Kawasaki Ninja 250 rider claims 100 mpg after simple mods
It's not that difficult to find a motorcycle that's capable of managing fuel mileage of 75 miles per gallon or so. In fact, all you need to do is march into your local Kawasaki dealership and plunk down a few thousand bucks on a brand new Ninja 250. Right off the showroom floor, the littlest Ninja is capable of returning stellar fuel mileage while boasting a more-than-adequate top speed of just over 100 miles per hour. But what if you want even more?
EcoModder member TheyCallMeBryan lays out a few simple steps to increase the fuel mileage of a Kawasaki Ninja 250 by about 30 percent; enough to net you about 100 miles per gallon, he reckons. The list of modifications is short: a change to slightly taller gearing and new tires running high air pressure. Other than that, a light throttle wrist and being mindful of the speed limit is all that's required. Click here for all the details.
[Source: EcoModder via Hell For Leather]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Richard 1:45PM (9/10/2009)
That seems to be a very misleading article, at least from my reading of the EcoModder post. He was getting 75mpg on the bike, in the same configuration that he got his 100mpg tank, then changed his driving style and hit 100mpg with a lot of practice.
The ABG write-up makes it sound like the mods got him most of the way there, and the driving style changes were the icing on the cake. He's added a few mods like the radiator but that one at least came after the 100mpg tank, and the others came before the 75mpg baseline.
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Michael Hippenhammer 3:25PM (9/10/2009)
My 1983 GPZ 305 got 80mpg with out trying and 59mpg was my worst but, I was doing 110 mph a lot during that tank. I wish I knew about hypermiling back then I think I could have beat 100 mpg mark quite handly.
I love the smaller bikes and hope to own a new Ninja 250. I do wish that they would bring the fuel injected version to the US.
Good job!
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PabloKoh 11:05AM (9/11/2009)
For $4000 he purchased and modified a vehicle that he uses as a daily driver and it gets 100mpg. Bravo! Imagine if everyone increased their fuel mileage 25% by changing driving habits. Go home and try some EOC.
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Joe 6:34PM (9/10/2009)
"Go home and try some EOC"
Not all cars like this. Automatic Transmissions in particular. Be careful about it. I know from personal experience that the 4 speed in the Cobalt is not a fan of EOC.
Coasting in Neutral, Driving without Brakes, Driving with Load, and Pulse and Glide are all much safer techniques for your car if you have an AT.
Matt 3:02PM (9/11/2009)
33.3%
100 ÷ 75 = ~133.3%
That's huge. 25% would be great too, but I just wanted to point out it's actually even more!
Matt 3:07PM (9/11/2009)
Also, a motorcycle doesn't have power steering or a brake booster, so EOC is not as big a deal for a two wheeler. In a car you could not only potentially screw up your automatic transmission (if you have one), but you could also loose your ability to turn and stop depending on your specific model. EOC should be tested at VERY low speed and stepped up to higher speeds if you're really wanting to try it.
smartacus 8:17PM (9/10/2009)
waaitaminute! I did 15/42 teeth on mine but the most i saw was 75MPG. That and a ZeroG double bubble did increase top speed to 111MPH at 11,000 RPM.
And 130/60/16 up front? How did it not make major contact with the fender? Remount?
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Brian P 11:29PM (9/10/2009)
130-width tire was rear, not front.
One of my bikes is a little Honda CBR125 (not available in USA). It routinely uses 2.9 L/100 km (81 mpg US) without any attempt made at being economical.
The article mentions possibly rejetting to lean out the carbs. On a Ninja 250 ... they're already cold-blooded from being too lean off idle. Time to buy a wide-band air/fuel ratio gauge; you'll learn a lot. I have one ... very useful tool for sorting out jetting or EFI calibration. On one of my other bikes (Yamaha FZR400) I've cut consumption from 6 L/100 km with carbs that were known to be messed up, to about 4.5 L/100 km and with better driveability. Next experiment (already in progress) is slightly taller gearing, but I haven't got a full tank through it since changing it.
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watcher 12:58AM (9/11/2009)
misleading.
It's all driving style, and there are some mods but it's a 250.. might as well be on a pocket bike unless he's that small physically so that it works. Most riders use nothing smaller than a 600 because of the physical size of the bike isn't as mopedish and there's more power in it. it's not a car engine but when you can get 100mpg+ with a 600-1000cc sportbike without having to granny drive a ton then it'd be worth checking out.. but a 250 (moped) isn't a big deal since as someone else mentioned it got 75 before and while 100 is a good stretch over that, it's still extremely good mpg to base with. But use a Real bike, not a toy 250 next time.
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DasBoese 8:42AM (9/11/2009)
One of those "get a REAL bike" types, eh?
Just out of interest, what do you ride?
RSVDon 10:22AM (9/11/2009)
The better question is, what do you ride? You seem quite ready to jump down everyone's throat about saying that bigger bikes are fine. This guy just stated that, for most, a Ninja 250 is actually quite a diminutive and uncomfortable bike. I'm 6'2", I'd ride a Ninja 250 like I was a Shriner in a clown car. It's just too small for me. So off to the bigger bikes I go.
