Is my bike getting good MPG

[packie]

That explains it then i did not relise the newer ones had bigger tanks. And it has had a oil and filter change when i purchased it about a month ago. And dont no about air filter and plugs would it be worth putting iriduim plugs in and a k and n air filter? 

IMO....no. Lets say you got an extra 5 miles on a gallon as a result (which I doubt) and jump from 45mpg to 50mpg in town. The cost of new Iridium plugs & KN Filter would be about £80. You are averaging about 10 miles now on every litre so that will jump to about 11.20 miles on every litre. You will save roughly about 60c on every gallon. So it would take you about 123 gallons of petrol before you break even to make up the £80 outlay. Thats about over 5000 miles to cover just to break even. It would take me a year just to break even!! You might save £80 over the course of the next year and then you will have to change the plugs and filter again and wait another year to save money again after that!!


If petrol consumption is your main problem, maybe you need a more efficient bike. But that has its drawbacks too. You will have to make sure that your outlay for this new bike is the same ( or less ) as what you get for your Fazer. Because lets say you pay a grand extra for a bike that will get you 60mpg or even 70mpg.....that grand would buy you 166 gallons of petrol for your Fazer and cover 7,000 miles. So again, it would take you well over a year to see the benefits of your new purchase and you might have to sacrifice power and performance (smaller bike) to do so.


The only bigger bike that I would see as anyway efficient on juice, would be a Honda NC700. You would have to outlay about £4000 with your own bike to get it. That would buy your Fazer petrol for about 5 or 6 years. Ya....You'd have the joys of a new bike ect...but it would take you 5 years to make a saving in petrol if that is you main goal...lol! 

[packie]

....i forgot to add that if I was doing these mods like these aftermarket plugs and filter, I would be doing so to improve the performance (how smooth the bike is running) as opposed to getting better fuel consumption. I might add balancing the carbs to the list too. But it would be all in the name of getting the bike running smoother. If I get a fuel gain then that would be an added bonus. But it wouldn't pay to just do it as a means of getting added fuel consumption if the bike is already running relatively smooth as it is. If your bike is running smooth and you are satisfied with the power its pulling, then leave well alone IMO. It sounds that you are getting reasonable and near normal fuel consumption for a Fazer. If you need better, you need a different bike with a smaller engine.

[stevierst]

Whilst your on a restricted licence I'd leave the k&N out. If you get stopped or heaven forbid are in an accident and they find out about the air filter being a performance upgrade, your in a world of pain from both the law and the insurance company.

Basically your airfilter could in theory take you over the 33bhp limit, which invalidates your insurance, which means at the roadside your bike gets siezed, you also get 6 points/£200 fine, and taken to court for driving other than in accordance with a licence where another 3 points minimum and another fine. That's your licence gone. Then you have to get someone to insure your bike, pay the £150 recovery cost, and the £15-£20 per day storage costs.

Don't put performance upgrades on a resticted bike, it just ain't worth it!!. Standard filters are just as good for now.

[JZS 600]

I got Iridium plugs for £5.60 each. Didn't buy them for performance, just durability.
 
Didn't bother with a K&N filter as the standard one was £12

[darrsi]

I got Iridium plugs for £5.60 each. Didn't buy them for performance, just durability.
 
Didn't bother with a K&N filter as the standard one was £12

The K&N is £30 and the last one you'll ever buy for the bike!
Not only does it perform better but it makes total economic sense!

[dudeboy52]

Fair enough guys i was just interested because the fazers a brilliant bike ive only got 8 months left on my restricted licence so i will wait till then for the k and n and i was only interested in the plugs because they seem to be getting more popular.

[unfazed]

Packie, Why would you have to buy another K&N whene all you need to do is clean it unlike the throw away OEM model. 2 replacements of the OEM will make up the cost of the K&N and from then on no cost other than time
Since the standard fazer runs rich the K&N is a positive improvment. There is a small gain of power and it improves the torque curve throughout the rev range. It is most noticible at the 7000 rev power band plus it improves the fuel consumption slightly.

It most definitely will not increase the power of a restricted bike as the air flow is restricted and no matter what you do with the filter it cannot change the amount of air passing the restrictor.
Good for your pocket and good for the envirnoment.

[JZS 600]

Actually, isn't the K&N cleaning kit £12?


I've got one in the garage that I bought for the 2 stroke bike my son had when he was 16 and it had a little K&N filter fitted, not sure how long they are supposed to last on a normal size filter

[darrsi]

Actually, isn't the K&N cleaning kit £12?


I've got one in the garage that I bought for the 2 stroke bike my son had when he was 16 and it had a little K&N filter fitted, not sure how long they are supposed to last on a normal size filter

You don't need to touch it for 50,000 miles, whichever angle you look at it, the K&N is the way to go.

[JZS 600]

Sure??


I thought you had to clean the bugger at recommended intervals,,,,,


I remember I had a washable filter one time, I used to wash it out with petrol and soak it in that washable filter oil shit (without wearing gloves the first time  )


After a while I was blowing black shit out of my exhaust, turned out it was unburnt petrol as the fuel mix wasn't right,,,,

[JZS 600]

Never had a K&N for this bike mind,,,,,

[gordon]

not sure which tank i have on my 99 fazer , saying that i was told its an 02 one. when i fill it to the top
i get 210 ish miles before i fill her up again , i do 36-40 miles aday which last about 4.5 days.


no matter how you look at it its cheaper than having and runing a car

[darrsi]

Sure??


