998cc vs 1330cc fuel mileage question

[VStarRider]

I have been averaging 38 mpg on my SM5 998 V-twin.

For those that have owned the manual clutch/5-speed/998 combo, and now own a 1330 semi-auto/6-speed, should one except the same, more or fewer miles per gallon?

 

[jiffy]

I get 38 to 40 mpg. But not on the interstate.

 

[CopperSpyder]

I have been averaging 38 mpg on my SM5 998 V-twin.

For those that have owned the manual clutch/5-speed/998 combo, and now own a 1330 semi-auto/6-speed, should one except the same, more or fewer miles per gallon?

They don't make a Spyder STS with a 1330 se6 and to compare you would have to maybe look at an F3s. But if you took the same machine say an RT with a 998 SM5 and an RT with a 1330 SE6 then you could get a better comparison. So for those that have a 1330 with SE6 it would be a different bike then yours. But I would say they (1330 SE6) do as good and probably better then the 998 with SM5 that you are reporting you get with yours. The Toyota Prius gets great mileage too but I don't own one. :thumbup:

 

[JayBros]

You don't give us any idea of your total miles and type of riding so it's difficult to make a true comparison. FWIW, through 66.8K miles and 422 refuelings I have averaged 36.7 mpg. Those fill ups run the gamut from 85 mph for hours on an interstate into a hellacious headwind where I got only 28.3 mpg to casual riding in the Black Hills where I got 45.4 mpg. When riding with friends who have V-twins they start hunting for gas stations long before I have to think about it.

 

[VStarRider]

. When riding with friends who have V-twins they start hunting for gas stations long before I have to think about it.

Thanks, that's mainly what I was looking for. I was hoping that someone who had an SM5, who now owns a 1330 SE6 would be able to report, for example, that the SE6 gets 3 mpg more than their V-twin did ... or something like that.

My type of riding is mostly 55-65 mph, two-lane roads, county and state highways. I probably use the taller gears with the SM5 more often than others do, which is why my mpg is higher. Obviously I am in 5th when cruising, but when I slow down to 30 mph to go through a town and I do not need any extra power, just need to maintain enough throttle to get through the speed zone, I will just leave it in 5th.

I know doing that may cause premature clutch wear with the semi-automatics, so I was wondering if those with the 1330 kept it in lower gears to prevent wear, but reducing mpg at the same time.

 

[JayBros]

The two engines have different types of clutches. With the 1330 you don't have to worry about keeping the revs up to keep the centrifugal clutch fully locked up as in an SE5, the hydraulic control module locks up the clutch immediately when you twist the throttle. If the 1330 engine drops below about 1,900 rpm in any gear except first the engine automatically downshifts to the next lower gear so there's no slipping of the clutch. I've found that 3,200 rpm is about the point at which mileage begins to go down on the SE6 when in 6th gear.

 

[blacklightning]

My 2014 RT SM6 averaged around 40 mpg. My 2012 RSS SE5 got around 35 mpg. My 2016 F3T SE6 gets around 36-38 mpg. Not sure what my buddy is getting on his 2020RT SE6, but he is looking for a service station long before I am on my F3T. He owned a 2014 RT SM6 before the new one, and it got better gas milage also. He also noticed that the old one had more power. He likes the new one, but it is clearly the weaker one of the 2.

 

[AeroPilot]

Deptends on how you ride and model that the 1330/998 is in

Like JayBros said the one of the factors is how fast you ride and what amount of wind resistance your model has.

We put 76,000 miles on our 2011 RT with the SM5 and 998 combo and would get between 30 and 35 MPG depending on our speed and whether or not we were riding into a headwind.

Most of the miles were between 60 and 65 mph on open roads here in the western plains. Now with the 1330 SE6 combo in RT and wifes 16 F3T we get between 35 and 40 MPG, with the outliers as Jaybros has quoted. We dont need to worry about RPMs as the torquey engine and autoshift can handle all situations.

But as others have said when you run higher speeds above 65 mph, you pay with wind resistance, more so on the larger profile RT body style. My wife gets slightly better mileage than I at each fillup. (even with the 12.7% larger rear 89 cog sprocket)

 

[ARtraveler]

On my 08 SM5/GS...I got low 30's pretty consistently. On 2009 SE5/RS mileage still in the low 30's.

