Crazy Mileage.

[Clay James]

Quick quesiton, not trying to hijack. I'll be bringing my first deuce home friday (only drove a deuce once) and I'm curious if it's safe to run it full throttle nearly all the way home (500 miles)? Also, how simple is it to run that throttle control as a speed control?

I use the hand throttle as a cruise control BUT I am a good driver and I know how to handle it. You have to be aware of your traffic surroundings. For example, if you are on the Interstate with light traffic and you are doing 55 and everyone else is passing you at 70, then you are probably OK. But when a minivan cuts in front of you and uses the highway as a deceleration lane to make an exit, you better be ready as these things do not stop on a dime and I would never trust the brakes on a truck I just recovered.

I drove 500 miles round trip to the beach in my 109 last summer and used the hand throttle most of the way. It was so much nice being able to move my legs to more comfortable positions instead of having to hold down that peddle for 5 hours. Like he said be aware of your surroundings. I had to jam in the hand throttle and stop pretty quick because all the traffic on the freeway suddenly came to a complete stop.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

48 mph is my truck's sweet spot.
I use diesel (ultra low sulphur) and use sea foam. I was thinking about adding a qt of unused but old motor oil on my next fill up. Correct me if I am wrong but how would fresh 2 cycle be for an IP lube?

It would be in your best interest to do so. ULSD is too dry for the IP. If you want to make her happy and keep her running 2 cycle is great stuff.

 

[steelandcanvas]

It looks like I got some crazy mileage with my Deuce. Carrying 4,000 lbs plus in the bed and flat towing my Jeep, driving hilly Interstate with the hand throttle pulled out to 55 mph on the flats (did 50-ish up hill and 58/59 downhill), 11.00x20 super singles. 230 miles and 16.2 gallons. 14.2 mpg! Hard to believe.

John if it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe it.
Forever Tesla!

 

[plym49]

John if it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe it.
Forever Tesla!

LOL it must have been the big spark thingie in the back!

 

[rolling18]

I've heard that all of these trucks have their own sweet spot, and 55 or 56 is where my truck likes to run. I have tried cruising at 50 but it wants to go 55. There are a few rpms left with the tires I am running, so I could run 58 or 59, but it does not feel as happy there. (Not counting downhill, when it goes up that high - I am talking about level road cruising.) It's kind of funny and I was initially apprehensive about runing 55 as I had heard that rpm kills multifuels. But the motor just wants to run there, so I do, and knock on wood it has been OK so far (about 700 highway miles in all so far).

how can you tell what the motor "likes"?? does it not always sound "better" the slower (lower RPM's) you go??

 

[SoundGuy]

Not to bust your bubble. I really hope you got the great mileage you had hoped. But just a side note, the diesel in the tank heats as you drive the truck because the engine heats it and then it travels down the return line to the tank. On a long trip it heats all of the fuel in the tank. That is part of the reason why the full line is not at the very top of the tank.
It is possible that you drove the truck and filled it up while most of the fuel was still warm.

The fuel had expanded and you really used more fuel than you thought.

Don't believe me, check for yourself. Check the level of the fuel in your tank and run your truck for a few hours. Then check again.

 

[plym49]

Not to bust your bubble. I really hope you got the great mileage you had hoped. But just a side note, the diesel in the tank heats as you drive the truck because the engine heats it and then it travels down the return line to the tank. On a long trip it heats all of the fuel in the tank. That is part of the reason why the full line is not at the very top of the tank.
It is possible that you drove the truck and filled it up while most of the fuel was still warm.

The fuel had expanded and you really used more fuel than you thought.

Don't believe me, check for yourself. Check the level of the fuel in your tank and run your truck for a few hours. Then check again.

Good point. However, I did not fill up again until the truck had been sitting for quite a while, and then the station was only 4 miles away, so I doubt that the temp of the fuel in the tank was other than ambient.

 

[plym49]

how can you tell what the motor "likes"?? does it not always sound "better" the slower (lower RPM's) you go??

For me, it was like this: I started on the highway driving the speed I thought I should drive (50 mph). But the truck wanted to do 55. It tells you, pretty clearly.

 

[shannondeese]

I have found with my truck it runs very well between 2300 and 2400 RPM doing about 59 or 60. I am running a bobbed truck with 395's. It just seems to run best there. As for mileage I am a fanatic about keeping track of how much fuel I put in and how far I go on a tank. I run my main tank down to 1/4 tank then pump my 40 gallon aux tank into it while I drive. When I am running WMO I get 6.6 MPG. when I run diesel I get 9.5 to 10 MPG. When I run JP5 or JP8 with a 10 gallons of Waste Trans Fluid mixed in for a total of 90 gallons, I get 14 MPG. I have a little less power on WMO than diesel and a lot more power when running the JP mix. I commute 100 miles a day up and down the I-5 in San Diego. My Deuce is my daily driver, and I make my own fuel mix using local suppliers for the Waste oils and JP.

 

[Welder Sam]

The truck i just sold ran 72mph and pulled an average 9.7mpg over a run of 150-ish miles of hills, city, and some flats on its way to its new home. When i had it, id run 50-60mph easy. Seemed to be happy there. I figured it up to be 12-13mpg.

Just a note on adding non-taxed fuels(ie motor oil, wmo, 2cycle, anything): the law enforcement agencies will eat your lunch if they catch you.

 

[rolling18]

The truck i just sold ran 72mph and pulled an average 9.7mpg over a run of 150-ish miles of hills, city, and some flats on its way to its new home. When i had it, id run 50-60mph easy. Seemed to be happy there. I figured it up to be 12-13mpg.

Just a note on adding non-taxed fuels(ie motor oil, wmo, 2cycle, anything): the law enforcement agencies will eat your lunch if they catch you.

in which states?

 

[Katahdin]

I'm more amazed that you had it up to 55! Mine feels pretty squirrely at that speed.

Check your shocks, my highway ride much improved after I replaced mine.

 

[jaymcb]

The truck i just sold ran 72mph and pulled an average 9.7mpg over a run of 150-ish miles of hills, city, and some flats on its way to its new home. When i had it, id run 50-60mph easy. Seemed to be happy there. I figured it up to be 12-13mpg.

Just a note on adding non-taxed fuels(ie motor oil, wmo, 2cycle, anything): the law enforcement agencies will eat your lunch if they catch you.

as long as the additive isn't red, they probably won't even look......