Fuel Economy assistance mode

[Kanuk14]

I was searching through the threads and came up on this one. My question to the honerable members is....In Eco mode the bike runs a leaner mixture, which causes more heat. I am no mechanic, but I wonder if it hurts the bike in the long term? I always ride my Connie in Eco mode as I too have not seen a significant difference in performance, and that is because I poop myself if the bike gets past 8000 RPM's!!! ha ha just kidding there is some difference but 99% of the touring I do it just makes sense to get the better gas mileage, just wonder if it can cause excessive wear or hurt the bike.... I am sure Kawasaki thought of that so I assume its safe to keep it in Eco.

BTW got the brake guard put on due to the recall.  Dealer did it while fixing my differential leak. I called to say, Hey guys I got a recall notice about the break guard, they said yeah we know cuz we had the parts when you brought the bike in for the diff so we did the fix at the same time, sorry forgot to tell you....

Dave

[VirginiaJim]

Good lads!

[Kanuk14]

Yeah, I gotta say that the dealer I have been with these last 13 years in Calgary (Blackfoot Motorsports) have been great. They are not perfect but then who is. They really try hard to please the customer. If they mess up they fix the problem right away at almost any expense. When they were installing the differential seals they accidently crushed the bearing. When they found out that they could not get the bearings ordered in right away and had no eta of getting them, they took a 2012 Connie and replaced my diff with the 2012 (NEW) diff. I told them not to do it as it would take a brand new bike off the floor, but the owner said he felt fully responsible for the error on their part and wanted to make it right!!! At first they were going to use a 2011 used bike but the owner said no, use the 2012.....very lucky here in Calgary!!

[Just Krusen]

I just returned from a 6 day 2782 miles Labor Day ride to N. Carolina.

Below are the actual MPG's NOT from the bike computer.

Hi 53.33
            Interstate at 75 to 80 (ECO on)
Lo 35.18
            Playing in the twisties (ECO off)

Average for the trip 43.53

63.9 gallons total @ $257.34

Throttle response is smoother in normal mode with small throttle openings.

[jjsC6]

I was searching through the threads and came up on this one. My question to the honerable members is....In Eco mode the bike runs a leaner mixture, which causes more heat. I am no mechanic, but I wonder if it hurts the bike in the long term? I always ride my Connie in Eco mode as I too have not seen a significant difference in performance, and that is because I poop myself if the bike gets past 8000 RPM's!!! ha ha just kidding there is some difference but 99% of the touring I do it just makes sense to get the better gas mileage, just wonder if it can cause excessive wear or hurt the bike.... I am sure Kawasaki thought of that so I assume its safe to keep it in Eco.

BTW got the brake guard put on due to the recall.  Dealer did it while fixing my differential leak. I called to say, Hey guys I got a recall notice about the break guard, they said yeah we know cuz we had the parts when you brought the bike in for the diff so we did the fix at the same time, sorry forgot to tell you....

Dave

The bike only runs in this mode at moderate RPMs and throttle openings.  I've done a lot of homework because I am now running a PowerCommander with Auto Tune on my Ninja 1000.  I've gone to about a 13.7-14.0 Air fuel ratio in my economy map.  I guess I should have said that I have two maps with a switch on my Ninja now - an economy mode and "power mode".  I'm getting about 15% better economy in the economy mode just like on the Concours.  Even 14.0 is considered very safe.  You basically set it up to run the leaner A/F ratio in the cruise rpms and at 5-20% throttle opening.  Above 20% throttle opening it reverts to a richer mixture.  I talked at length with the PowrCommander help guys and they tell me that 14.0 AF is very save in those ranges, and based upon my homework I believe it. 

[Kinetic1]

I'm with everyone else on the 4 to 5 mpg's but I've also noticed my hands don't go to sleep as quickly when the bike is NOT in ECO mode. I have pretty much quit using it just for this reason.

[wally_games]

I just returned from a 6 day 2782 miles Labor Day ride to N. Carolina.

Below are the actual MPG's NOT from the bike computer.

Hi 53.33
            Interstate at 75 to 80 (ECO on)
Lo 35.18
            Playing in the twisties (ECO off)

Average for the trip 43.53

63.9 gallons total @ $257.34

Throttle response is smoother in normal mode with small throttle openings.

I run ECO mode all the time. I haven't really noticed a problem with throttle response.

$257.34 / 63.9 = $4.027 per gallon. Where were you riding? Gas around here isn't nearly that high.

[Mad River Marc]

I've been playing with Eco/nonEco for a few mos now and I am not convinced it actually helps that much.

I have been doing my tests at running to 200miles on a tank on the slab.

I consistently get about 46MPG (Actual not what the display says) when running between 70 - 75 and it's the same if I run Eco or do not run Eco.  But I DO notice more of a buzz when in Eco mode.

