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300 Mile Club.

22K views 101 replies 35 participants last post by  PeteK 
#1 · (Edited)
Who has done 300 miles on one steel tank of gas and joined the exclusive 300 mile club?

Today I became an official member 320.2 miles on 5.9 gallons, went on reserve at 301, switched to reserve ,it ran out at 315...did the lay over on the peg trick for secret reserve and got another 5 miles. This tank averaged 54.27 MPG. I have a manual petcock with a sediment bowl so stock bikes will go on reserve sooner.
 
#4 ·
I was fairly obsessed with getting 300 mi when I first got it. Did it just once. That tank was multiple days.

A couple years later on a trip to the midwest I "accidentally" went 286.6 miles one night before getting gas. I had passed stations early then kept riding through rural NY/VT/NH at night and many stations were closed and I couldn't find a pay-at-pump station.
 
#6 ·
Does the 300 miles include tipping the bike on the left side to get the gas over from the right? How full are you filling the tank? To the brim?
 
#8 ·
Does the 300 miles include tipping the bike on the left side to get the gas over from the right?
I've done that maneuver twice but I don't know how far I rode to get into those pickles.
I don't even come close, are you guys riding off road when your getting 300 miles? My riding is all highway, . . .
I live far from any 4-lane roads. My best mileage is on usually on smooth gravel roads or very cold temps that punish speed or night riding at the tail end of a 1000-mile day (like the rural NY/VT/NH 286 miles mentioned above).
 
#9 ·
Do we have anyone on here who has done 300 miles on one tank of gas and joined the exclusive 300 mile club?

I am not a member....yet! :smile2:
Drifter,
IF I Remember Correctly, I have had ONE tank of fuel that carried me 294 miles till turning to the 'Reserve' fuel tap position!
IF I remember correctly, I rode till 340 miles appeared on the odometer! I can NOT remember the gallons used!

What baffles me most, I don't remember tipping the bike in the borrow ditch, to access the secret/super secret RESERVE!
And I have done THAT, at least 4 times! Out of NESSESSATIE! And tipped it 4 times on ONE TANK FULL!!!!
I did ride to the fuel pump, EVERY time! 5.928 GALLONS is the maximum fill that I remember!

ps, Another 'Over-Sized' icon in my preview of posting!!!
 
#12 ·
Drifter,
Gen1, 1987 KL650-A1.
At the time of 340 miles on one tank, I'm gonna' say I remember more 'stock and standard' than almost any 1987 -A1 model deserves to be! It still is, other than a Thermo-Bob and my oil flow changes!

The weekend before last, I rode 279 miles on the ON Position.
4.895 gallons / #87 / $2.709 / 56.997 MPG. 75,500+ miles.
Could have easily went 300 +. But, I would have had to 'tip-it' for secret/super-secret reserve to get close to my 340 maximum mark.

ps, I see a 'Monster Sized' 2 thumbs up in my preview of your quote.
 
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#15 ·
Using the imortal words of Elvis, Thank you Thank you very much! :smile2:

The last couple of miles were stressfull, i dd not know if i was going to make it to the station or not......I learned one thing the Gen2 tank holds at least 5.9 gallons. Now if i can get over the 60MPG hump i might give 350 miles a shot.

Then again im Happy with 320 and being a member of the 300 Mile Club on a Keeps Losing Rotella Gen 2 bike!
 
#16 ·
I'm currently sitting at 430 km. (267 mile) on this tank of fuel. Looked in the tank with a light and I'm pretty sure It should make the 300 mile mark. I'll strap a gallon can of fuel to my rack in the next couple of days and see how far I get before I need it.
 
#17 ·
klr4evr,
I'm totally surprised that you have Never ran out a full tank before. Or has it just been soo long-ago, that you've forgotten how many klicks it takes to do so? ;)
 
#18 · (Edited)
I've only ran out of fuel once and it caught me by surprise. At the time I was riding fully loaded at 70 MPH on the superslab and bucking a strong head wind. Was fortunate to be able to tip the bike and get enough fuel to get to a filling station. I generally prefer to drive on the top half of a tank no matter what I'm operating. Running out of fuel usually happens when it's the most inconvenient.
 
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#19 · (Edited)
Almost had to walk,

Yesterday I attempted to stretch another tank to the 300 mile mark.

I had turned to 'Reserve' last Sunday at about the 240 mile mark. I left the house showing 246 miles and knew it could be very close. Took the local loop rides around the outskirts of Lander, WY never more than 15 miles from town.

While riding up-grade on WY Hwy 131 Sinks Canyon State Park, I had to tip it over the 1st time at mile 285.
Continued up-grade to only mile 290 before it 'sputterd out' again. About 12 miles from town, tipped it over for the 2nd time. Turned around. Time to sink or swim. But plenty of people out that could / might pick-up a hitch-hiker.
Down hill I go, being as gentle as possible. Ran out again at mile 296. "I might just have to thumb a ride". But I know there is still a little bit of fuel left. Still down hill. I choose to Cheat, and Coasted to the 300.1 mile mark, which just happened to be up-hill, at the end of a bridge guard-railing.

