DL650: realistic fuel consumption: experiences
 

I am pretty disappointed with fuel consumption values for modern bikes. Many barely perform better than a family car and that seems at odds with the smaller weight and engine sizes.

My recent trip to France showed my 1993 Transalp 600 would return about 57 mpg. Pretty good, but not exceptional. My Dad's Transalp 700 has managed a more impressive 75mpg on several occassions: it has a bigger engine, a heavier frame, but has FI.

This made me wonder about the other lower revving twins such as as the DL650 V-strom. If has a smaller engine than my Dad's bike, is lighter, and also has FI. Sounds like a good combination.

However, the few figures I've found suggest about the same consumtion as mine, but being submitted by American owners it might be the 3.5 litre US gallon, not the UK 4.5 litre gallon.

So, what have DL owners on here typically got from their bikes?
Please also make it clear what units you are using (US mpg, UK mpg, KM/lt, or lts/100km)

Cheers in advance for the info.

hi

I have done 4.7 L/100km on a K7 dl650 in 10500km from Turkey to Morocco and back. Average speed in Europa motorways was 110-130km/h and in Morocco 60-90km/h.

tips: (app.)
km/L = 0.425 x USmpg
km/L = 0.354 x UKmpg
km/L = 100/(L/100km)

That works out at about 58-59 mpg (UK). Perhaps the earlier quotes were not far off, after all....

Karlsruhe:
I was riding past there last Thursday in hooooorrible weather on my way from Besancon to Rostock.

Thursday sucked...

I have always pretty much averaged around the 4.5l/100km over a number of bikes, 2006,7,9 and have clocked up around the 200,000km thoughout Australia, north cental and south america, a complete mixture of roads, tracks, superhighways and deserts

They are very economical, the 650 that is, the 1000 is not as good.

Cheers
TS

I´d say my K9 uses just about 4,0 - 4,5 liters per 100 kms. A bit more in countries, where higher speeds are allowed, especially if very heavily loaded. But even then it probably starts with a 5, and not a 6 (I dont usually ride throttle wide open all day). A nice range with a 22L tank.

Do note that from 2007 onwards there are twinspark heads, and also the consumption is a little bit less than the 2004-2006 models.

Good to know.


And the tank size is better than the TA700. MPG not quite as good but it all depends on whether I'd be able to reproduce my Dad's light touch on the throttle...:innocent:

I generally get 210 miles per tank(to the reserve bar flashing at me) on my K7,even two up with luggage,only time it drops to the 180 mile mark is if I have been going hard on the throttle on the back roads.
Andy

Can you tell me what that translates to as in either mpg or litres / 100km?

I had the XL700V for a few days (got good friends at a dealership here!) and I rode a bit less than 1000 kms in all sorts of roads, and to me, it actually seemed a tiny bit more thirsty than my DL650, with the smaller tank it meant a considerably shorter fuel range.

I don't think its at odds at all. The primary reason cars have so much better fuel consumption, despite their increased weight and engine capacity, comes down to aerodynamics.

Even a fully faired bike has a much higher cd than even the least aerodynamic car. Combined with the generally higher state of tune of bike engines we will never be able to achieve comparable consumption per load figures.

After reviewing a broad range of offroaders and test riding a DL650 last weekend I now believe it will be my next bike. If it can manage 60mpg on the open highway then I will be very happy.

I can't see that happening.

I got all confused with the different countries specs for a gallon.

I found while in the US, it was easier to use their weird measuring system, because it made it easier to work out what the tank could do,

Basically, 5 gallon tank(US) and at a normal speed of around 55-60mph, I managed to get 250 miles. So, basic maths says that is 50mpg.

I could never get my head around the new metric system of how many liters per 100kmh and just do my maths the other way around and get a number of how many KM's per liter.

So, on a good day, 20+km/lt and a fast day with a headwind, 14km/lt.

This was more useful to me in a days travel as I could relate it to the distance I needed to travel a lot easier than the other way. And it gave a me a distance I would need to walk to the closest servo when I ran out :)

I hope that has not confused you ;)

No worries, I think the confusion is because I didn't state whether I meant imperial or US gallons. I meant imperial gallons, and 60mpg = 21km/l so that sounds pretty consistent with your good day numbers on a DL1000. Given I'm looking at the DL650 I'm pretty confident fuel consumption should be a little better.