I've pretty much stopped using it for now,   I MAY decide to have the ECU reflashed at some point and what I would do then is have the stock map flashed into the ECO tables and then the new modified map flashed into the normal tables so I can really decide to romp or relax

[just gone]

$257.34 / 63.9 = $4.027 per gallon. Where were you riding? Gas around here isn't nearly that high.

Check the premium prices of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. The only reason he did that good is
because he must have purchased some gas in South Carolina.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

Greensboro NC Premium prices: http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx?z=7&lat=36.050659&long=-79.862305&ft=C&tl=48

[stevewfl]

3-5 MPG increase for me in ECO on the freeway.

[Just Krusen]

Check the premium prices of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. The only reason he did that good is
because he must have purchased some gas in South Carolina.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

Greensboro NC Premium prices: http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx?z=7&lat=36.050659&long=-79.862305&ft=C&tl=48

Yes, and the fact that I ran 89 octane more than 93 kept the cost down a little.  Regular 87 was going for about $3.79 to 3.89 most of the time.  93 was usually about 30 cent or so higher.  SC had 87 octane as low as 3.59 but we usually did not need fuel when we saw the low priced stuff.

[Just Krusen]

I've been playing with Eco/nonEco for a few mos now and I am not convinced it actually helps that much.

I have been doing my tests at running to 200miles on a tank on the slab.

I consistently get about 46MPG (Actual not what the display says) when running between 70 - 75 and it's the same if I run Eco or do not run Eco.  But I DO notice more of a buzz when in Eco mode.

I've pretty much stopped using it for now,   I MAY decide to have the ECU reflashed at some point and what I would do then is have the stock map flashed into the ECO tables and then the new modified map flashed into the normal tables so I can really decide to romp or relax

I ran the first tank of this trip in normal mode.  111 miles using 2.9 gallons equaling 38.27mpg.
The 2nd tank was 192 @ 4.2 = 45.7 using ECO.  All interstate, same speeds, the only difference was the ECO mode.  Tank 3 was even better at 195 @ 3.8 = 51.31.  All further interstate runs yielded 50 mpg plus.

So on my bike ECO seems to be good for at least an extra 7 mpg.

[Rhino]

Average for the trip 43.53

Almost precisely what my display says of average gas mileage since my last reset about 15,000 miles ago.

[Mister Tee]

I think riding habits affect how much eco mode helps.  If you take long trips on the slab at a constant speed under 80 mpg it makes a noticeable and significant difference.  If you whomp on the throttle constantly on the road or your average speed is above 80, you're overriding eco mode anyway and you won't see much of a difference.  I see no downside to just leaving it in eco mode.

[Rhino]

I turn it on when I'm just cruising. If it stayed in the selected mode when turning off the bike, I would probably have it on most of the time.

[wally_games]

I turn it on when I'm just cruising. If it stayed in the selected mode when turning off the bike, I would probably have it on most of the time.

+1
Although, I haven't really paid attention regarding increased vibrations. I'll pay attention to that next time I'm slabbing it.

I think riding habits affect how much eco mode helps.  If you take long trips on the slab at a constant speed under 80 mpg it makes a noticeable and significant difference.  If you whomp on the throttle constantly on the road or your average speed is above 80, you're overriding eco mode anyway and you won't see much of a difference.  I see no downside to just leaving it in eco mode.

Is 80 mph over the throttle or rpm limits that over-ride ECO? I didn't think that was fast enough.

[Rhino]

Is 80 mph over the throttle or rpm limits that over-ride ECO? I didn't think that was fast enough.

I think it is throttle position that controls ECO mode. You can see it go off in any gear at any speed just by opening the throttle.

[Rhino]

As to why it will not stay on I wonder if the EPA had something to do with that. Maybe more emissions of some sort in ECO mode so to meet average requirements they had to have it off as a default. Just a guess.

[wally_games]

I think it is throttle position that controls ECO mode. You can see it go off in any gear at any speed just by opening the throttle.

Which "ECO mode" are you refering to? There the one indicator that automatically comes on when you're driving "economically", and there is the one that is manually turned on and off at the left grip. The latter is what I believe everyone is talking about here. I've never noticed the manually set indicator ever going off just because I opened her up.

I'm pretty sure that the ECO mode is over-ridden if the throttle is more than 30% opened or if the rpm is above come certain number (can't remember exactly what).

[Rhino]

Which "ECO mode" are you refering to? There the one indicator that automatically comes on when you're driving "economically", and there is the one that is manually turned on and off at the left grip. The latter is what I believe everyone is talking about here. I've never noticed the manually set indicator ever going off just because I opened her up.

I'm pretty sure that the ECO mode is over-ridden if the throttle is more than 30% opened or if the rpm is above come certain number (can't remember exactly what).

Yup you are correct. I mixed the 2 up in my mind.