commander fuel consumption MPG

[NedSmart]

What sort of fuel consumption are you getting from a Commander ??Before my engine was re-built i was getting about 8mls\ltr (about 36 mpg) which i thought was pretty poor. My engine is nicely run-in now and it is doing exactly the same !!.,so the question is What is yours doing???.Be honest,no bull***t No mine is bigger/better/etc than yours,.I use it on a mix of roads Aroads,motorways,town traffic.I cruise at about 80mph on motorways with plenty left to overtake.i do not thrash it but do not 'pussy about' with it either.The gearing is std.Any comparisons or advice gladly received. Please no tales of intergalactic mileages be honest.My Land-Rover is only a bit more thirsty than the 588cc rotary in my Commander !!!!!

[bodgerbloke52]

My Commander did 43 mpg on its first 600 mile round trip after the usual engine work. It was however running weak at low throttle openings due to a air leak at the plenum box to right carb manifold joint. After curing that, mpg fell to 39. Despite very careful carb setting it was running a little rich on a plug chop.Leaned carbs off half a turn, mpg now 40-41. This is on the US gallon which is 20% less that imperial. Fuel is the farm waste contaminated E10 rubbish, elevation is usually in the 2000-5000' range. I habitually ride smoothly, and avoid freeways, no errands or other local dithering about. Interstate thrashes pull mileage down to 37-38. Oil is 425 miles per pint. Roger

[Dell Boy]

47 m.p.g. on a fast continuous run i.e. motorways at 80/90 m.p.h.32 to 36 m.p.g. around town.All on unleaded low octane.All my Commanders have been the same.I stopped fiddleing with the carbs 20 years ago as the differences were negligible.It seems to me the rotary sucks in what it needs, burns it, & exhausts what it fails to burn.I.e. on fast road work all fuel gets burnt efficiently, in town traffic I can smell the unburnt fuel coming out of the exhaust.Derek F.

[bodgerbloke52]

Yesterday I rode the Commander to Wala Wala for some sweet onions (Google it)192 miles each way on superb very rural two laners and a bit of duel carriageway. Temps 85 to 95 in old money as we never got sucked into the metric standardisation. First tank full 180 miles took 4.68 gallons (US) to refill to brim = 38.5 mpg.Return tank full managed 193 miles and 4.8 gallons = 40.2 mpg. This tank full happened to be 96 0ctane alcohol free simply because it happened to be available. Both panniers stuffed with the sweat onions that can be eaten raw, they are delicious.Roger

[NedSmart]

Thanks for the replies.I gave it a good 80-90mph run to 'the hotrod hayride' at bisley Surrey(look it up)310mls round trip mostly motorway average mpg 40 I;ve never had a bike more economical at high speed than slow !!!-do you think it would stand up in court??-honestly officer i was only thinking of the planet and saving the polarbears Still not great fuel consumption but the bike more than makes up for it in smiles\gallon.

[johnbirchjar]

As a rule the Commander riders that

[johnbirchjar]

Don't know what quite happened there?? but to continue,most Commander riders that I talk to seem to get more mpg's than I do with my air cooled,(usualy about 45 of mixed up to 50 with lots of motorway& duel-carrigeway)so it would appear that your bike is a tad thirstier than is the norm,and like other guys have stated, seems to make very little differance to the fuel consumption weather one travels at 70 or 90!! most odd,ride safe,J.B,

[johnbirchjar]

Adding to the above,I did a "Full tank to switching on reserve,(150 miles,)to running out of fuel,(another 30 miles)total, 180 miles,tank capacity,4 imp gallons,= 45 mpg.this was general highways,byways,m/ways ect;(needless to say I had a can of fuel in the top box for this little experiment)and as stated previously water cooled rotaries generaly seem to better this,Roger?425 miles to the pint oil consumption sound a bit on the lean side,what do you other guys think?my old girl varies between 300 & 350,but then again I think aircooled's use a tad more anyway,ride safe,J.B.

[bodgerbloke52]

While on the subject. My commander fuel tank is claimed to hold 6US gallons.From brim full to running out is 4.8 to 4.9 gallons tops. Draining everthing out and filling to brim it takes 5.5 gallons. So at run dry there is over half a gallon none useable in left side. The vacuam operated fuel tap is left on researve permantly as putting it on researve on the side of the road is a nighmare. What could be the logic of the design that issolates such fuel in the left side of tank? Am I misunderstanding summat??? Surly, it requires a fuel tap on the left side of the tank.Roger

[Ian]

...or at the very least, a balance pipe...BTW, my Commander does about 40 overall but I've never beaten 45.

[johnbirchjar]

One of the few advantages of the Classic is the fuel tap can be reached while on the move ,(not sure about IP2's)Surely it's a bit risky running with the tap on reserve?silly me Commanders have a fuel gauge!ride safe,J.B.

[gripper]

You can reach the IP2 fuel tap on the move but it's on the right hand side. The left side normally features a blanking plug and many IP2s rot the bottom out of the LHS of the tank with a big slug of water in there. Graham sells a tap conversion which gives access to the fuel in that side, otherwise this fuel just sits there going moldy. It's well worth fitting this conversion to an IP2 and flushing a couple of pints through the engine every now and then (with it running I might add) This tap needs to be a good one because a leaking tap may flood the carbs and wash all the oil from your rotor chamber. Ask me how I know.

[johnbirchjar]

I've no idea how much fuel is left in the tank when one "runs out" with the Classic, I get the impression not very much!(certainly not as much as half a gallon) I must have a look see next time the occation arrises,if memory serves the last time was tens of thousands of miles ago when I had to fit a new fuel tap,don't think I'll do it "just because",ride safe,J.B.

[andy588tt]

Hi NedSmartThe Commander's we had for courier work 34-42 everyday riding! But motorways and long trips with a speed of 65-85mph we would get 42-44 tops. for the F1 about the same for motorway But thrash the nuts of it Ive had it as low as 28mpg running on Rotell RX40. All the engines were air tight Hope this helps.Ride SafeAndy

[bodgerbloke52]

Just returned from a weeks tour of the Olympic peninsular and the Cascade range on the Commander. 936 miles, best mpg 44, lowest while haring across the tumble weed stretches 38, average for trip 41.5 on the anaemic US gallon. Silkoleen elixir consumed 2.5 pints after returning 1.25 pints from the catch can, ie 360 miles pp with catch can in use, or 240 miles pp with no tank in use.Roger