The member photo gallery is now integrated and live!!  All user albums and pictures have been ported from old gallery.


To register send an e-mail to admin@bmwr65.org and provide your location and desired user name.

Author Topic: R65 Fuel consumption  (Read 1880 times)

Danie

  • Guest
R65 Fuel consumption
« on: February 13, 2008, 12:14:00 PM »
While bad fuel consumption can be seen as an indication that  the enjin needs a service / attention - what is the "normal' fuel consumption on R65 's ?

The "normal" fuel consumption on my R65 (on the open road - at about 60 mph) is about 17 km per litre.

(At the same speed, the fuel consumption on my GPZ 1100 is about 19 km per litre)

Offline Bob_Roller

  • Global Moderator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 9121
  • -7 hours GMT
Re:  R65 Fuel consumption
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2008, 12:34:58 PM »
You are on the low side of average for an R65, in US units of measure, 17 km/ltr is about 40.25 mpg.

The average seems to be 42-45 mpg. Or about 210-225 miles (340-360 km) before reserve is reached.

 45 mpg works out to be 19 km/ltr.

It depends on the fuel as well, after mandating 10 % ethanol in most fuel available here in the US, I saw my mileage drop 3-4 miles per gallon on my R65.

If I run the R65 on rural highways where the posted speedlimit is 75 mph (120 km/h), the mileage drops down to 35 mpg ( 14-15 km/ltr).

My 1991 Honda CRX cage does better than that at 75 mph !!!!

I can't remember what year R65 you have, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that the rubber parts and gaskets probably are in need of replacement if they are original in your carburetors, as your bike is at least 23-24 years old.

I don't know anything about the topography of your area, but if is mountainous, or steep grades where you need a lot more power than flat land riding it may be a contributing factor as well.

Factor in multiple owners, and who knows if the carburetors have had some 'tampering' with inside by some previous owner that had no idea what they were doing as well.

I did a complete rebuild on my carbs, and found that the left jet needle was set to the wrong position from the factory, as I am the original owner, and no-one has touched the bike except me since I took delivery of it in 1981, so just about anything is possible here !

If you ride at higher than sea level elevation, it could be a factor as well, the Bing carbs are set-up for sea level elevation, and temperatures in the 59 F. (15 C.) area , commonly referred to as  'standard day conditions', as far as main jet sizing.

Bing has a correction chart for non-standard elevation and temperature for main jet sizes.

It shows that for me, I should be using smaller jets for summer riding, due to high temps, and an elevation of 1200 feet ( 400 meters).

Just northeast of the Phoenix area you get into the southwestern corner of the Colorado Plateau, and mountainous grades are quite common, and the R65 isn't in it's element here as well as significant increase in altitude, it's really down on power.

Not knowing what kind of work has been done on the bike as well, check the torque on the nuts that hold the cylinder head on, then check the valve clearance for proper adjustment.

If possible do a compression check to see if it is in the area where it should be, which is in the 140 -145 psi range, which is 10 Bar, 10.2 kg/cm, or about 950 kpa .
« Last Edit: February 13, 2008, 02:40:03 PM by Bob_Roller »
'81 R65
'82 R65 LS
'84 R65 LS
'87 Moto Guzzi V65 Lario
'02 R1150R
Riding all year long since 1993 .
I'll give up my R65, when they pry my cold dead hands from the handlebars !!!!!

Danie

  • Guest
Re:  R65 Fuel consumption
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2008, 09:32:17 PM »
Hi Bob
Thanks for your detailed comments.

I had to change the carb diaphragms quite recently, and the carbs have not been calibrated since then.

The retired mechanic who used to work on my bike at home ,finally decided to stop working on bikes completely - so I will try to do the calibration myself.  The dealers are extremely expensive - and I have a feeling that they are not always very interested to work on older bikes.

My R65 is a 1988 monoshock - and it looks almost exactly the same as Picklebpaul's R80, which has been advertized recently - my bike only has one disc brake in front, instead of two disc brakes on the R80.  I am not sure whether there is a weight difference between the different models - which could make a difference in fuel consumption.

I find myself at sea level, and most riding take place on fairly flat land.

Regards
Danie
« Last Edit: February 13, 2008, 09:35:13 PM by Danie »

thrang

  • Guest
Re:  R65 Fuel consumption
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2008, 06:37:54 AM »
On the 65 RT I average around 40 to the gallon on local journeys, which is wee bit less than the Bimbo (65LS) but both avearge around 48 to 50 to the gallon at a steady motorway pace...

Having said that if I'm in the mood for a little automotive hooliganism I can get it down to under 35!
« Last Edit: February 17, 2008, 06:39:36 AM by thrang »

milkman

  • Guest
Re:  R65 Fuel consumption
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2008, 08:02:56 AM »
I am currerntly hitting reserve at only 220-30km's!
Whe I did a trip last year, fully geared up with both panniers, tent and a tank bag, averaging 110km/h I was making the same. SHould be better unloaded

I dont know why I've got worse, thuugh I have been chasing some mysterious faults.
I've never got near 300km on a tank

Mine's an 84 LS with 140,000 km on teh clock though, and my spline is heavily worn, so could be the total sum of parts contributing to the issue

Offline nhmaf

  • Global Moderator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 5156
  • Free at last, Free at last!
Re:  R65 Fuel consumption
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2008, 10:22:12 AM »
My 82 LS generally averages right around 45 miles per US Gallon, though with more aggressive riding or
riding at 70+ MPH it will drop a bit lower.  I think that the best I have done with it so far was around 48-49 MPG,
and the absolute worst was 39 MPG.
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours