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New rider...already having problems :/

2K views 35 replies 15 participants last post by  ShinobiJeh 
#1 ·
Hello my names Jorge. I've been riding for about 3 months now, which is not long at all. I have a 09 ninja 650r (which Is my 1st bike). The bike is great and i love it yet for some reason it's wasting a lot of gas!! I've been getting in the high 20s every fill up! :( I don't ride hard at all and its pretty much all city driving since I mostly use it to go to and from school. I havent had time to check much since im in school, but im going to take it back home this weekend and either look myself or take it to a mechanic. Any ideas on what the problem can be?
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks :)
 
#3 ·
Hi Jorge, welcome to the forums.

I'm not big on American geography, from what little I know about it California is supposedly "the sun shine state". How cold is it there at the moment? Have you been using the choke much, have you been letting it idle for extended periods without moving? What rev does it idle at?

You said you've been riding for 3 months but its an 09 model so its 3 going on 4 years old, which leads me to assume you bought it second hand. Do you know anything about its history? Has it got any dents in the fuel tank or any leaks around the fuel lines?

There's a whole host of people with more technical knowledge than me around here but those are the first things that come to my mind.
 
#26 ·
I'm not big on American geography, from what little I know about it California is supposedly "the sun shine state". How cold is it there at the moment? Have you been using the choke much, have you been letting it idle for extended periods without moving?
The bike is fuel injected, no choke. And whenever I fill up my 07 650 at fuel light, about 3 gallons gets me +-155mi.

You are not shifting at red line right? Shift around 4-4.5k for a tank of gas and see if that changes anything. Also may want to try running some seafoam in the fuel. I did that after purchasing my 07 and it seemed to run smoother.

Also check tire pressure. I run around 40psi vs tires saying 36ish. A little bit higher pressure will improve mpg but give slightly less grip. But don't go putting in 50+ psi (that's a good way to pop a tire).
 
#4 ·
That's terrible mileage for a 650, I regularly got -45 with a city/highway mix. Make sure when you fill up you fill to the same level somewhat consistently. I used fuelly to track mine which is all odometer based and no worries over resetting the trip.

Best advice is to keep riding smooth. But even when I rode hard I never got that low. You either have a leak somewhere or are calculating something wrong...?

Green Machine (Kawasaki Ninja 650R) | Fuelly


Chris> I had an 09 also here in CA, it's fuel injected so no choke adjustment required on warmup.
 
#5 ·
thanks for the answers

to answer some of the questions:
-Yea i bought it used and has always given me that milage.
-I changed the oil when i bought it
-I fill it up with regular gas 87 i think it is? fill it to the splash guard i believe its called (right to the top when on the stand)? i pretty consistently put in 2.9ish gallongs when the E light flashes the first time (at about 78 miles)
-It has no dents on the gas tank, but it did have some scratches on the left fender and a bit on one of the round motor guards (nothing bad)
- It is all stock
-I checked the tire pressure which was low so i filled them to about 40 psi but that shouldnt have had that much of an impact on the mpg
- it runs good and has never backfired
-i plan on checking the spark plugs sometime next week.
 
#7 ·
thanks for the answers

to answer some of the questions:
-Yea i bought it used and has always given me that milage.
-I changed the oil when i bought it
-I fill it up with regular gas 87 i think it is? fill it to the splash guard i believe its called (right to the top when on the stand)? i pretty consistently put in 2.9ish gallongs when the E light flashes the first time (at about 78 miles)
-It has no dents on the gas tank, but it did have some scratches on the left fender and a bit on one of the round motor guards (nothing bad)
- It is all stock
-I checked the tire pressure which was low so i filled them to about 40 psi but that shouldnt have had that much of an impact on the mpg
- it runs good and has never backfired
-i plan on checking the spark plugs sometime next week.
You fill it while it's on the kickstand? If so, there's yer problem.

-Will
 
#6 ·
RebelYJ said:
Chris> I had an 09 also here in CA, it's fuel injected so no choke adjustment required on warmup.
Thanks mate, never ridden or owned one. That's why I tend to defer to other peoples experience but just wanted to put my thoughts across just in case :)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Negative. Whatever the manufacturer recommends you should put in, you should put in. Super sports tend to take premium (and of course, this is open to argument), and the other stuff can take regular.

Putting regular in a high performance engine may cause detonation. Putting premium in an engine that doesn't need it does nothing.

-Will
 
#13 ·
I'd go through and get a full tune up done. Spark plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter, run a couple tanks of premium gas through it. It wont hurt it and will absorb some of the gunk in your engine. Being that you are calculating less than half what it should be i'd probably check how your measuring it.
 
#14 ·
I'd go through and get a full tune up done. Spark plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter, run a couple tanks of premium gas through it. It wont hurt it and will absorb some of the gunk in your engine. Being that you are calculating less than half what it should be i'd probably check how your measuring it.
This won't do shit. It's not cleaner-burning and it won't have any detergents that regular doesn't have.

I'd go through and get a full tune up done. Spark plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter, run a couple tanks of premium gas through it. It wont hurt it and will absorb some of the gunk in your engine. Being that you are calculating less than half what it should be i'd probably check how your measuring it.
This might do shit. Also, try putting some Sea Foam in the gas. That tends to clean out some crap in the fuel system.

Second part's a possibility, as well. OP, how are you calculating it?

-Will
 
#25 ·
If it was just dumping fuel, you'd notice a really really rich smell when you got off of it. (Like riding behind a 70s muscle car.)

Like mentioned above, air filter, spark plugs, check your chain tension, make sure your wheels spin fairly freely (they'll always have some resistance), and go from there.
 
#34 ·
Ah! 4th gear, I remember the last time I got into 4th gear around town, t'was in a mini metro in the days when the main street wasn't pedestrianised, helmets and seat belts were not compulsory, Columbia 10 had just been launched into orbit, The Simpsons premiered on FOX and Super Ted was on BBC nightly! :Laughing Sign:
 
#36 ·
I run 1/4 cup of seafoam through my bike every few months, and clean and relube chain every six weeks or so. Also if you haven't gotten an oil change in the last 8 months or 7k miles you should do that.

Also keep the bike tires around 35+ psi. I pump them to 38 psi usually and check often.
 
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