MPG trouble and B-12 chemtool info + MPG Tips?

[burkbuilds]

Do you mean he stole your bike? Wow, that stinks! Anyway, I'd love to have you drop by anytime Easy, and I won't steal your bike and I'm confident you won't steal my bike either!
My son in law has a Shadow 750 and I've ridden it, really nice bike but a very different feel from my little Vulcan 500 so I'd love a chance to ride your 650 and compare them all. By the way, your Shadow is one really great looking bike!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

Do you mean he stole your bike?

By the way, your Shadow is one really great looking bike!

:oops: :roll:

No, my bad, poor wording!! No theft involved.

I "met" him here; we met in person and had a nice little ride, including a short exchange of machines. He posted again once after that I believe, indicating he was really impressed with the different feel of the 16T front sprocket.......and then never posted again.

Thanks. I never did care much for RED bikes......but now I do. Funny how that works.

I have mixed feelings about all the shiny chrome though; it kind of forces me to actually CLEAN it once in a while!! :biggrin:

[alantf]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

a very different feel from my little Vulcan 500

What's it like, riding a bike with a 6 speed gearbox? Does it seem like a LOT more gear changing than the gz? I've never ridden anything with a 6 speed gearbox - in fact the gz is the first bike I've ridden with 5 gears. All my other bikes have had 4 gears.

Just thinking - the vulcan 500 seems to be the bike I'd have to go for if I could afford to swap. I need something VERY manouverable to get me through the traffic jams, yet able to cruise at 75 mph on the autopista when I need to (occasionally). Would you say it's what I need?

I've got a notice blu tacked over my desk - "When I win the lottery ......"

[burkbuilds]

Driving it around town you pretty much use 1-5 and only hit 6th gear when you go on the highway. It's got so much more power than the GZ that you really don't have to change as much, that is to say I could stay in 1st gear to 30 mph if I wanted to wind it up but I think the manual says about 10 mph is the recommended upshift. The manual also says to shift from 5-6 at 34 mph but I rarely shift before about 45 mph and you can ride on the highway in 5th gear no problem I was doing that without meaning to last week, just lost count and thought I was in 6th already. My biggest problem is remembering what gear I am in sometimes. Ratio for 4th gear is 1.125, 5th gear is 0.961 and 6th gear is 0.851 Overall drive ratio in top gear is 5.930 I do like one feature of the transmission a lot, if you are stopped and in 1st gear the only gear it will go into while sitting still from there is neutral, no searching for it, just pull up and it's there!

It's a pretty quiet bike (I think there is a sticker under the seat that says something about max. db of 80 at 75mph and so many feet away) and I can't really hear it well enough (I'm mostly deaf in my right ear and I don't hear well out of my left one) to determine if I need to drop down a gear sometimes until I feel it start to lug a bit. It's very maneuverable, not a big difference between how it handles and how the GZ handles though it does have a bigger turning radius in my driveway!

It does weight a bit more 472lb (214 kg) than the GZ but it's well balanced and as long as I don't drop it and have to pick it up that shouldn't matter a lot. As for cruising on the highway, I couldn't be more pleased! It does handle 75 mph with ease (120 km/h) without any strain and I haven't had any problems maintaining speed without downshifting even on some pretty steep stretches of I-75 around here.

Another consideration for me was insurance cost and for reasons best known to insurance companies there is a rate hike with anything 500cc's and up and I stayed under by 2 cc's with this bike (498 cc). My fuel mileage is pretty good about 60 mpg (25.5 Km/L) mixed driving. I will be interested in seeing what I get when I'm doing mostly highway driving at around 75 mph, might drop a bit I suspect but hopefully only a few mpg's. If you ever decide to change bikes I think you should at least include the Vulcan 500 in your short list, Easy's Shadow 650 is another one I'd recommend you test driving in that size bike.

[burkbuilds]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Thanks. I never did care much for RED bikes......but now I do. Funny how that works.

I have mixed feelings about all the shiny chrome though; it kind of forces me to actually CLEAN it once in a while!! :biggrin:

I know what you mean, I had a black GZ and I wanted a black Vulcan but apparently Kawasaki color codes each model by year and the Vulcan 500 came in my choice of red or red this year. :roll: So I got a red bike, but now I really like it better than if it was black, strange how the mind works huh? Same thing with my kids, when the first one was born I was really hoping for a son until they put that little pink bundle in my arms and then I knew that was exactly what I wanted!

Just blew a physics test, only finished 9 of the ten problems before time ran out, crap! Even if I got all 9 right, which remains to be seen, that's gonna drop my average in there.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

Easy's Shadow 650 is another one I'd recommend you test driving in that size bike.

It's a 600.....with a 4 speed. Kind of a different animal. Last year was '07. Smallest Shadow now is a 750.

[burkbuilds]

When I bought my Vulcan 500 they told me it was the last year (2009) they were making it. Next year, according to the dealer, the smallest Cruiser for the Kawasaki line (except for their 125cc mocel) will be a 900cc machine! Why won't they make smaller bikes? I don't really want a 900 cc machine, ever! Don't see a need for it in my life. Don't really understand why anybody really wants anything that big but that's their choice to make, I just wish I had more options of smaller bikes.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

...... I just wish I had more options of smaller bikes.

It's the herd mentality......and "marketing".
More profit in the bigger bikes.

Bigger is NOT always better.
The best things really DO come in smaller packages. :2tup:

Just noticed today that my dealer has TWO '09 Vulcan 500's for ~$4,499. That's about $1,000 off MSRP. Looks like a hell of a deal to me.

I was almost tempted to ask for a test ride.........just to see what they would say, mind you! :whistle:

On a sadder note, the showroom was PACKED with monster bikes; anybody smaller than Shak would look out of place on one.

Surely at least ONE of the majors will wake up and realize they are making the same dumb mistake that the car makers did......are still are doing.....with their wretched-excess mobiles. :skull:

[soapbox off]

[burkbuilds]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

It's the herd mentality......and "marketing".
More profit in the bigger bikes.

Bigger is NOT always better.
The best things really DO come in smaller packages. :2tup:

On a sadder note, the showroom was PACKED with monster bikes; anybody smaller than Shak would look out of place on one.

Surely at least ONE of the majors will wake up and realize they are making the same dumb mistake that the car makers did......are still are doing.....with their wretched-excess mobiles. :skull:

[soapbox off]

I was thinking the same thing! Gas is gonna go back up and these guys are building motorcycles that don't get much better gas mileage than a small car, not to mention

the obvious benefits to our country by lowering our dependence on foreign supplied oil. One of the young guys in my drafting class rides a Harley and he told me he only

gets 28 mpg's! I couldn't afford to ride if I only got 28 mpg, at least not very often or far!

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by alantf

I need something VERY manouverable to get me through the traffic jams, yet able to cruise at 75 mph on the autopista when I need to (occasionally). Would you say it's what I need?

I've got a notice blu tacked over my desk - "When I win the lottery ......"

You need a Moto Guzzi V7 Classic.