I thought you had to clean the bugger at recommended intervals,,,,,


I remember I had a washable filter one time, I used to wash it out with petrol and soak it in that washable filter oil shit (without wearing gloves the first time  )


After a while I was blowing black shit out of my exhaust, turned out it was unburnt petrol as the fuel mix wasn't right,,,,

Have a quick read......  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YA-6098-K-N-Air-Filter-YAMAHA-FZS600-Fazer-98-03-/290804341579?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item43b54a1b4b

[packie]

Packie, Why would you have to buy another K&N whene all you need to do is clean it unlike the throw away OEM model. 2 replacements of the OEM will make up the cost of the K&N and from then on no cost other than time
Since the standard fazer runs rich the K&N is a positive improvment. There is a small gain of power and it improves the torque curve throughout the rev range. It is most noticible at the 7000 rev power band plus it improves the fuel consumption slightly.

It most definitely will not increase the power of a restricted bike as the air flow is restricted and no matter what you do with the filter it cannot change the amount of air passing the restrictor.
Good for your pocket and good for the envirnoment.

Yes...I made a mistake about the K&N replacement....apologies to you and the OP. But it still doesn't solve the OP's problem, which was the point I was trying to convey. This topic is about a fuel consumption problem....not a "Long Term Air Filter Cost Saving" problem.


When you say it improves the fuel consumption "slightly"....by how much per gallon??....and can you be sure it is the K&N??...like were the riding conditions exactly the same for both trips as for you to come to that conclusion?? Is it possible that the slight increase could be down to just driving with the old filter at slightly different speeds, throttle responses and braking?? I get various different fuel consumptions with the same filter on the same bike on the exact same run to work because mainly my throttle response and braking on that route isn't always exactly the same everyday.


As for the power gain...again you talk of only "slight" gains. My Bandit 1200 has a noticeable gain over my Fazer, but I wouldn't call it "kick you in the pants mind blowing" noticeable. So I don't think a K&N on my Fazer isn't really going to make me stand up and take too much notice. The only real benefit of a K&N as I see it, is a once off payment as you pointed out. If you want anything noticeable as regards to power and (for the OP) fuel consumption, then you are talking more than just sticking a K&N on the bike....probably a decent can, stage 1 jet kit, and tuned properly

[JZS 600]

The K&N air filter flows like new for up to 50,000 miles without cleaning!








Bilmey!

[His Dudeness]

I'd love to see the condition of an untouched air filter after 50,000 miles in a bike.  They say you don't have to clean it but if it's filtering the air then it has to be getting more and more blocked as the miles build up so you'd have to be losing performance.

[JZS 600]

It says it in the advert!

[His Dudeness]

must be true then

[JZS 600]

Natch!

[darrsi]

I'd love to see the condition of an untouched air filter after 50,000 miles in a bike.  They say you don't have to clean it but if it's filtering the  :lolair then it has to be getting more and more blocked as the miles build up so you'd have to be losing performance.

If you don't mind waiting for about 49000 miles i'll post a photo, could be a while though?

[His Dudeness]

I'd love to see the condition of an untouched air filter after 50,000 miles in a bike.  They say you don't have to clean it but if it's filtering the  :lolair then it has to be getting more and more blocked as the miles build up so you'd have to be losing performance.

If you don't mind waiting for about 49000 miles i'll post a photo, could be a while though?

I'm on the edge of my seat

[darrsi]

I'd love to see the condition of an untouched air filter after 50,000 miles in a bike.  They say you don't have to clean it but if it's filtering the  :lolair then it has to be getting more and more blocked as the miles build up so you'd have to be losing performance.

If you don't mind waiting for about 49000 miles i'll post a photo, could be a while though?

I'm on the edge of my seat

Bearing in mind i do about 4000 miles a year, in traffic, go and get a nice book, and a supply of tea and sarnies, and i'll give you a heads up when i'm near
If i was that way inclined i could even take a photo every 10,000 miles as a reference, we shall see?
But the ad does actually stress 50,000 to 100,000 miles!
The Mk4 Fazer should be out by then   

[His Dudeness]

I'd love to see the condition of an untouched air filter after 50,000 miles in a bike.  They say you don't have to clean it but if it's filtering the  :lolair then it has to be getting more and more blocked as the miles build up so you'd have to be losing performance.

If you don't mind waiting for about 49000 miles i'll post a photo, could be a while though?

I'm on the edge of my seat

Bearing in mind i do about 4000 miles a year, in traffic, go and get a nice book, and a supply of tea and sarnies, and i'll give you a heads up when i'm near
If i was that way inclined i could even take a photo every 10,000 miles as a reference, we shall see?
But the ad does actually stress 50,000 to 100,000 miles!
The Mk4 Fazer should be out by then   

well at rate of 4,000 miles per year you've got a maintenance schedule of between twelve and a half years to twenty five years between cleans get your calender out there. have you got a pencil?  hang on a second that's eh carry the two, that's sometime between june 2025  to june 2038  we'll be on hover bikes by then, either that or living under the sea 

[darrsi]

Don't forget the "million mile guarantee".


I may take it back after 999,990 miles and say "I don't like it!" 

[JZS 600]

I'm thinking of fitting a mico manometer across the filter so I can measure the delta p across the filter media and benchmark it for future study.
 
Otherwise I'll just buy a new filter every now and again when the old one gets clogged!