Ninja 250 full tank = how many miles?

Alpine5taR6 · 04-12-2006, 02:51 AM

I've been commuting for a week or so. Cruising on local streets and freeway with occasional WOTs. I try to conserve fuel a bit, but sometimes I have to rip it.

How many miles are you guys getting from a full tank of gas on the 250? I got about 164 miles from a full tank of 87 gas on the '06 250.

dreesemonkey · 04-12-2006, 01:17 PM

So far I have 170 miles and haven't hit reserve yet. I usually don't let it go that far, but I just got it and I have no idea what kind of dirty gas it may pull from the reserve so I wanted to run it out.

160miles doesn't seem very far, is that a full 5 gallons? How fast is your freeway commuting? I've been ripping it up a bit lately, but my usual commuting speed is 35mph so my numbers may not be much for comparisson.

hendross · 04-12-2006, 01:20 PM

Is this some sort of wierd competition? I usually just start looking for gas around 120..although thats well before reserve.

Alpine5taR6 · 04-12-2006, 01:52 PM

no, not competition, just friendly insights...haha

i'm usually cruising local streets around 40mph, unless i have to suddenly WOT to beat a yellow light or something. leaving from a stop light, i sometimes bring the RPMs up to 9k to 11k, but usually 4k-5k. on the freeway i'm doing about 68-75mph.

i just thought 164 was a bit low...but maybe i have to keep riding to finish breaking her in too. iono...

at 160 miles, the bike was "chugging" so i flipped on the reserve. it rode fine then.
i knew it was out of gas because when i flipped it back to the "on" position, it died. it didn't start until i flipped it back to reserve.

stb000013 · 04-12-2006, 02:03 PM

More importantly how many miles per gallon are you getting? That's a number we can work with. This per tank stuff has to stop. There are way too many variables.

dreesemonkey · 04-12-2006, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stb000013

More importantly how many miles per gallon are you getting? That's a number we can work with. This per tank stuff has to stop. There are way too many variables.

Agreed, if you only put in 3 gallons when you hit 160 miles, that's a lot different than the full 5 gallons. With the type of riding you described, I'd assume you would get anywhere between 55-65mpg. If it's less than 50mpg, something is definitely amiss ;)

DazalC · 04-12-2006, 04:42 PM

i thought the reserve and regular tank had the same gas..
so, if they dont, how can i make sure that the gas in the reserve is good to know when i need it?

Greg in H-Town · 04-12-2006, 04:55 PM

I usually hit reserve around 210-220 or so, normal fillups are a bit over 4 gallons, and calculated mileage is somewhere around 55-60 mpg. From what I'm reading about upcoming gas prices, I'll be putting as many miles as possible on the 250 instead of the car (like I wouldn't have anyway...

)

dreesemonkey · 04-12-2006, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DazalC

i thought the reserve and regular tank had the same gas..
so, if they dont, how can i make sure that the gas in the reserve is good to know when i need it?

It's the same tank, but the reserve just pulls from a lower portion of the tank, where any dirt/debris/nastyness may settle. I heard it's good to run it out every so often, I'll probably make sure to do it every few tanks.

Now the real question is, how many miles can I expect when I have to switch over to reserve?

tendar · 04-12-2006, 07:39 PM

I have been getting a good 225 mile before i fill up and have not hit reserve yet. Usally close though with 3.5-4 gallons to fill up. To keep fuel from going bad in the lower half i usally run with it switched to reserve for the first 100 miles that way it pulls gas from the bottom of the tank so I dont get any water build up over time in the bottom of the tank. Switch back to normal switch usally after 100 but if you do this dont forget to switch back from reserve or you may be introuble.
So far I am getting around 65-70 mpg for the first 1000 miles doing mostly 40-55 mph with few quick trips on the freeway doing 70-75.

hendross · 04-12-2006, 08:09 PM

Correct me if i'm wrong but it's a 4.8 US gallon (18 L) tank? That should include the reserve...I believe approximently .5 gallon is allocated to the reserve petcock.

cdolor · 04-12-2006, 09:03 PM

I normally fill up at about 225 to 235 but at my last fill up I was at 275 miles and not kicked in reserve yet. Mine is a 2003 Ninja with the 15 tooth front sprocket. I regularly get 70 to 75 MPG. My shifts are between 6,000 and 8,000 rpms with a rare climb to 10,000.
Great commute bike.

AWDimprezal · 04-12-2006, 09:36 PM

ive hit 280 before reserve b-4, but that was when i was breaking it in, but on average, around 220-240 way better then my ZZR...which goes about 170 on reserve.

dayid · 04-15-2006, 09:23 PM

I normally pay attention after around 200 miles.

I've figured with my general 45-75/80MPH rides I average around 60.

iceman5o · 04-18-2006, 01:40 AM

Yeah, I average around 60 mpg as well. I have hitten 72 mpg once, when I was first learning to ride (keeping it below 6k). So if you get 60mpg on a full tank, thats about 280 miles - not half bad for 4.8 gallons!