I believe the tanks size is identical on both DLs so fuel range should also be
at least 400km (250 miles).

I normally fill up at about 360-380 kms, but unless I´ve been on the motorway all the time, there´s no rush to the petrol station even then. 430-440 has been my maximum fuel interval I think.

Some claim they´ve ridden 500 kms between fill-ups, that must be real slow & steady going...

I went for a trip last year with my friend both of us on dl650's, mine an K7 and his a K5, riding at a steady pace (50mph) through the alps we were getting 65MPG, (my K7 was a little worse but I put that down to me being heavier on the throttle.)
BUT... when riding fast, say around 110mph for long distances (full tank fulls) the economy was down to 38-40 MPG.
this was loaded up with alloy panniers, camping gear etc and tall touring screen.

Chris

The previous post matches my experience. It's all about how fast you ride, with significant input from how heavily (i.e., non-aerodynamically) you're loaded.

My dl650 gets 5 miles per (US) gallon better than my KLR650: that's the advantage of fuel injection and an extra gear. The difference remains constant for changing loads, headwinds, speeds. In normal use, that translates to 55 mpg on the DL, which is actually quite similar to what Traveling Strom writes above, since (I happen to know) he rides faster than I do.

Recently--for the past 6 or 7000 miles--I've been toodling along at a steady 50 miles per hour on my KLR; I'm trying to coax it home from South America, and it seems to appreciate a leisurely pace. I'm getting 65 miles per gallon at that speed, fully (over) loaded, compared to 50 mpg at higher speeds. I don't know if I'll ever go so slowly for so long on my DL, but I'd expect it to get even better mileage if I do.

Mark

I have only ever had the 650, never a 1000

That is a surprising figure for a K7-model, you sure it is the twinspark version? If yes, then you must really be hammering it hard, because I´ve never got it to use so much. Not even 2-up on the German autobahn, where I normally keep 140-150 kms per hour (87-93 mph)on the meter, feels to me, with our load, that´s about the highest speed the engine is happy with (unless you alter gearing).

I believe it is possible the consumption could jump, if you really went 110mph, because that´s very close to its top speed, and this type of bike is not very aerodynamic, with a lot of luggage it is even less so.

Bloody hell, when I saw your Strom in Mitta Mitta I felt sure it was a 1000, :confused1: but of course with your panniers obscuring the capacity stickers and the pipe rack acting as a pseudo second exhaust I now see why.

Thanks, :thumbup1:

I've kept my records up to date on the ipod touch (App: Roadtrip Lite) , since I bought the bike new 6 months ago.

After 14,000 klms my average is 22.5 klms/litre.

it is still raining here. wishing to see the sun soon. drop me a line for a beer next time.

Corrected.

Think I will stick to my Enfield. at 50-65mph I get 100Km per 3 litres which is 96MPG imperial :)

I have a 22 litre tank to fit sometime soon.:)

It is not so much that bikes do badly compared to cars (although I still find it surprising, regardless of aerodynamics that an engine half the size and a chassis a 6th of the weight can't produce significanntly better consumption...), but rather bikes doing badly compared to bikes.

Modern bikes are not, on the whole, returning a good economy as they should given the improvements made in technology, efficiency within the engine etc...

Yep, it is the twin spark, but I am usually heavily loaded and for some reason I always seem to ride with a headwind, no matter which way I go. It may be a combination of factors on top of that, including fuel quality and right hand grip :)

No, mine must be one of the last single spark strom's. But it will sit at 110mph all day if you want (appart from up hill of course) and I have had it down below 40mpg on more than one occasion, not that often though as I dont want to kill the bike or loose my licence!
Sitting at 90MPH it normally does 48mpg... this is all on long motorway journeys and I would be suprised if many bikes were much better on fuel on that kind of journey... ??

Coming back from Ireland to UK a couple of years ago I pulled in to refuel after 250 mainly motorway miles (75-80 mph) because the last bar on the fuel gauge had been flashing for about 15 miles.
I was very surprised that it only took 17 liters to fill her up, especially as it has a 22 liter tank!

