Tips to Improve Your Motorcycle Fuel Economy

Generally speaking, motorcycles get about 35-40 miles per gallon. However, by making a few simple adjustments to how you ride and take care of your bike, you can significantly increase the fuel economy of your motorcycle.

Who wouldn’t want to increase the mpg of their vehicle? And decreasing the number of times you need to fill up your tank, doesn’t hurt either.

With that in mind, here's a look at five things you can do to improve your motorcycle fuel economy, while saving you money at the pump.

Don’t Drive Aggressively

Fast braking and fast acceleration, while it can be fun, it also works against you in terms of miles per gallon. If fuel mileage is a concern, you may want to trade in the adrenaline rush for savings at the pump.

Aerodynamics

Wind resistance can be a real drag on mpg. Therefore, you may want to consider wearing full-face helmets, as they're more aerodynamic. Also, consider eliminating any aftermarket accessories on your bike that might make your motorcycle's engine work harder. Every little bit makes a difference.

Utilize Fuel Additives

Simply adding a fuel additive to your motorcycle's gas tank each time you fill up, not only ensures that the gas you’re fueling your bike with is of the highest quality, but it can also clean dirty fuel injectors. 

Fuel additives can also help improve your gas mileage in the process by stabilizing potentially poor, mileage-sucking quantities of fuel.

Take the Highway

City driving can take a toll on the mpg of your motorcycle, especially when traffic jams are more likely to occur in the city environments and stop-and-go riding is also more common.

Instead of taking the city route filled with traffic jams, take the highway where there will be less stopping. 

The impact of frequently breaking and accelerating can quickly affect your fuel economy and the performance of your motorcycle.

Frequent breaking can result in:

• Worn shocks
• Brake fade

Vehicle Maintenance 

We already mentioned one key vehicle maintenance tip to help you get more mpg on your bike (fuel additives), but there are several others of note.

For starters, always keep the tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires force your bike's engine to work harder, thereby burning more fuel. Additionally, keeping the engine clean is a big tip. This ensures that the engine won't have to fight through grease and grime to power your bike.

Check out these related posts:

• Any other good motorcycle oil additives?

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