Hey. On the home stretch of a recent overnighter the bike started using excessive amounts of fuel. Normally I can hit around 350k's from a tank on my 09 Road King however the fuel light was coming on just before 200k's showing around 80k's remaining.

Thinking it might be just the computer having a brain fart i checked out against another bike who fueled up at the exact same time and on both occasions i had used 5 or so litres more. The first stretch i was in front, on 110kph in 6th with cruise control on running at just under 3000rpm.

I had only recently changed  spark plugs and cleaned air filter before this ride. Bike was behaving as normal on ride to the overnighter.

Any suggestions?

Somehow the mix must have altered , something you already know . Maybe , it,s caught in warm up ( rich ) mixture for some reason . What tuner is on bike ? Maybe a reset ?

Got a TTS Mastertune. Thought it may be tuner Tim, was more or less hoping someone else had the problem before and it was a quick fix...

Mate you were sitting behind me on the way up, blocking all the wind for ya.

Lol, maybe that was why Rodders used less fuel on the way back...

Reckon spark gap might have something to do with it? Maybe the tuner adjusted itself after I fitted the new ones...

Might be a question to Dyno or Hilly etc . The learned few .

Thanks Dyno. Haven't played with tuning at all. Bike I was riding with used 5 litres less than me at each fuel stop. Weird how it was fine on way to Lascelles but on way home was when it played up. Think I better go for another ride and see if it does it again.

Interesting that you noted this Deadwood as I saw the same thing on the Sunday heading further North. I normally see 350km on the highway but was below 300 when I filled in Mildura and had less than a litre to spare.

The next two fill ups on Sunday were progressively worse.

Where did you fill up?

Perhaps the locals got a bit thirsty.

Steve & Hilly, leaning towards shit fuel but Rodders fueled up at the same places and on the 2 occasions we fueled up (both at BP's) his bike used 5 liters less than mine.

Weird how one bike does it and not the other eh.

Thinking a test ride is in order.

Rodders, no wonder it was feeling ordinary drinking that bourbon shit!

both bikes the same?weight , hill's , wind , road surface , your ridding style , all play a part also like already posted how good fuel was, but generally you would feel difference with bad fuel.

did you double check by filling up to see how much it took to fill the working out fuel used yourself? if you hit a lot of traffic & or had to do a lot of overtaking, could effect computer calculations.

 

6th gear at 110ks, were the other bikes in 5th?

I find that you use more throttle to maintain 110 in 6th than using 5th and if you are using cruise control you will be using more throttle to maintain the bike at 110ks.

5th at 110 is reving a bit more but you don't use as much throttle that's of a softail I would imagine it would be even worse on an RK

Sounds like shit fuel. Mine had run like a dog since I filled up before Lascelles. Only starting to come good now after about 6 fill ups.

Like the theory, Doc said he tuned the bike on BP Ultimate for the entire tuning process (prior to me buying it) so you never know. It's only Been run on 98 since.

Good to hear yours come good Steve.

I had my bike Dyno tuned at MazTech using BP 98, i havnt noticed any difference at all no matter

what fuel i have put in.

On last years run up to Rons in Bunderburg i was using 91, 95 and when i could 98, i didnt seam

to change the performance or consumption in any way, i still put in 98 if available though.

 

What tuner Mickle?

Thanks Steve.

Hilly, took the bike for a run with Rodders yesty, think we have narrowed it down to bad fuel but it does need a good tune I reckon. Brian at Eastern Big Twin reckons he can play with Mastertune, not his preferred tuner but has played with it before. Will give him a go soon.