It has been my experience that fuel tanks lie.
My last BMW supposedly had a 22 litre tank, but I could never put more than 18 litres in it with a fair bit of running in reserve,
My Enfield forces me to switch to reserve at about 230 miles and even after some miles of reserve I have yet to put 12 litres in the tank.

The odd thing is an 18 litre refill on the BMW does not get me any further than 10 litres on the Enfield :)

I think there are several reasons for this:

1. Aerodynamics as mentioned
2. Higher revving engine
3. Higher power to weight ratio often encourages uneconomical riding styles e.g. rapid acceleration-deceleration and hard braking...

On a pure efficiency measure, then engines are probably on a par with petrol car engines, less a bit for the higher revs...

my DL650 '08 (twin spark)
 

Is about 10% more fuel efficient than my '05 in everyday use.

I last checked the '08 in France, solo, with luggage, over 1000 miles, and got 70.5 MPG (UK figs).

very happy with that.

fuel burn
 

ride a DL650 AK8 - 40K kms. mostly loaded to 90% GVW. 22litre tank.
87 or 91 octane fuel

4-5k rpm (70-90km/h) burning 4.2 - 5.2 litres/100km +- 15% of ride
5-6k rpm (90-110km/h) burning 5.2 - 6.7 litres/100km +- 65%
6-7k rpm (110-130km/h) burning 6.7 - 7.2 litres/100km 20%

rode the Dempster hwy in Aug. first 363km=16.2 litres = 4.5l/100km
magnificient ride! no rain, no traffic, no problems. world class scenery!

K7 dl650 from filled to the brim to completely run out 270miles. Happy with that :thumbup1:

Currently own a 2007 ABS and 2012, haven´t had much time to ride the new bike so far, less than 3000 kms on it right now... but I´ve kept records of its fuel consumption, and compared to the 2007-model, it seems to use about 10% less fuel under similar riding conditions. The tank volume is also just about 10% smaller, so at least in my use, fuel range is practically the same on both bikes, but filling up the newer Wee costs me 10% less.

I have the 650 Suzuki, I always get 60-65mpg UK (GENERAL FAST RIDING), and if taking it really carefully can creep up towards 70 mpg UK

20-24 km/l, 2012 Wee, fairly sensibly ridden.

Sounds like a lot of you do really well mileage-wise. When I'm fully loaded (solo, with saddlebags, topcase, and rolltop bag behind me) I get anywhere between 45 to 57mpg (USA) depending on terrain and weather. I just got back from a 1800 mile trip from my home in Spokane, WA to Wyoming and back. Travelling all by paved road but with speed limits of 70mph means I'm probably not in the bike's peak mileage area. I know that by the time I hit 225 miles on a tank, I'd better be looking for gas. I play it pretty conservative though - I don't like running out even though I always carry spare gas with me.

V strom 650
 

I toured 50000km on my 2008 650 ABS , fully loaded one up with camping gear( and a chair) through Europe, Ukraine, Turkey and Morocco.

Fuel consumption was never below 22km / litre and often up to 26km /litre.

Apart from a chain and new rear sprocket at 40,000km I have only put on one set of tyres and changed a headlamp bulb and some brake pads

Marvellous bike, very comfy particularly with german spec windshield and heated grips.

Contemplating riding it home to NZ from UK in 2015 after a tour of Central and south america on a small capacity bike.

Peter

my '09 DL gets 52 mpg US with all my happy-trails alum rear panniers/top box/front (custom) alu panniers, but empty, but I usually stay about 62mph (100kph) and itll surely decrease when fully loaded soon. IMHO, you will love the Wee.

I am averaging 5L/100km and i do a good mix of city and highway, worst fuel millage i have got was 9L/100km on 100% gravel roads.

2013 DL650 Adv I get in the area of 65 mpg ( CDN Gallon ) solo, without the side bags on the bike but with the trunk and cruising at 5000 rpm. I've gotten as high as 70 mpg ( keep the speed below or at 60 mph ). Add the side bags and a passenger and the mileage will be in the 62 mpg area. More than happy with the mileage.

'05 dl650
 

Gets 65mpg quite monotonously, really silly riding into head winds it dropped to 60mpg once. My wife's F650GS gets 72mpg with the same boring regularity, worst I ever recorded for her was 67mpg.

