How far can a motorcycle go on a full tank of gas? This is a question I asked myself often without taking the time to get a reliable answer. That is until I regretted it while on the side of the road fuel dry.
How far can motorcycles go? On a full tank of gas, most motorcycles can go between 120 to 220 miles. Touring motorcycles can travel between 200 and 350 miles since they usually have bigger fuel tanks.
As you can guess, these numbers are an average round-up. The actual distance range can significantly vary from one motorcycle to another.
Furthermore, Your bike’s travel range can be restricted for a variety of reasons. These include the terrain you are ridding, mechanical maintenance, and even weather conditions.
A motorcycle rider’s mental and physical endurance also imposes limitations for riding long distances.
The Best Way to Know How Far Your Motorcycle Can Go
My motorcycle instructor taught me how to do it when I was doing my biker license years ago.
How far can your motorcycle go? Take note of your odometer, top off your fuel tank and strap a full gas can to the back of your bike. Then go riding until your gas tank is empty. Take an odometer reading again and subtract the numbers.
Then you will know how many miles your bike can go on a full tank. Simple experiment but effective.
Use the gas can to refill so you aren’t stranded gasless by the side of the road. After that, find your nearest gas station to top off everything.
Rinse and repeat if you feel like it for a more accurate result of what your bike is capable of.
You will also get your miles per gallon (Mpg) number by putting on your nerd glasses and doing further math.
Take your odometer reading when your gas tank is empty and subtract it from your odometer reading at the beginning of the experiment.
Take the resulting number and divide it by your gas tank capacity.
That is your Miles per gallon, representing how fuel-efficient your motorcycle is.
Let use my honda rebel 250 result as an example with its 2.6-gallon fuel tank.
Odo at end 16,890
Odo at Start 16,730
16,890 – 16,745 = 145 miles traveled from full gas tank to empty tank.
145 miles range ÷ 2.6-gallon full gas tank = 55.76 Miles per gallon.
The second option to know how far your motorcycle can go
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to do the riding experiment, you got a second option.
You can get the answer you need online or inside your owner manual.
Find your motorcycle gas tank capacity and multiply it by your Mpg.
But both options are not perfect, and you should expect false results.
First, getting the info from fellow motorcyclists online might give you the wrongs numbers. Bikers are all different, and so are their situations.
Even if they got the same bike you do, their mpg results could be all over the place. You also have to account that misinformation is common online.
As a last resort, take a couple of claimed mpg numbers and do an average.
The second option is basing your math on your motorcycle manufacturer’s claim in your owner manual. But this is also flawed.
Motorcycle makers frequently inflate their motorbike’s performance report. Doing so makes it appears like their motorcycle is considerably better than it actually is.
So take your final result with a wide margin for error and a grain of salt.
In reality, your motorcycle’s true range might be lower than your calculations.
How Far can a Motorcycle Travel on its Gas Tank Reserve?
It happens on my rides from time to time. The engine starts coughing and dies on me while still rolling at whatever speed I was riding. The best response is to flip on the reserve tank and finds the nearest gas station.
But how far can a motorcycle travel on its gas tank reserve? A motorcycle’s reserve contains between 0.25 and 0.90 gallons of gasoline, depending on the bike model. This means that motorcycles can travel 10 to 50 miles on reserve.
This is a rough estimate based on motorcycles miles per gallon average of around 30 to 60 mpg.
For a more precise answer, it will depend on what model of motorcycle we are talking about.
Back to my honda rebel 250 for an example.
Its reserves capacity stands at 0.69 gallons.
We now know this little bike averages at 55.76 mpg. For me, at least.
0.69 reserve x 55.76 Mpg = 38.48 miles range.
It could be worse. 🙂
If you are in this kind of bad situation and need to calculate your reserve in a hurry, I hope you can make it to that gas station with your number.
And don’t forget about re-flipping that reserve switch. 🙂
Good luck.
How far Can a Motorcycle Travel With Only 1 liter of Gas?
Yep, I got in this kind of trouble. Out of gas on the side of the road. A kind lady in her car passing by agreed that I could siphon some of her gas using my hydration pack drinking tube. For fuel collection, I used a regular 1-liter water bottle I found discarded by the side of the road.
How far Can a Motorcycle Travel With Only 1 liter of Gas? Depending on the motorcycle model, a motorcycle can reach on average a distance of 8 to 15 miles (12-24KM) on a single liter of gasoline.
Of course, not all motorcycles are the same, and the actual distance range varies.
Back to my story as an example.
A liter stands for 0.26 us gallon. And my honda rebel mpg is more or less 55.76
0.26g x 55.76 mpg
Based on the math, that little 1-liter water bottle full of sweet gasoline will give me 14.50 miles of range to get out of trouble.
How Much Does it Cost to Fill up a Motorcycle?
Ok, I finally made it to that gas station. So how much is it going to cost me?
How Much Does it Cost to Fill up a Motorcycle? A full gasoline refill of a motorcycle gas tank averages between 8-19$ in the USA. This result is based on an average gas price of 3.1$ per gallon, and the average motorcycle gas tank capacity hovers around 3-6 gallons.