3rd and final attempt. Tipped it over facing 45 degrees back up the roadway towards traffic, until the handle-bar was on the ground, front wheel high. That is ALL I'm gonna get.
Running the engine only on up-grades or flats, hit the kill switch and clutch to coast when possible, I made it to the filling station!
303.8 miles, 5.894 gallons, 51.5439 MPG.

5.928 gallon Max. ever used, minus 5.894 = 0.034 gallon remaining.

I would not have made it, if I had run my loops backward or if I hadn't cheated.
 
#20 ·
Determination, creativity and gravity to reach the goal i like it!

I far as i know you are the first to coast down hill over the finish line.

Was not that hard now was it. :wink2:

I guess those of us in Fla. will have to wait for a huricane to get mother natures help.
 
#21 ·
“If you ain’t trying to cheat a little, you ain’t likely to win much.”
Richard Petty
 
#22 · (Edited)
I fulfilled the 300 mile club milestone today. I had a 1 gallon can of gas with me just in case I got left stranded. As it turned out I had not switched to reserve yet. My reserve tube has been shortened so it's a little different than most.

My results are as follows:

489.7 km. travelled = 304.3 miles
19.744 liters of fuel to fill tank = 5.2158 US gal = 4.343 IMP gal
Mileage calculated at 4.03L/100 km = 58.34 MPG (US) 70.07 MPG (IMP)

.
 
#23 ·
Outstanding results, klr4evr!
Now ya' know!
I wish that we could always count on that, 'good of gas'!! 58+ mpg! I've seen 72+ mpg.

How far are ya' gonna' extend it, next time that ya' have nothing better to do?
 
#26 ·
300 miles may be more common than you might have earlier thought!

It's the next Hundred that is really rare. I have had a couple of short runs around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks that have given me over 70 MPG. Filled up 2.5-3 gallons. 45 MPH and under.

But Watt-man recently ran a tank full.
KLR650.NET Forums - Your Kawasaki KLR650 Resource! - The Original KLR650 Forum!
Around Phoenix AZ, he rarely gets over 60MPH and a lot of 30-50 MPH.
 
#27 ·
Trying for 400 miles will be my next challenge. don't think I would make it though as most of my driving is at 60 MPH average.
 
#28 ·
For normal average people riding normal average KLR 650s riding normal average speeds 300 miles on one steel take of fuel is still an accompishment and a check mark on a bucket list!

Say a friend rides up pikes peak 3 times at 30 mph turns around and coasts back down with the engine running and gets 92 MPG average, that would work out to 501 mies on one tank. Ride up a taller mountain somewhere and coast down you might get 600 mi on a tank. These would be great talking points but in the real world where most of us ride not possible. Someone should start a thread for maxium MPG possible on a KLR.

The 300 mie club was ment for real world riding.
 
#29 ·
I just Did IT Again!

Over the last 3 weeks I've only ridden locally.
But the 9 mile stretch between Lander WY and Hudson WY is again posted at 70 MPH. (Just like the Early '70s.)

So 11.1 miles from my house to my folks' property in Hudson, with 18 miles round trip of indicated 70-75 mph on the Lying KLR speedometer.
But the odometers of KLR's are fairly Accurate.

So,
Turned on to reserve last weekend, 255 miles.
1st lay-down to 'secret-reserve' at, 298.3 miles.
2nd lay-down to 'supersecret-reserve' at 305.2 miles.
3rd lay-down to access 'S-S-secret-reserve' at 308.9 miles. (In front of my own business on the West end of Main Street no less!)
Gas station of current preference on the East end.

310.0 miles. 5.978 gallons, 51.857 MPG. That is my most fuel Ridden by +.050 gallon. Previous maximum was 5.928 gallons ridden.
 
#30 ·
I didn't see it discussed, but did anyone test their fuel economy with unethanol gas? Most pump gas now is blended with 10-15% ethanol. It's possible to find the unadulterated stuff if you look. I've found that price wise, it compares to premium unleaded.

I run it exclusively in my lawn equipment, ATV, and dirt bike. Until it was stolen, I also fed it to my XT250. Although it's a problem logistically (buying fuel in 5 gallon jugs and hauling them home), I wonder if it can help more folks join the 300 club.

That being said, eliminating the 10-15% ethanol from the equation won't necessarily translate to a 10-15% increase in fuel economy.

With Yamaha's 2.5 gallon tank I was once able to achieve 87.5 mpg. I rode nearly 200 miles and had .4 gallons of fuel left when I topped off. Of course, this would have been when the bike was new and I was riding under break in conditions (low rpm and slow revving). However, subsequent fuel economy routinely exceeded the 75 mpg EPA average. Given the hills and climbs of West Virginia, I would think that I should be achieving less than that with common ethanol blended fuels.

Anyway, food for thought.

Perhaps I can report back at some point in the near future once I find another source of fuel. My local station was destroyed during the recent flooding we experienced and won't be reopening.
 
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