2-Stroke
Race Dog
We've always been mildly vexed by the fact that whenever we filled up our 1190 R after the fuel light comes on, it normally takes around 18L, when the book says 23L. Either there is a large reserve tank, or somebody has been fibbing. So, heading down to the Rhino in Harrismith over the weekend, I elected to give it a bash, and see exactly how far I could get on a tank before it completely runs dry. We filled the tank up with a jerry can at our offices in Randburg until it overflowed and then I set forth towards Harrismith along the N3.
With my number plate having very purposefully fallen off, and safely stored in the top box until I had the time/tools/ability/will power to reattach it, my plan was to cruise along at between 140 and 150km/h, which is fast enough to get where I'm going without the danger of falling asleep, but also not fast enough to be presented with too big a fine, should the unlikely occur. The problem is that this an 1190, and you find yourself stopping the needle at a steady 145, and then letting yourself drift off in a world of scenery, blue sky and fellow road users. When you look down again, you suddenly find that the needle had snuck up a bit, and was now caught red-handed at 165km/h, so you roll off and let it grudgingly return to its 145 place. Still it doesn't stay there for long, and by the time I crossed the Villiers Highway Robbers, where there are less speed cop snipers, I just let it roll, cruising blissfully between 160 and 170 km/h, enjoying the open road and how quickly the miles were being et. The fuel gauge on the 1190 consists of eight digital bars. The first clicked off at 90km, the second at 115, the third at 145, the forth at 190, the fifth at 210, the sixth at 230, the seventh at 250 and the eighth at 270, leaving one bar and 20 km to go. The fuel light came on as I arrived in Harrismith town at 290km.
If I had filled up then, the tank would only take maybe 18 or 19 litres, so I carried on with it flashing, riding from the lodge to the site for four days, riding around the site and doing the occasional trips to town. Obviously, there was a bit of warming up idling and whatnot, so I'm sure the bike, had it just stayed on the freeway and had I actually ridden economically, would have gone even further, but it eventually spluttered to a halt – thankfully opposite a petrol station – at 330km.
So, I popped into the station, told the fellow to fill up and watched the litre counter turn. It spun past 17, 18, 19, 20, clicked a few times at 21 and eventually settled at 22.6 litres. I'm sure I could've pushed the last 0.4 of a litre, but the KTM had already proven itself, so all is well.
330km from 22.6 litres – 14.6 km/L from a big bike ridden by an idiot with a top box. I've seen worse.
With my number plate having very purposefully fallen off, and safely stored in the top box until I had the time/tools/ability/will power to reattach it, my plan was to cruise along at between 140 and 150km/h, which is fast enough to get where I'm going without the danger of falling asleep, but also not fast enough to be presented with too big a fine, should the unlikely occur. The problem is that this an 1190, and you find yourself stopping the needle at a steady 145, and then letting yourself drift off in a world of scenery, blue sky and fellow road users. When you look down again, you suddenly find that the needle had snuck up a bit, and was now caught red-handed at 165km/h, so you roll off and let it grudgingly return to its 145 place. Still it doesn't stay there for long, and by the time I crossed the Villiers Highway Robbers, where there are less speed cop snipers, I just let it roll, cruising blissfully between 160 and 170 km/h, enjoying the open road and how quickly the miles were being et. The fuel gauge on the 1190 consists of eight digital bars. The first clicked off at 90km, the second at 115, the third at 145, the forth at 190, the fifth at 210, the sixth at 230, the seventh at 250 and the eighth at 270, leaving one bar and 20 km to go. The fuel light came on as I arrived in Harrismith town at 290km.
If I had filled up then, the tank would only take maybe 18 or 19 litres, so I carried on with it flashing, riding from the lodge to the site for four days, riding around the site and doing the occasional trips to town. Obviously, there was a bit of warming up idling and whatnot, so I'm sure the bike, had it just stayed on the freeway and had I actually ridden economically, would have gone even further, but it eventually spluttered to a halt – thankfully opposite a petrol station – at 330km.
So, I popped into the station, told the fellow to fill up and watched the litre counter turn. It spun past 17, 18, 19, 20, clicked a few times at 21 and eventually settled at 22.6 litres. I'm sure I could've pushed the last 0.4 of a litre, but the KTM had already proven itself, so all is well.
330km from 22.6 litres – 14.6 km/L from a big bike ridden by an idiot with a top box. I've seen worse.
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