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
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.
$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
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
Average for the trip 43.53
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.
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.
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).