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I used to ride a SV650 before we had kids. Honestly, I can't think of a fuel efficiency figure which would make me think "I have to have that!" You just don't s

I used to ride a SV650 before we had kids. Honestly, I can't think of a fuel efficiency figure which would make me think "I have to have that!" You just don't spend that much on fuel on a motorbike, even commuting about 20 miles each way it was still less than a single day on the train per week, about £30 in fuel. Even halving that spend is a negligible difference practically. If I wanted to have cheap motoring I'd probably go for the Toyota Yaris hybrid which gets those fuel efficiency figures and is a lot more fun to be in when it's dark and wet.

ben7799 3y ago
Yep.. I had an SV650 too, and IIRC I would typically turn in 50-55mpg any place except doing laps at the racetrack. I get they need to get something out to start this process but this seems very underwhelming given the price, the weirdness with the transmission, the extra complexity of the whole thing, etc.. Probably a big issue with getting the fuel economy up is simply that bikes aren't very aerodynamic. So they suffer even more than a car with highway riding. But acceleration, etc.. is just not a problem with bikes in any way, there is absolutely zero need for an electric motor to help with anything. Even a 250cc bike can move out with authority at low speeds. I'm in the US. I had the SV650 quite some time ago, but it would cost me maybe $10-12 to fill it even today. It was VERY cheap to run. Later on I had a Honda Interceptor, that got 40-45mpg in street riding despite being a big heavy bike with excessive power (as opposed to so many even faster bikes that are just absolutely ridiculous) that I usually had luggage on.
- VBprogrammer 3y ago
  Yeah, I've never really fancied a dual clutch bike. We have one in our car and I only really use it in manual mode when towing - it's easier to change down before a hill than let the DCT get half way up and realise it needs to change. I've occasionally tried to use it to drive 'spiritedly' and you can practically hear the computer churning as it weighs up your inputs and decides whether it's going to let you do what you want or not. Makes a bit of a mockery of having flappy paddles behind the wheel! I can't imagine what one would be like in an actual performance bike. So, did you mean 'slam open the throttle' as in kick down 3 gears and give it everything you've got or 'slam open the throttle' as in I'd like a nice low RPM burble to hasten us along to an increased speed limit.

ben7799 3y ago

Yep.. I had an SV650 too, and IIRC I would typically turn in 50-55mpg any place except doing laps at the racetrack. I get they need to get something out to start this process but this seems very underwhelming given the price, the weirdness with the transmission, the extra complexity of the whole thing, etc.. Probably a big issue with getting the fuel economy up is simply that bikes aren't very aerodynamic. So they suffer even more than a car with highway riding. But acceleration, etc.. is just not a problem with bikes in any way, there is absolutely zero need for an electric motor to help with anything. Even a 250cc bike can move out with authority at low speeds. I'm in the US. I had the SV650 quite some time ago, but it would cost me maybe $10-12 to fill it even today. It was VERY cheap to run. Later on I had a Honda Interceptor, that got 40-45mpg in street riding despite being a big heavy bike with excessive power (as opposed to so many even faster bikes that are just absolutely ridiculous) that I usually had luggage on.

VBprogrammer 3y ago
Yeah, I've never really fancied a dual clutch bike. We have one in our car and I only really use it in manual mode when towing - it's easier to change down before a hill than let the DCT get half way up and realise it needs to change. I've occasionally tried to use it to drive 'spiritedly' and you can practically hear the computer churning as it weighs up your inputs and decides whether it's going to let you do what you want or not. Makes a bit of a mockery of having flappy paddles behind the wheel! I can't imagine what one would be like in an actual performance bike. So, did you mean 'slam open the throttle' as in kick down 3 gears and give it everything you've got or 'slam open the throttle' as in I'd like a nice low RPM burble to hasten us along to an increased speed limit.