Gas mileage

[BMWTim]

Not sure if this is the right place for my post. My 04' R1200 CLC is getting terrible gas mileage. Dealer states that I should get around 50 MPG, but I'm not even close. What is a reasonable expectation? Could something else be wrong? Bike seems to run fine. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tim

[dancogan]

You'll need a lot of responses to get averages, by my CLC, with about 1,500 miles, gets 40 mpg.

[bikerfish1100]

there are way too many variables on this issue to give a definitive answer. things like: how many miles on the bike? performance mods? type of riding- short hops or long trips with few stop signs? hot dogging or loafing? 35mph or 95 mph?
fwiw- my 1100s with laser exh and chip gets between 38 and 52, depending upon all the above mentioned variables. typical is low 40's.

[BMWTim]

Most of the riding I do will be moderate city and some highway. I usually ride at a decent pace, but I'm not always hammerin' down either. Avg. speed about 50 mph. My bike is new. Will mileage improve as the bike continues to break in?

[breyfogle]

Not real similar bikes, but .... my R1100RS gets in the low 40's during a complete tank of city traffic. On the open road, a complete tank will yield 48 to 55 MPG.

[bikerfish1100]

yeah, mpg should improve as the motor wears in. at 50mph, i'd expect to see something in the upper 40's.

[Cliffy777]

FWIW - '04 Rockster with 15k on it. I ride semi-aggresively, very little slab - lotsa two lane, start and stop. I average 38-42 mpg. Milage did improve for me as miles went up.

[nrpetersen]

My 2000 R1100 RT with 10K miles on it, with full bags and backrest, with one 225 lb rider on a 3400 mile trip from and back to Minnesota averaged 51 mpg. Mileage improved slightly with altitude to about 54 mpg. We cruised 70 mph on 2 lane roads most of the way. Included a lot of mountain roads in Wyoming, Montana & Idaho. It was a trip of a lifetime!

[Mudbug]

From BMWTim:
My 04' R1200 CLC is getting terrible gas mileage

What is "terrible gas mileage" in numbers? I owned an '03 CL and got 43 in the city and 47 on the highway.

What is your riding style? At what rpm's are you riding before shifting? The reason I ask is that some riders, see Chromeheads.org, believe that they should ride their CL like a high reving sport bike and they complainted about 36 mpg. The C/CL are cruisers. The torque is highest at 3000 rpm, according to BMW. Try using 6th gear over 65 mph indicated.

[BMWTim]

When I say terrible, I'm talking about 28-31 mpg. I don't drive it like a sport bike, but engine seems to lug more at 3000 rpm. I usually shift around 4000 rpm and try to maintain a close proximity (3800), because bike seems most comfortable there. Bike seems to be running fine. Had 01' R1200C and it didn't have any problems with gas mileage. Any suggestions will certainly be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Tim

[bikerfish1100]

no further suggestion as to the cause beyond what has already been mentioned (TB sync, fuel filter, air filter, valve adj., etc.), but your mpg of 30ish is just plain wrong. very much so.

[Rad]

I have had 3 Oil Heads; MPG is similar in all three. As stated, driving style is a critical factor. I also find that elevation and state of tune are important factors. With my TB's well synced I get in the low 40's on my daily commute in the mountains on the twisty two lane commute. On my tours I get constantly in the high 40's with the occasional low 50's, especially when cruising above 5,000' elevation.

[alien_hitchhiker]

Tim, you might consider that the Motronic has defaulted to the closed loop mode, making it run richer than necessary. I'm not real familiar with the C bikes, but on the R1100 series this can & does happen. To clear the error code which is making it run rich you need to "reboot" the Motronic. On the R1100 this is done by pulling fuse #5 for a few moments. Of course, if the cause of the fault is a true failure in the system - versus a glitch - the fault will reoccur.
Steve

[ben50171]

I have nearly 1400 miles on my '04 CLC, and am getting right at 40 mpg. I have the reciepts for every tank ful since the bike was new, and the mileage seems to be improving slightly, from a low of about 38 when brand new. I cruise at about 3k rpm, as that is where the bike likes to run, and that gives me about 70 mph in 6th. I don't ride "hard",but I do push the bike a little from time to time, for fun. I communte, with only a little town riding; mostly country roads cruising at 65-70 mph (by the speedo). I was hoping for a little better mileage also. Since I live in the "country" I pretty much only have access to the "convenience store" gas and not the "name brands". Perhaps one of the name brands would help mileage.

I'm curious what others are burning in their tanks. Up here in Iowa 89 Octane "gasahol" (10% ethanol) is what passes for premium unleaded at most convenience stores. Seems to burn just fine.

Warmest regards,
Ben