Twin vs. Triple Fuel Economy

78srx440

78srx440

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Mar 2, 2005
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Age
35
Location
Buffalo, NY
Recently, I came across the opportunity to buy a reasonably priced 96 Polaris XLT 600 from my Uncle, and I jumped on it. My family and I have always been Yamaha people, and this was a big change for me.

At first I really liked the sled. Now, after riding with my Dad for long trips, I'm starting to second guess my decision. Dad's 97 XTC rides way better in the bumps and corners than the XLT, and the handlebars, and riding position are a lot better too. I have yet to dial in the suspension specifically for me, and so this shouldn't be too big of a problem.

The main problem though, is the fuel milage of the 600 triple vs the 600 twin. I got about ten mpg this weekend, while my dad was well above that, though I'm not sure of the exact number. I know I have an extra cylinder and carb than a twin, but are all triples big pigs on gas like this? I really eventually want to go back to yamaha just like I have for all of my life, but I'm not sure whether to go triple or twin. Thanks for your help!
 
In my opinion the Polaris triples do not compare to the Yamaha's. When they ran good they could scoot along pretty good, but they could have any number of annoying problems from the "Polaris Bog" to fouling plugs. It's not fair to the XLT to compare it to a Yamaha. :)
 
yamahas tripples are easier on fuel than most of the older twins, the new twins are maybe better than most triples, 700 triple yamahas around 16 17 some of the new twins are doing 20 21, go to the 700 triples for performance and reliability yamahas only, they are good on fuel , u can not give me a polaris tripple any time not even to ride as i don,t want to be responsibble for what happens to many variables just my 2 cents
 
Fuel economy for the Yami 600 Twin doesn't get too much better than 10mpg either, those twins are pigs...I've been contemplating upgrading to a 700 trip, red head motor for better economy, and power.
 
Hmm, last trip I took was some fast running trails... got about 9.5 mpg on a red triple. Is something wrong? Too much throttle thumb? :dunno:
 
yamahauler4 said:
Hmm, last trip I took was some fast running trails... got about 9.5 mpg on a red triple. Is something wrong? Too much throttle thumb? :dunno:
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Stock? I'm sure that the Throttle thumb had something to do with it, but you should be getting better that that I believe on a stock 700 trip. Most guys say somewhere around 16-17.
 
moss said:
Stock? I'm sure that the Throttle thumb had something to do with it, but you should be getting better that that I believe on a stock 700 trip. Most guys say somewhere around 16-17.
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This year I've been getting between 14-18 mpg with my viper, mostly riding at 50-60 mph.
 
Put 500 miles on my triple last weekend and got around 10-12 and my buddy with low miles 700 got the same. 4 strokes were getting much better
 
I have a couple friends that owned several Polaris sleds before they got the Yamahas they have now and they said those Polaris triples are gas guzzling slugs. Another word I have heard them say a lot is "tanks". :dunno: The one has a 97 XTC 600 now and the other one has an 05 RX1 and they used to say mine sipped gas compared to those Polaris triples. That is until I put my Bender pipes on. When I had it jetted closer to Benders recommendations I was lucky to get 10mpg. Now, since I've fine tuned the jetting I am getting 12+ mpg with the pipes. :rockon:
 
Thanks guys,

The fowling of plugs, fuel economy, and the poor handling are starting to get to me. I need to get back to my roots. . .
 
My father-in-law has a 95/96 polaris xlt 600 tripple. It always had gas left when my 600 twin was sipping fumes. I don't know if tank sizes were different but I don't believe so. He actually got relatively close to the viper in our group mileage wise. I do know he is pretty steady throttle and very smooth where my style, well....isn't/wasn't.
 
Last year I went out with five other sleds. We unexpectently cruised for 130 miles between fill ups. The 05 RX1, 06 Apex, two 03ish Polaris 600 xc's(?) and my 97 700sx were all on fumes and the 98 ish Polaris 500 still had half a tank.So the two's, three's and four's all roughly had the same milage. The 500 hundred was hands down better than us on milage.I think we averaged about 30 mph for the last 25 miles of that trip.
My needle has never spent so much time on E . lol
 
Serves ya right for going with a Polara-dog!!!!!! hehehe :)


my '98 XTC does a dang good job i think, mileage is anywhere from 11-12+
depending on conditions and the weight of my thumb, i got the skid dialed
it about right for my weight also, rides very good,back feels just fine after
a 100 mile ride,no problems..
 
stein700sx said:
Last year I went out with five other sleds. We unexpectently cruised for 130 miles between fill ups. The 05 RX1, 06 Apex, two 03ish Polaris 600 xc's(?) and my 97 700sx were all on fumes and the 98 ish Polaris 500 still had half a tank.So the two's, three's and four's all roughly had the same milage. The 500 hundred was hands down better than us on milage.I think we averaged about 30 mph for the last 25 miles of that trip.
My needle has never spent so much time on E . lol
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10 mpg is'nt very good for any of you guys especialy the four strokes..better get em tuned up!
 
i'll tell where it came from..you ...12 gal tank..you were on fumes equals 0 gas left...130 miles / 12= 10.8 - 8% due to the speedo being off = around 10 mpg! If you only used 9 gals it would be a lil diff. but you said you used it all....But i have known to be wrong.
 
Ok Lets screw everyone up now LOL
My tank holds 44.5 liters I filled in 40 liters
40 divided 4.546 equals 8.8 Cdn gallons or 10.567 US gallons
Drove 210 kms
210 divided by 1.6 equals 131.25 miles
131.25miles to 8.8 Cdn gallons equals 14.9 mpg
131.25 miles to 10.567 US gallons equals 12.4 mpg

Now,enough math. I'm going for a ride
 
ahhhhhhh..Now I know why you canucks get better gas milage than us guys here in da states! lol..............
 
for the record u want fuel milleage u install dial a jet on the big vmax4800 and u will have 2 gallons of fuel left to one that does not have it on. i have seen them installed on the 600 twins and was a lot easier on fuel , can,t give exact # cause was my buddys sled and i know this for sure it was a little quicker on top end for sure Al Larson
 
I had a '93 XLT 580 and that thing was amazing on fuel. Had the stock single pipe on it for the first year and would consistently get 16-17 mpg. Then the next two years had PSI tripples on it and would still get 15-16 all the time. Really liked that sled. Then after I totalled that sled I got a '92 XLT prototype and that thing was MUCH worse on fuel (around 10 mpg) and didn't handle anything like the '93 did. Didn't like that sled at all. Then got my Yamaha SX's. Had a '97 with Aaen pipes its whole life. Once again great mileage (aaen's triples always do very well when setup properly), I would consistently get 16 mpg. Then had a 2001 with single pipe and tempa flow and would get 15-16. Two years later put Simons CPR triples on the 2001 and kept the tempa-flow on it along with appropriate jetting and mileage went down to 11-12.
 
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