Sunday 11 May 08
I'm starting to drive "Rosie" more though I've still only got a little over 400 miles on the new motor and have yet to do an accurate mileage check.
Today I drove to Virginia Minnesota, about an 84 mile round trip. I'm afraid to say too much for fear I'll tempt fate and something will go wrong but I'm amazed about how well the new LDS engine runs.
I try not to let the RPMs go over 2,200 which is about 58 MPH. Even at 24,00 which is my self imposed max, it hums along like a Greyhound bus but at 2,000 to 2,200, with the dual mufflers it's surprisingly quiet.
There is one hill that I have to go over that used to seriously tax the old LDT engine. I approached it today at 2,000 RPM and held the throttle steady and it held the RPM without giving it more fuel. With performance like that, given the price of fuel it, makes me wonder if I shouldn't turn down the fuel one flat. Nahhh!
It had been smoking because I've been driving around local but today, by the time I got about 30 miles into the trip the smoke had cleared up. With the second drivers side stack I can see the exhaust trails in the drivers side mirror. Unless I really showered down on it, the smoke trail was gone.
When I left home the fuel gauge was pointing straight up on half full. When I got back it was half way between half and quarter full. Soooo --- If I can trust the fuel gauge (they say never to trust a government fuel gauge) I'm getting around 12+ MPG. If that's the case I'm a happy camper.
I love my Multi.