John

 

[R-Rated]

That's awesome mileage! @R-Rated , is that hand-calculated, or what the bike's MPG screen says? I haven't checked what my 2024 Road Glide screen says, but my 2019 Street Glide Special was always 5+mpg higher than hand-calculated.

That said, my 2019 SGS got 37-45 MPG, and my 2024 RG has been getting 35-39 MPG, both hand-calculated.

My 2025 GMC Canyon gets about 17.2 hand-calculated MPGs... but the services are cheaper, so it evens out.

Your Prius was a prescient purchase of personal conveyance.

-John

I let the machines tell me what they are doing. I knew a rider that had a notebook that he kept a log for his bike for every drop of gas and oil. Refueling with them was a bit of trip in itself.

The thing with hand calculation is Gasoline expands and contracts with temp and there is always some left in the hose between the nozzle and pump. That amount can vary and the octane can vary.

Then there is pesky variable of "up to" percentage of ethanol.

So too many variables to do a hand calculation and just let the machine tell each trip what it got.

 

[Drakhen99]

I let the machines tell me what they are doing. I knew a rider that had a notebook that he kept a log for his bike for every drop of gas and oil. Refueling with them was a bit of trip in itself.

The thing with hand calculation is Gasoline expands and contracts with temp and there is always some left in the hose between the nozzle and pump. That amount can vary and the octane can vary.

Then there is pesky variable of "up to" percentage of ethanol.

So too many variables to do a hand calculation and just let the machine tell each trip what it got.

Fair enough. I always find the MPG-o-meter in vehicles to be optimistic. The pump usually shows 1-5% difference when hand-calculated. I understand the variables, but like your friend, I also log each fill-up of every vehicle. I just do it on my phone and then type it into a spreadsheet when I get home

-John