Modern Vespa

OK, I keep seeing everyone's Fuelly tags. And they all seem to be much higher than mine - in the 50s or 60s, even the 500s, which should actually be LOWER, since a more powerful engine, by default, has to burn more gas to produce that power (if not a lot).

For a while (lost the data on my old phone, sorry), I was at 43.8MPG across several fillups in a row. On my new phone, so far, I have four fills tracked - MPG for the first (more freeway speeds ~65MPH steady than usual), 47.1, 45.1, and 44.9. Now, to be fair, so far most of my driving has been to and from work on city streets. About four miles each way, with numerous stops and starts for signs, lights, and waiting to turn across traffic. All of this - until the very last few dozen miles of the latest fillup, has been with the medium Piaggio windshield, no topbox, no side bags.

Is it possible that the medium windshield (not quite top-of-helmet height for a 5'10 person) is adding so much air resistance? More to do with the stop-and-go nature of the riding perhaps? Is this a possible result if the original owner didn't follow the proper break-in plan?

I don't think I weigh enough more than anyone else here to make that sort of difference, or else I suspect several folks here would have very close MPG to mine, as I know I'm not the only big boy.

wieght does play a big factor. I know when I ride 2 up my mileage decreases to about 45mpg quickly. When I ride solo I get around 53 mpg. when I ride in a group I get upwards of 60 mpg.

Well, let me ask, what does your mileage do when you do a lot of stop-and-go for a tank? Does it drop by something like 15-25%?

I average 59-60MPG because I ride 95% freeway to-from work. I noticed when I do more stop/go city riding my mileage does decrease. Least I've gotten was 56MPG just the other day. IMHO brand of gas is a factor, some here disagree. I tested all name brands, stayed away from off-brands. I found Shell premium to offer me best performance/MPG.

go to ... fuelly dot com ... register.

also, look for an mileage record, keep gas tickets, on your fillups, write your total mileage.

keep these for tax purposes and to compare where you had the better mpg.

i change oil and air fillter according to OAD recommendation.

stay off trying to be the first one off the line at the light.

i maybe laid up cause someone just had to speed across three lanes of traffic to be the first to hit me, but i was in the right. just be sure to wear full riding gear i could have been worse off if i didnt.

be safe out there.

can't answer that, I don't live in a city nor do I ride city stop and go traffic. When I take off from the Barn I hit 2 stop signs and 1 light and I am outside of town. from there its another 30+ miles before another stop sign typically.

Finally got around to checking mine again. First time in over a year. About 45, mostly around town, lot of stop and go.

As a new rider on a new 500cc I have done 250 miles so far all stop start and a lot of slow driving on a car park, used 2 full tanks give or take and averaged 50mpg on both.

I am 6ft5in tall so wind shield is quite low for me and I am about 18 stones.

i was getting really good gas mileage, averaging above 60mpg. staying off the throttle helps.

I just did the math again and to my surprise I am getting 72 mpg, that's a Canadian gallon so it would be less by US gallons.
3.88 L. Per 100 km.
Mega

So that puts you in a similar range to mine, under similar conditions. So it may be feasible then that the stop-and-go nature of my daily commute, perhaps coupled with the tall windshield, explains the relatively low MPG.

I'd be curious to know what others with a 400/500 who spend much time in situations where you can't maintain steady speed are getting. I'm generally pretty easy on the throttle, and try to maintain it at a steady RPM when I'm on the freeway or open sections of road. Generally, 4000 RPM gets me 60KPH indicated, or 36MPH actual, which is what I want in a 35MPH zone, so I'll hold there for that. On the freeway, I find 6000 RPM is about right, and holds me at about 118 KPH indicated, which is just about 65 MPH actual, on level road.

I think having a tall windshield is an advantage, i.e., larger, smooth surface for wind to "slide" off of(?) I have a Piaggio tall and love it on the open roads. Compared to nothing or the stock windshield that came with the bike; when you sit naturally on the bike you're creating a "pocket" with your arms extended to the hand-grips, the wind is captured by your body and has to make its way around you causing drag, bad gas mileage, blah, blah, blah...

The lowest mpg I ever averaged on a tank of gas on my MP3-500 was 52 mpg. This was at near-WOT going to and from a service appointment in San Diego riding on I-5. My normal commute was along a medium-high speed route with very few stops that averages 55-60 mph. Doing that route normally nets me between 58-62 mpg depending on my riding style for the week. The one day of group riding that I did back in August (2 city rides in one day around San Diego) that involved lots of start and stop riding averaged 56-57 mpg. I am about 70 inches high and weigh just under 200 pounds. My bike had a Givi windscreen and a good-sized OEM top box installed.

See below. It's a result of:

- 75% riding in stop-and-go traffic, under 35 MPH in town (Santa Barbara, lots of hills)

- 30% of the time with a passenger

- 80% of the time with "too much throttle" for the grins it induces

I could get 5 MPG better if I wanted, but that third reason is hard to avoid, and 5 MPG really doesn't mean much in terms of actual cash savings...

If I fill up at my usual 116-120 miles I average 59 mpg. If I do a top off it will show low mileage every time. So are you filling up when empty or long before? The same goes for my RV250, so running down lower gets you better mileage numbers.

Also a good point. I'm trying to be more consistent with the fillings, but I basically fill up when I need to - IE, as soon as convenient after the "FILL ME DAMMIT!" light goes on. I'm going to start letting the pump stop itself and just quit right there each time for a few fills and see how that does, instead of topping it off (I still leave the airspace as intended, the pump just stops a bit early). Hopefully I can do that 3-4 times at the same station on the same pump for consistency.

The key to tracking your actual fuel mileage would be to consistently fill up the same way every time. I am in California where we have the collars around the fuel spouts that keep the fumes from escaping. I always fill up until it cuts off (around 2.5 gallons for me) then squeeze the handle until it cuts off three more times. I average about 2.6-2.7 US gallons if I take my bike down to my comfort level which equates to around 150 miles or so on the tripometer. Also, always reset the tripometer before you drive off and forget to reset it.

I pass near 3 fuel stations on the way to or from work so I have the security in knowing that I can push my bike a certain distance and not have to worry about not making it to a station. Also, I deliberately ran my bike out of fuel one time early in my ownership so I could see how far I could truly go if doing "normal" commute riding. I ran out of fuel at 171 miles. I had borrowed a fellow rider's 1 gallon fuel can so that I didn't strand myself.

I carry an REI fuel canister just-in-case since I tend to run both scoots down as far as possible.

I can squeeze 135 miles out of my MP3 and 170 out of my RV250. I just wish both had bigger tanks ;(

Having an REI canister is a good idea, if I ever went on a long trip, not knowing the area or fuel station locations this is likely what I'd do. I've never ran out of gas and have all my fuel stations mapped out around my surrounding travel area and I believe I know at this point the limitations of my bike. I've gone almost 180 miles on one tank and at the time knew I was running on the fumes of fumes (if that's possible, not sure if they were the photons or neutrons of the petrol atoms), the light had been on for quite some time. I top-off every time I fill and even rock the bike to make sure as many cavities in the tank as possible are taken up by fuel. I get 30 miles before needle reaches the full mark when riding on a topped-off tank. I almost always grab a ticket after filling and write down the miles I've traveled (good habit to get into) then immediately zero both mile trip displays 'til next time I fill up.

That's good information to know, but from what I understand, it's not a good idea to run it too low because the gas in the tank is cooling the fuel pump.

my worse is about 42 mpg, and average 49-50. DR. weights, and moderate on the throttle, stay below 72 mph. Going higher speed does consume more fuel. When at lights, do u accelerate at green, or do an old lady acceleration; this makes a big difference in town driving.

Have any of you noticed that your MPG's drop when the gas stations have switched over to the winter blend? Mine has dropped consistently by 5 MPG which isn't a huge concern, but I'm curious to know whether it's related to the fuel blend or something else. I did just add some Lucas fuel treatment to the tank, but since it's winter and I can't ride as much it will take some time before I know if that helped or not.