On the 998/RT's I had a 2010 SE5 and a 2011 SE5. Similar mileage (low 30's) on both, even though they were heavier machines.

On the 2014 RT/SE6 I get high 30's. On the newest 2019 F3L/SE6 I get about 1 mpg less...I guess that I drive it a bit more aggressively, according to Linda. 40 mpg has been very elusive and that has only happened a couple tankfulls over the years.

We can get 200 miles out of a tank without running it dry on the three cylinders. A slightly bigger tank on the 2019, but I fill it when the 2014 gets filled. The 998's we started looking for gas at 150 miles or so...when the refuel light came on.

Total mileage across the board--over 160,000.

Have said it before, don't buy them for the fuel economy...it is for the fun factor. :yes:

 

[Motorcycledave]

At 100 Miles my gas is on empty at 110 the light comes on at 120 I am pushing
it into a gas station, my GS has never gotten better than 26mph the high RPM's
eat gas. My Buick gets better mileage... However I did not buy it for the gas mileage
I got it for the fun.

 

[remus]

26 mph that's a slow bike for HIgh rpms :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

 

[AlanSmith7]

37 MPG in city touring rides. 40+ MPG on longer rides.

 

[BajaRon]

There are so many variables that it might be difficult to get an accurate comparison. Small fuel tank. A vehicle very susceptible to wind effect on mileage. Putting a larger windshield on any Spyder will have a definite impact on fuel mileage. Riding style, road type and loading also have a fairly large impact on fuel mileage. Not to mention, with a small fuel tank it is more difficult to get accurate MPG calculations. Without doing a number of consecutive measurements like JayBros has done. You really don't have a good handle on actual fuel mileage.

On my 2008 GS I average about 35 mpg. I can go about 180 miles on a tank, which varies depending on the run. But then I actually fill my tank, which I have found to be very rare in Spyder circles. Due mostly to how difficult BRP has made it to do so, and problems with the vapor recovery systems. Especially on the 2008-2013 models. But, since I've done a Canister-Ectomy on my Spyder. I no longer have to worry about that.

Ultimately, I would say that the 1330, apples to apples, will get you better fuel economy.

 

[KX5062]

I went from a 2008 GS with the SM5 to a 2014 RT SE6 and for me the MPG did improve overall. Nothing dramatic, maybe about 3 MPG ish. And then going from a 2014 RT to a 2020 RTL there too seems to be a slight improvement in MPG, but this difference is very slight and over time may be illusionary.

 

[AeroPilot]

We had a good tail wind coming back from the brother-in-laws in Kansas Sunday and drove from Lakin KS home - filled up this morning with 225 miles on the odometer and still showing 2 bars on the display. It took 5.15 gals for a one tank mpg of 43.6 for the 15 RT SE6 with 62K miles - we were running 66 mph most of the way but would not have got 40 MPG without the tailwind. YMMV.

 

[missouriboy]

I enter all my gas purchases into a spreadsheet and let it keep the averages, and total expense.

My OLD Spyder averaged 30.73mpg for its 32,600 miles.

My NEW one has averaged 37.10 for all its 86,786 miles to date. (Gas cost is 6.4c per mile.)

However, the mileage has been improving lately, with age (and maybe with the better tires?). For the last 21 tankfuls, it has averaged 38.44mpg. (You can make a spreadsheet get this stuff real quick.)

YMWV (WILL vary... )

 

[RICZ]

I just had a 100+ mile 70 mph freeway run. I filled just prior to getting on and right after getting off so that I can see a highway only fuel mileage. 43mpg!!! Nice. No eco mode - just keep 'er over 3500 rpm.

 

[VStarRider]

I just had a 100+ mile 70 mph freeway run. I filled just prior to getting on and right after getting off so that I can see a highway only fuel mileage. 43mpg!!! Nice. No eco mode - just keep 'er over 3500 rpm.

Glad you mentioned this. I had a highway only fill up myself last weekend ... got 41 mpg with the ol' twin ... I thought it was an aberration!