Another nice day for a ride in Iowa

[Iahawk]

Oh common. You must be kidding.


Motorcycle tag? Either you all are pulling my leg or leading a very sheltered life.

I know this was posted a few weeks back but I'm with Stig and the others...had never heard of this and had no idea what you were referencing with 'tags'. I guess you really do learn something new every day!

[rjs987]

I know this was posted a few weeks back but I'm with Stig and the others...had never heard of this and had no idea what you were referencing with 'tags'. I guess you really do learn something new every day!

I guess I was just surprised that riders have not heard of the game. I've been playing it on a few other mc forums for over 12 years now and it had been an ongoing game in many areas of the globe for another decade or two before that.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Hawk, you and I have been living sheltered lives.

I know I was always happy when that machine in my avatar extracted me back to my shelter🙂
Stig

[rjs987]

So has anyone here heard of RTE or RTC?
A few other acronyms related to riding on many forums I've frequented.




RTE = Ride To Eat. Simply an arranged meetup with other riders at some location to get a bite to eat together. Another excuse to ride.


RTC = Ride To Camp. An arranged meetup with other riders at some camping location for at least one night, maybe more. Rides around the area may or may not be on the menu but definitely a ride to get there and back. Another excuse to ride.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Scooter riding acronyms?
Not so much.
But some of us are familiar with these few:
RTB
RTO
RPG
RoK
RoC
R&R
R&B
Rty
Rvn
RatFk
....and REMF !

Stig

[Neil955i]

And on that note Stig, TTFN!

[rjs987]

Was a really nice mostly cloudy day today with temps in the low 50sF. So I went for a ride after several days of attending to family stuff including daycare for my youngest grand daughter.
As I was riding down a popular mc road in the area I ended up under a larger darker cloud bank and ended up going through a few sprinkles. No matter, the wind liners that still have in my riding gear are waterproof as well but there really wasn't enough to really call it a rain, let alone enough to get through the outer layer of my riding gear anyway.

Rode just over 104 miles in a loop, a little farther than I had to date during this year. I started this ride with about 50 miles on the current tank of gas so when I was about 15-20 miles from home and the last red bar was flashing (wasn't paying really close attention). No worries about that, I usually get around 35+ miles when that happens and then the red "E" flashes for another 15 miles before empty. I have just over 153 miles on this tank so I am thinking there is about 30 miles at least before I have to think of pushing it. The gas station is just 1.4 miles down the road and will be my first stop on the next ride out. I didn't fill up on the way back since there were lines of at 5-6 cars/SUV/Trucks waiting beside those already at the pumps so I decide I could stop later. The station I usually hold out for has prices that are usually 30-40 cents lower per gallon than anywhere else nearby.

I want to try to get a few rides per week this month of at least 80 miles or more to bring the odometer up closer to the next oil change interval at 3000 miles. The initial oil change intervals are closer. After the 6000 oil change interval all oil/filter changes are officially scheduled for every 6000 miles.

Stopped to smell the roses along the way... well, at least to take a few pictures for other tag games.

[rjs987]

Had to go to an appointment today. About 5.6 miles to get there, but someone at the highway department decided this morning was a good time to do some repair on a pedestrian bridge that goes over the on-ramp to the short run on Interstate that I was intending to take so the detour took about a half mile farther. After my appointment I took the long way home. Wasn't feeling like going a really long way so just added a bunch of miles. Ended up with a total of 31 miles including my appointment. Filled the tank at the end of the ride. Put on 154.1 miles since the last fill up. Calculated at 55.3 mpg. Gas pricing for regular was 3.50/gal and put in just over 2.7 gal. The final red bar was flashing since 139.8 miles so I calculate that was after about 2.5 gallons when it started flashing. That last bar would go away and then the red "E" would start flashing if I had gone another 40 miles or so leaving me with another 20+ miles to empty after that. At least that's what I've calculated so far.
Can you tell where I needed to go? Then it was the shortest route out of town and away from traffic.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Had to go to an appointment today. About 5.6 miles to get there, but someone at the highway department decided this morning was a good time to do some repair on a pedestrian bridge that goes over the on-ramp to the short run on Interstate that I was intending to take so the detour took about a half mile farther. After my appointment I took the long way home. Wasn't feeling like going a really long way so just added a bunch of miles. Ended up with a total of 31 miles including my appointment. Filled the tank at the end of the ride. Put on 154.1 miles since the last fill up. Calculated at 55.3 mpg. Gas pricing for regular was 3.50/gal and put in just over 2.7 gal. The final red bar was flashing since 139.8 miles so I calculate that was after about 2.5 gallons when it started flashing. That last bar would go away and then the red "E" would start flashing if I had gone another 40 miles or so leaving me with another 20+ miles to empty after that. At least that's what I've calculated so far.
Can you tell where I needed to go? Then it was the shortest route out of town and away from traffic.