My Strom has 2xE21 + 1x Maxi52 givi boxes, a givi seat pack and a small/medium tank bag. The wife has similar set up but all OEM BMW stuff

We both fill up at the same time which is nearly always the 240 miles mark, I always buy about a litre more than her no matter how smoothly I ride.

Over the 1500 miles I've owned it my 05 Wee has averaging 49 mpg US.

dredging up this thread because I cannot yet send a PM...


Markharf... as a DL owner who has ridden a KLR to SA, how do you think the DL would have done on your trip? I'm have designs on Tierra del Fuego and I'm looking for a bike and these are my leading candidates. aside from the trip, I'd prefer the DL650. but i'm just wondering if I'd be better off with the lighter, more dirt-worthy Kawi. not that I'd go out of my way to ride goat tracks, but you never what you'll find around the bend....

Generally about 65 - 70 mpg (UK). Drops to about 60 at constant 85+ mph. During two weeks touring the Tarn area this summer I was getting 68-70mpg two up with full hard luggage. But that was pottering along so I could enjoy the scenery.
Great bike. Maximum comfort for long days in the saddle.

[QUOTE=Warthog;298830]

However, the few figures I've found suggest about the same consumtion as mine, but being submitted by American owners it might be the 3.5 litre US gallon, not the UK 4.5 litre gallon.



Us Gallon is 3.78 liter.
To calculate a bit more exacte.
Saludos

An update. 2013 - My wife and I loaded up on a 2 week trip, averaged 58 mpg CDN. This was with the bike about 100 lbs over its recommended GVW. Bike handled it fine and no problems throughout the trip.

I've averaged between 50 usmpg and 58 depending on how loaded I am and how fast I'm feeling that day. Had it up to 61.4 puttering around at 40mph for a bit. 2012 adv model, occasionally with the big boxes and mostly without.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

15,000 miles on my 2015 DL650 XT here, if I ride slow, say 35 to 55 mph, I can net 60+ mpg (US) from the bike. At US highway speeds, 70+ mph, I get around 40 to 45 mpg from the bike. It all depends on your travel speeds.

I have put over 100.000km on my personal DL650 (a 2007 K7) and have fuel records for the entire time.

Average fuel consumption is 4.51 ltr/100km.

It has varied from 3.8 to 5.2 ltr/100km. I can only put the variations down to riding style, tyre pressures, weather conditions, amount of luggage carried, chain condition, whereabouts in the service cycle and how much cake I ate the night before. I don't worry about the day to day variations.

Fantastic bikes.

Much variations for sure that can influence fuel consumption. One thing that I seldom see mentioned is fuel quality. Octane numbers, 91, 95, 98? In eastern Europe you often get low octane numbers such as 90 and even 80. In Indonesia you get mostly 88 octane except from big cities. In Bolivia you get 85 octane only. In Thailand there are 10% biofuel added to most gasolin and in Brasil there are 25-27 % biofuel in gasolin and other countries also add more and more biofuel to their gasolin. All this variations are imo important to recognise and to consider when talking about fuel consumption. And as most people know in Europe and Oz/NZ we measure octane rating differently than Usa ans Canada and maybe some other central and south American countries. RON versus MON/AKI etc etc.

I rented a 2016 V-Strom for a couple of days and did around 2000 kms on it with a pillion and a tad of luggage and found the fuel consumption suprisingly low. 4 l /100 kms whem I rode it a bit hard (for my riding style) and down to 3,5 l/100 kms when taking it easy. Impressing! The bike was almost brand new and had only 1500 kms on the clock when I rented it though. And it was in Thailand and the fuel I used was 91 octane RON with 10 % biofuel.
It will be approx 58-65 mpg US and 70-78 mog IMP.

Same for my DL 650
 

==
around 0,45 liter per 100 km
Or 21 km/liter.

22 liter tank => 22*21= 462 km/tank.
I use to plan for tanks top after 380-400 km

=> The range is not the limiting factor for stopping
400 km/ 80 km/h => 5 hours driving

Fuel consumption
 

On my 2018-19 RTW trip, two up on a 2013 DL650 I got 66mpg or 260 UK miles to a tankful. The bike is fitted with a 20 litre tank. Only in Australia and Kazakhstan did I need to use a spare fuel can.