Quit bitching because you ride (do you even ride?) a small displacement bike and all your buddies dog you about it. Who cares? If you actually started riding you'd find you can smoke them around corners on a 250 by being able to carry much more corner speed.
Napoleon syndrome much?
Daniel Hess 10:30AM (9/11/2009)
You clearly have never been on a bike before, let alone a 250, so why don't you take your ignorance and shove it. I had a 250 a few years ago and it was plenty fast. Fast enough to spank whatever you're driving anyway!
thewasp 12:33PM (9/11/2009)
Hey Watcher...how about don't be an idiot?
There are plenty (millions) of bikes under 600 that work perfectly well for commuting. It's fine that you need more power, but you must acknowledge that your desire for more power is not driven by a need to commute, but rather by something else.
I ride a 250. It's not a toy. Plenty of people in less gluttonous societies make do perfectly well with 125s, 150s, 200s and smaller bikes.
DasBoese 1:35PM (9/11/2009)
RSVDon:
If a Ninja is too physically small for you that's alright, but generalizing like watcher does is dumb. And let's not confuse physical size with engine displacement which seems to be his real problem.
FYI I usually ride a '65 MZ ES 175/1 which is indeed a tad slow, though I haven't heard any complaints from my friends yet.
It's due for an overhaul soon, after which it'll probably be relegated to fair-weather status since I plan on getting either a dual sport or UJM to replace it as daily driver while I tear it apart. I'm still undecided, though I'm leaning towards dual sport because while you can ride moderately fast on the road with a dualie, you can't take a sportbike off road (unless you're mental, then it's probably quite fun).
RSVDon 7:35AM (9/11/2009)
Ahahahahahahahaha, ok you go have fun getting 100 mpg out of your Ninja 250. Longer gearing? Really? As if it didn't have enough power already. That thing probably takes over a mile to get to 40 mph.
I get a week to a tank on my 1000cc Aprilia v-twin, at $8.75 a fill-up. I'm perfectly happy with that. Why? Because I didn't buy a sportbike to be economical, I bought it to ride the hell out of it on the track and occassionally some secluded backroads. It still gets 33 mpg railing on it...
If you want mpg, don't waste your money on a Ninja. Go buy yourself a cute little Honda Ruckus and be happy with consistent 100 mpg.
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DasBoese 8:45AM (9/11/2009)
That's nice for you, but maybe you should acknowledge that some people have other riding preferences than you do. It might help you not come across as a jackass squid.
RSVDon 9:25AM (9/11/2009)
I know people have different riding preferences and that's fine with me. Anyone who rides with me will see that. I've got no problem waiting up for anyone either no matter what they're on. But sitting here intentionally hypermiling a sportbike that already gets 75 mpg? Seriously? You dropped that $4,000 to have fun on it, that's why it has a sport tuned suspension, larger tires, etc.
I really have to wonder how slow he had to go or how light on the throttle he had to be to see that 100 mpg. Or better yet, how many times did he almost get run over worrying about hypermiling over keeping with and being alert to traffic. Depending on how much you ride in a week you're still probably not gonna be filling up more than once every week and a half.
Seems like quite a waste of a bike.
Finally,
Jackass...yes.
Squid...no.
Seth 10:42AM (9/11/2009)
What part about it is slow exactly?
1/4 mile in 15.5 at 82mph
0-60 5.5s
Top speed 110+
and you'll get 70mpg if you abuse the throttle.
Drive with the engine off like the gentleman in the post and you get 100mpg.
Some want that extra 10th of a second on the racetrack, others want that extra mpg on the streets.
I miss my Kawi 250, but now am on an aprilia 250 and have no desire for more power.
I get 84 mpg (riding in the city you don't need to be up high in the rpm range) and I don't worry about hypermiling since a traffic light can kill any efforts of saving that quarter at the pump every 2 weeks.
DasBoese 9:21AM (9/11/2009)
What's with all the bashing of small-displacement bikes?
Criticism because his "achievement" may be more due to relentless hypermiling than the mods to the bike, I can understand, but that?
Do you people feel like you're less of a "true" rider unless you sneer at the "mopeds"? Is your masculinity threatened in some way by people who like to ride fuel-efficient, small-displacement bikes and dare find it ENJOYABLE? Pathetic.
About the mods... taller gearing is a performance tradeoff, if he's willing to swallow that more power to him.
Increasing tire air pressure though is a tradeoff on safety, and that's something you really shouldn't be doing.
I've been stuck with a set of Metzelers on my bike for a while now which are rock solid, but absolutely terrifying in wet conditions. I can't imagine why someone would willingly put up with that.
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J 12:42PM (9/11/2009)
Couldn't agree with you more. I'm not a fan of hypermiling really, but there's no need to bash small bikes because they aren't as big or fast as other machines.