There's a few reasons I wouldn't worry:

• Only 500 miles on the bike. It will get better with some miles.
• There are way too many variables in city driving to judge fuel mileage based solely on such.
• To be really accurate you need the average of several tanks of fuel. On a recent trip my mileage varied between 34 and 39 for individual tanks of fuel.
• Get out on the road for some 200-300 mile steady speed, steady throttle runs and then see how you do.
• Road conditions, uphill, downhill, wind speed, wind direction, throttle, speed, will all play a part.
• Do round trips so the variables in one direction will likely be offset on the return leg.

 

It's low, but like I said before I would get some miles on the bike before making any judgments on mileage. I get mid-30's on mine in the city and I've spent an inordinate amount of time tweaking my tune to make it better, and that's about as good as I've gotten. The good news is that highway mileage is much better, usually high-40's.

 

just remember they are putting more ethanol in the gas now and will not help anything. It is still new wait for a couple more thousand miles, it will get better.

 

I get about 33-35 with my build. Yours seems a little low.

 

08 EGS,,arlen ness big sucker, V&H Big Radius,, ????Unk unit...3600 miles,,mostly in-town riding.approx 38mpg,,mixed riding,,highway_in town,,approx 42..premium gas,,

 

I bet a lot has to do with the ethanol in the gas. No gas powered vehical is getting the milage it is rated for. It can reduce milage as much a 40%.

 

E10 is still the standard, and the E15 idea was just a proposal that the EPA said they might consider for approval in the future. The problem is that too many vehicles are not equipped to handle this level of ethanol. But you're right that ethanol doesn't help matters unless the engine is designed for it, and few or no current gas engines are optimized for alcohol burning. I've noticed a dip in mileage since it was first imposed in this area, both in my car and MC. There are a few (three AFAIK) in the entire city that offer E0 gas, but the price is so high it makes little sense to buy it.

I'm a believer that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our use of oil, eventually nixing it from the equation entirely, but this isn't the way to do it, IMO.

 

I try real hard to buy fuel with no ethanol, but it is becoming more difficult finding stations that carry it.

It certainly causes lower fuel economy...

 

The best I can find in my area is 93 octane with 10% enthanol. My mileage is 33-34 mpg.

 

Mine gets better than my pickup, so I tend to forget it and just go.