Motorcycles have smaller gas tanks than cars. So your typical gas fill-up often comes with a low and comfortable number for your wallet.
Back on that little adventure on my honda rebel, still desperately looking for fuel like a thirsty man in the desert.
It cost me a whopping 7.87 $ to top off my fuel tank and be back on a regular schedule on the road.
You could also account for 5.99 $ for a new drinking tube for my hydration pouch that wasn’t used to siphon fuel.
It still beats calling a towing. 🙂
What Determines How Far Your Motorcycle Can Travel on a Full Tank of Gas?
The distance a motorcycle can travel with a topped-off fuel tank varies from a motorcycle model to another.
More specifically, it depends on a motorcycle’s mechanical design.
- What is the type of fuel feeding system
- Is the engine fuel-efficient
- The size of its gas tank
- The weight of the bike
Fuel feeding system
The feeding system of your motorcycle has a big part to play in how far your bike can travel. These days most motorcycles are equipped with efficient fuel injection systems.
But an older and cheaper model of motorcycle can often use a carburetor fuel feed system instead. Carburetors are notorious for their poor fuel consumption efficiency.
Your bike computer controls injection fuel feeding systems. And this onboard chip will do its best to make your motorcycle as efficient as possible.
Engine Desing
The engine’s design is another crucial aspect of how far a motorcycle can travel with a full gas tank.
Was the engineer more concerned with making your engine more fuel-efficient back when your bike was in development?
Or is your bike instead intended on being quick and powerful, and fuel efficiency got thrown out the window?
Fuel Tank Size
The bigger your gas tank, the farther your motorcycle can go. No headache here.
Weight
The more weight your bike has, the greater power it demands to get it moving and the more fuel it takes.
Other Related Factors Increasing Your Motorcycle Fuel Consumption
Your motorcycle’s maintenance and other factors will influence your mileage per gallon rate.
Motorcycle Maintenance
If your bike service is overdue, don’t expect it to run at optimal efficiency. A poorly maintained motorcycle will be more gas-hungry.
Make sure your motorcycle tires are correctly inflated to the recommended pressure. Underinflated tires are a common reason why your motorcycle might not go as far as it should.
Road condition and location
Going off-road or in a topographically challenging route will stress your engine, making it work harder than usual to push you along the trail.
The same goes for riding in a windy area or going uphill.
It all contributes to a more significant amount of gasoline being burned up.
Motorcycle weight and passenger
An overloaded bike with excess load capacity eats up more fuel. Even heavier riders make a difference in the mile per gallon ratio. The same is true for carrying passengers.
Riding style
The more aggressively you ride your motorcycle, the more gasoline it consumes. Reving your engine in high rpm, sudden acceleration, and frequent stopping and going is aggressive riding.
Temperature
The colder the weather, the worse your motorcycle’s fuel efficiency will be.
How Many Miles Can You Ride a Motorcycle in a Day?
Now I would like to talk to you about the other limitation in how far a motorcycle can go. It got nothing to do with fuel consumption.
How Many Miles Can You Ride a Motorcycle in a Day? A motorcycle driver can travel 200 to 350 miles per day before tiredness begins to impact their ability to ride safely and attentively.
A motorcyclist is its own distance limiting factor for safety reasons.
Because their alertness decrease as riding time accumulates in the day.
Of course, a slew of variables can influence how far you feel comfortable riding your motorbike.
Are you riding on the highways or going slower on different roads?
Heat, cold, rain, poor road conditions, etc. They all are valid excuses for reducing your travel distance. And they all add up.
In fact, the distance you can travel is irrelevant. The number of riding hours is the main factor.
How Many Hours Can You Ride a Motorcycle in a Day?
How many hours you can ride a motorcycle in a day is an essential element about how far you can ride as a biker.
How many hours can you ride a motorcycle in a day? A motorcyclist can ride between 6-8 hours of combined riding time in a day by taking interval breaks. However, 6 hours or less is more appropriate to prevent mental and physical tiredness.
Your personal endurance as a motorcyclist will vary from person to person. You should not feel pressured to continue riding when you feel tired or uncomfortable.
Take frequent breaks and do some stretching.
My personal way to deal with fatigue during long rides is to take naps.
That right, I do like to snore during motorcycle trips. I do so by finding two trees and installing a compact hammock that I keep in my saddlebags.
I take 5 minutes to unwind and take deep breaths and enjoy my surrounding before going into sleep mode for half an hour.
This little ritual does wonder to keep me alert on the road for the rest of the day.
The moral of the story is; don’t push yourself, rest when you can and enjoy your motorcycle riding.
A final word on how far motorcycles can travel.
Finding out how far your motorcycle can go on a full gas tank is easy.
But for how long does it take your mental and physical endurance to wear out when riding your bike? That is something you don’t want to find out more than what you need to know.
When you feel tired, it is time to find somewhere to stop and rest.
Motorcycles have smaller fuel tanks than cars, so fill your bike up often. This will also force you to take frequent breaks witch is a good thing.
On that note, enjoys your riding miles traveled.
Ride safe.
