Gas Mileage Question

vMaxed Out

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Jan 7, 2008
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Location
Appleton, WI
I just bought a 96 vmax 600 xt and am getting about 6 mpg. What are you guys seeing for gas mileage? My friend said that is about normal but that seems low to me.
 
I have 2. My sons get's 10 and I am getting 8. I have had problems with poor gas mileage with mine. 6 mpg's. I cleaned the carbs and lowered the needle to 1.5 and now i am getting 8. Once I clean the gas tank and the fuel filter I hope to get 10. There are a lot of great guy's on this site that will help you.Good luck.
 
The one we had('95 600) got pretty bad fuel economy as well, 6 does seem low though as my V-Max4 gets 8-9 while being ridden pretty hard.
 
Talk to pup he'll help ya out, he's got the same issue...lol

dialed in right you should be able to see 10 and break it,first thing you
need to do is carbs,clean,check and see what you got in there as far
as jetting,needles etc,everything,know whats in there so you can change
things around, check track deflection,belt deflection etc...

back in the day when my '95 was my daily driver i could get 10-12 all day long..

pup keep us posted with your issue's
 
check those clutches! they will need maintenence (bushings, bushings,and bushings) both primary and secondary!
 
Daman I will let you know this weekend. I bought a new fuel filter today and will take fri off and clean the tank and fuel pump. They do not make a diaphram kit for the fuel pumps, I called the dealer and he told me no. Mike just let me know if you need any info on the carbs. In the past 3 weeks I have had mine apart 4 times. Like daman said clean the carbs good and check to see what you have for needle jets and so on. Since I started with my sled 3 weeks ago I have gone from 6 mpgs to about 8 mpgs. By this weekend if everything goes right i am hoping to get 10 like my sons XT. Keep in touch.
 
I bought mine used last year with 2 brand new carbs and I got 10 last season and I am 6.2 350. My 700 triple gets 12
 
I see 11-14mpg, clutched and piped. I see better mileage the colder it gets. Also check your oil adjustment, if you're using too much, you'll be running rich.
 
exciter 570,mine is set to factory and still seems to run rich.ive heard that yammy intentionally had them set rich,true anybody?anybody run with it set leaner?my mpg seems to be around 100 miles or so to a tank,sorry got a brain freeze on the size of the tank right now,lol.
 
cougar1985 said:
exciter 570,mine is set to factory and still seems to run rich.ive heard that yammy intentionally had them set rich,true anybody?anybody run with it set leaner?my mpg seems to be around 100 miles or so to a tank,sorry got a brain freeze on the size of the tank right now,lol.
The lean side setting on your 600 is 29mm, you can safely go a little more, i have my brother's '94 600 at 32 and seems fine...

you did do all your cable settings???
 
Yammy sets everything rich, it's good insurance against burn downs. But you also don't want to be getting 6mpg-8mpg. These sleds should get a consistent 10mpg and still be on the very safe side of the rich/lean scale.

If you have yours set to factory specs and it's still a pig, then start to lean it out in small increments, watch your plugs, and stop when your plugs are the right color. Do plug checks in all your thottle ranges (low-end, mid-range, full-throttle) to do this run the sled at the throttle range you want to test for a 1/2 mile-1 mile and then hit the kill switch, pull the plugs and see what they look like.

Another thing that can make a big diff is track tension. When I installed a new track last season, my mpg dropped like crazy and the sled just felt really tight. I was really ticked because the season before I was getting my usual 11-14mpg. After a couple hundred miles and the track broke in, things were back to normal. So if your track is new, let it break in or if it's not new check to see how tight it is.

One last note - The gas tank is 10 gallons..
 
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how do i lean it out? Is it done with the jets in the carbs? Also, the previous owner put something on that controls the jets. I'm not sure what it is or what it does but the guy that put my clutch on said its not needed if the sled runs funny.
 
MikesVMAX said:
how do i lean it out? Is it done with the jets in the carbs? Also, the previous owner put something on that controls the jets. I'm not sure what it is or what it does but the guy that put my clutch on said its not needed if the sled runs funny.

You can lean it out by reducing the size of your jets. Depending on what range you are running rich in determines what jets you need to change, that's why you need to do the plug checks.

Now, sounds like the PO had some kind of 'dial-a-jet' on the carbs that you can adjust fuel flow into the carbs, this may be your problem. I would find out what exactly it is that is installed on them, get the user manual, and then adjust accordingly. It is probably a manual adjust and not an automatic adjust control. I would leave it on there, just figure out what it is and how it works so you can use it, very handy to have if you know how to use it.
 
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cougar1985 said:
exciter 570,mine is set to factory and still seems to run rich.ive heard that yammy intentionally had them set rich,true anybody?anybody run with it set leaner?my mpg seems to be around 100 miles or so to a tank,sorry got a brain freeze on the size of the tank right now,lol.

If you're getting 100 miles a tank, you're seeing 10mpg. It probably still has a mid range bog though, right? Do a plug check, run your sled at 40-45 mph for a mile, hit the kill switch while at speed, pull the plugs, and see what they look like. I bet they're black..

At this point you probably only need to play with your needle settings, try dropping them a half position and see what happens.
 
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:letitsnow
Exciter570 said:
If you're getting 100 miles a tank, you're seeing 10mpg. It probably still has a mid range bog though, right? Do a plug check, run your sled at 40-45 mph for a mile, hit the kill switch while at speed, pull the plugs, and see what they look like. I bet they're black..

At this point you probably only need to play with your needle settings, try dropping them a half position and see what happens.
im getting the bog at about 30 mph its almost like its missing then you hammer it and it goes away.i wonder if you gap the plugs a little wider if that might help also?i know on my 90 evinrude outboard because i troll a lot i gap it .05 more and it runs way better.other than that stupid bogging at 30 to 40 the sled runs great and very fast.yes i did put a new agressor track on last year plus aftermarket skis ,and just bought a new rear gas shock as my back is getting killed.so take it in the garage and drop it 1/2 notch down!?on the needles that is?i know last year a very good mech adjusted everything for me and im sure he richened the needles out .will check the plugs first chance i get next week as ive got to work the next 4 days 12 hours per day.
 
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Cougar - If you're seeing the bog at 30-35 then do the plug read at that speed. You're still in the range where adjusting the needle setting will help, if you are in fact running rich in that range. Gapping may help, I've actually never played with the gap on my plugs, gap specs are in the manual though. Keep us posted on where you end up.
 


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