Things I have observed about mileage on my MP3 500:

ethanol vs non ethanol gas -- I consistently get around 15% better gas mileage with non ethanol plus it feel like I have much more power. I max out at about 95mph on the speedo with ethanol, and 103mph with non.

I get 40-45 mpg on long interstate trips -- running around 80mph actual (speedo says 88)

In town, mostly 50-60mph(speedo), I get about 50mph.

Riding with my local scooter club (a lot of vintage and small scooters) we average around 30mph(actual), at that speed I get around 60-70mpg.

That's a known issue, Ethanol gas sucks. Not only does it take more energy to create the ethanol the way we do it than you get back from it, but the ethanol blends get lower MPG, period. I'm not versed in exactly why, but I believe they simply don't burn as efficiently.

yeah, but what scoot you riding? what model MP3?

That works out to 59.95 miles per US gallon.

In case anyone was wondering...

John

Only done 5 fill-ups so far. Best was the second tank at 53.65, worst was two tanks ago at 51.90; average 51.98.

MP3 400, 15 mile commute. Half city roads, half freeway; I tend to do 6200 - 6500 rpm on the freeway part, I have the comfort windshield and weigh 200 lbs.

Cheers!

John

I'm still trying to figure out when to stop filling. I'm in California so I have to lift up the stupid vapor sucking device around the fill spout and I never know how far to push the spout in. I have to pull the spout out and try to eyeball where the fuel level is. Makes it hard to tell if I have really filled the tank or not.

"They" say we're not supposed to top-off but I do and always have. When the pump stops automatically I lift the nozzle and pull the vapor ring back and start pumping slowly until I see gas coming to brim; rock bike back and forth to remove air bubbles in tank and pump a little more 'til gas is at brim again, then I cap it up, put pump back in holster and press "YES" I want a receipt, write down mileage and head down the freeway...

Don't get me started on winter/summer blend BS!

You are probably getting normal mpg. I get between 48 and 56 depending on what kind of riding but I honestly don't pay attention much. Don't sweat it bro. Enjoy the ride.

I purchased my MP3-400 with 2.5K miles.
At that time it got 62mpg.
By about 18K miles it had dropped to ~57mpg.
Now at 25K it's about ~53mpg.

I also notice that the mpg would drop an additional 4 to 5 mpg in the winter.

The head technician at Scoot Richmond believes that this is a common occurrence caused by the piston rings and valves wearing.

So I'm curious if other owners with relatively high mileage MP3s see the same decline over the years?

when you first got it you were easy on the throttle. the more you got use to it the harder you use the throttle. the harder you use the throttle the less gas mileage.
Try for 1 full tank to be real easy on the throttle for the whole tank or so and see what your mileage is. Also make sure your air filter is clean. a dirty air filter will decrease MPG's too.

Another thing to note is that the formula for gas tends to change in the cold months in some places. I forget the exact changes, but it makes efficiency drop in the winter time.

That doesn't explain Sidecutter's bad MPGs, but it is something to keep in mind.

I can say, without reservation, that I drive it as easy now as I did when I first got it.
Better really, as I'm much smoother.
Either there's something wearing or something is out of adjustment.
In an earlier post, I thought the Lambda sensor was out.
I now think I was mistaken and that the engine light was caused by a failed voltage regulator.

I'll soon have a replacement voltage regulator and see if that fixes the problem of the engine light coming on.
If I had a multi-meter (and the knowledge to use it), I could probably determine if it was the voltage regulator now.

That would explain the drop that I notice.
I thought it was just the scooter not dealing as well with the cold weather - but changes in fuel make more sense.

An interesting experiment would be to save a few gallons of "summer" gas and use it in the winter to see what happens.

have you done the valve adjustments at 12 k and 24k?

I think they start the change over 1 oct and keep blending till apr 30. could be off some on the exact days.

Sir - yes sir!
I found one of the exhaust valves had no clearance - I've been told this is a sign of wear.
It does idle better now - but no change in gas mileage.