TRX250R owners...poor fuel mileage?

[Billy Golightly]

I've never thought much about it until now, but I can run through a tank of fuel (To the reserve anyways) in about 20 minutes of hard riding in the woods. I've always attributed it to the fact that it was a pinger and it just used more, but I was talking to Tri-Z_Jim in chat last night and he said when Nate (TRIKE) was at his house he went like 6 hours on a tank of fuel...thats unheard of on my bike. Infact when I raced at Cherry Lake, I made the one 7-8 mile lap and I was down about half a tank. Do I have a twitchy hand or I got some other problem unknown to me?

[smokinwrench]

I rode with a trx this summer at Little Sahara and the owner was making fun of me for having to fill mine up all the time (I just laughed at him cause mine was so much faster than his). We rode pretty hard most of the day and he only filled up 1 time in mid afternoon he wasn't on reserve either it was just getting low. I would say he probably rode about 1 1/2 hours of riding time on that tank.

Josh

[TimSr]

I do 22-33 mile Rallys and rarely ever have to go to reserve on mine, nor do I hit reserve on a 2 + hour harescramble. Now of course everyone will jump in and tell you to change jetting for improved mileage, which is a very, very bad idea provided its running right and the plugs look decent. I would wonder if you may be leaking fuel but Im sure youve looked for signs of that already, but sometimes people who religiously shut ther gas off when the machine is not running dont realize they have a float problem without the tell-tale gas puddle under it, and the whole time they drive, gas is dripping out the overflow. Also, you may see some improvement after running Blue Marble for a little while. I dropped the main jet from a 150 to 140 after switching, and its still a little on the rich side.

[Billy Golightly]

Mine has had a 150 main in it ever since I've had it, and its always been this way with the fuel. It does overflow some fuel out of the bowl when its sitting (Which is started a couple monthes ago), and I've adjusted the float exactly to what the manual says umpteen million times and it still leaks, bought a float because I thought maybe I had an unlikely chance of mine having a hole in it-nope, bought a new needlevalve, still leaked. Cleaned the carb with air and cleaning soloutions, ect. Haven't solved that one yet, I dunno. Is the drip from the carb overflow gonna waste that much fuel? Maybe thats my problem afterall.

[deathman53]

trx250r are gas gussers, but they aren't that bad. you probably have a leak in the tank or carb. mine atc250r was leaking gas from the carb(it was the seat for the float, I cleaned it and reassembled) I was suprised how much gas it leaked. what kind of carb are you running, the stock carb uses little gas, but a 38 a/s or 39 pwk use a ton of gas. When I rode my trx I used a 4 gallon tank, my friends would make fun of me, they would say "you have a 55 gallon drum on that bike", but they would have to fillup 2-3 times a ride. I noticed that the trike version uses a good amount less gas than the quad, but both are gas gussers. you got to have a leak somewhere. leave your bike with the gas on and sit there and watch it, especailly by the carb overflow and the petcock that attaches to the tank, if you have it off inspect the rubber ring, that was causing gas to leak on my atc, also how long is the tube fromt he top of the fuel cap, if it is real short gas can splatter out.

[smokinwrench]

How about drilling a hole in a plastic bottle and catching the overflown gas by zip tieing the bottle to the frame somehow. That way you would now about how much gas you are actually loosing while riding it. Just sitting there might not give you a true amount. Never know you might loose tons of gas while climbing hills,jumping, etc..

Josh

[Wickedfinger]

... I dont know that, that jerryrigged bottle will survive a 2 hr Harescramble. When was the last time you serviced the exhaust?. Restricted exhaust flow can have alot to do with fuel mileage - but - What I really think is that you are either leaking fuel from the tank somewhere and its evaporating when it hits something really hot like the pipe or head or, you've already found the problem and its the float valve stuck open and draining out behind the quad.

[lisnup65]

My ATC 250R can easily run 6hrs plus on a tank of fuel. The last all day event on the 250R was last winter. We went out in -5degree F weather for 7 hours. It was all snow and ice riding which means a lot of spinning. I made the entire day on a tank and a 1/4.

[Billy Golightly]

Alright, I guess today I'm gonna pull it over into the shop and pull the carb off again. The seat must be sticking or something, because the needle and float are both brand new, and the float is set to exact posistion as stated in the manual. The needle doesn't seem to stick any, but maybe when it gets in a certain posistion it is and I don't know about it. Thanks for the advice.

[sleestack]

It's normal for Rs to guzzle gas when ridden hard. I have a 310 engine with a 38 kehin carb. If I putt around it will last like 3-4 hours. But if I am at a track or ridding hard I will be lucky to get 20 minutes out of a tankful.

[Wickedfinger]

... Hey Billy, you might want to look into just getting a whole new carb for that R anyway. Its pretty old and if you are going to be doing alot of future racing, it might be worth the investment. You could upgrade to a 38mm too for a couple of extra ponies. DKirk has a whole load of carbs for sale.

[Billy Golightly]

Yeah, My dad and I have maybe decided thats what I'm just gonna do...I might got to a 36PWK or something.

[Dirtcrasher]

Yeah, My dad and I have maybe decided thats what I'm just gonna do...I might got to a 36PWK or something.

I like the plastic bottle idea - you don't have to do a hare scramble - just go out and do some decent leaps and beat the snot out of it - if there's any fuel in there at all you'll know.

New carburetor will give peace of mind but it would be nice just to see if it is leaking.

[JT 250R]

usually when you going thru that much gas its a worn float valve,its constantly running out the overflow as you ride,Ive had a problem after changing the rear 22 's to 18's w/ the over flow,its attributed to a well worn float valve,not so accurate float level,and lotsa bumps,I run a 38mm Mikuni w/ a 460 main and I get ok fuel consumption,depends on if and how much Im on the wood

[JT 250R]

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