Does Kymco publish mileage figures for the 550?
55mpg seems pretty good for that big heavy scooter. You had a 650 Burgman? What kind of MPG did that big old heavy scooter get?

Stig

[rjs987]

Does Kymco publish mileage figures for the 550?
55mpg seems pretty good for that big heavy scooter. You had a 650 Burgman? What kind of MPG did that big old heavy scooter get?

Stig

I thought I saw figures from Kymco for it but cannot find where it was officially stated. There are one or two reviews published that say 53 mpg. There is also a Fuelly entry that shows an average of 52.1 mpg but that included one day last October where a 97 mpg was recorded (that time must been a REALLY LONG down hill run or with a really strong tail wind the entire ride).


When I rode the AK home from the dealer I calculated a few tanks at 57 or 58. I was really pleased with that for during the very first 200 miles. But I also wasn't familiar with the gas gauge and was filling up after only burning off 1.5-2 gallons each time so those figures are likely a little bit off. I am expecting that as the temps get up to where they normally are for summer the mpg will stay a little higher than 55 mpg and possibly even bump over 60 mpg once or twice. Especially as the miles are added to the odometer for the first 6000-7000 miles as I've normally experienced on a new bike.


My 2013 Burgman 650 was running 53-58 mpg regularly, with an occasional tank over 60 mpg, when temps were above 75-80F. Temps have an effect on mpg. Lower temps = lower mpg, higher temps = higher mpg.


I'm a conservative rider, but I do tend to blast away from stop lights a little bit. Otherwise I generally stay at the posted speed limits taking into account the speedometer offset.


All these mpg figures are using E10 except when I travel and that's not available. But even when I use non-Ethanol gas I don't see any significant difference in mpg.

[Iahawk]

Interesting mileage…it appears that it doesn’t really matter the size of the motor…my motorcycle gets in the 50’s and my Helix and S200 get closer to 60. Big bike, small bike, all pretty similar.

[Mancashire]

I’ve noted the same seasonal variances Bob mentions where every vehicle I’ve owned gets better miles in warmer weather than in cold weather. The type of driving/riding I do also varies with temperatures as I am more likely to take extended rides/drives in good weather and short necessary ones in the colder temps. The low to mid 50 mpg sounds right for initial values with anticipation of better mileage once the bike is broken in. I figure if I can get 2+ times better mileage on th AK500 than in my car, I’ll be very happy.

[Neil955i]

Interesting mileage…it appears that it doesn’t really matter the size of the motor…my motorcycle gets in the 50’s and my Helix and S200 get closer to 60. Big bike, small bike, all pretty similar.

Yep whilst I get 50 mpg from the Triumph, I regularly top 70 mpg with the X-Town.

[rjs987]

Took a little ride today. Temps were about right... around 57F. Wind was horrid... around 27 mph out of the west, no south west, no north west, with gusts higher. Most of the ride I was leaning over like I was in a curve but going straight down the road. Put just over 2 gallons in the tank to fill it at the end of the ride but mpg was terrible due to the winds. Most of the way it was a head wind because it kept changing direction when I turned so only was able to eek out just less than 51 mpg for those 2 gallons. Comparing the same temps for the last tank I went through at 55+ mpg but no big winds. Rode just over 92 miles this time and through more open fields so nothing to block or divert the winds. Almost no traffic on the roads I rode... as I was hoping. Much of the time I was the only one as far I could see. I like it like that.

[rjs987]

Sunny today and temps right around 50F. Not a cloud to be seen. My wife told me I needed to go to Pella, IA to the Dutch bakery there, Jaarsma Bakery, to get some treats including Dutch Letters.[/size]https://www.jaarsmabakery.com/So I plotted a route that would keep me off the controlled access, or Interstate type, roads at least 90% of the way. Ended up riding 151 miles today.It is just a week to go until what is called Tulip Time in Pella where they fill all the gardens around town with tulips. The flowers were all planted but with temps dipping below freezing last night and several nights over the last few weeks they were not as healthy looking as usual.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oGsuH9sGP5DrLdWf9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YR4XdidpgZ52o2Rh9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dp2dUjvtfVjZGjFf7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DerboSB4veutgEE56


And this is Lake Red Rock nearby.[/size]