Technical Advice

My question is what type of miles per gallon are most members getting and how do they calculate this figure?

I have calcuated that I'm getting 43mpg.

I came to this avg MPG by doing the following math.

1. I calculate the miles ridden. I dont trust my odometer, so I have ridden the same route to and from work. This is 25 miles. Other trips I have taken, I have judged the milage by using google to plot my route (which gives milage) and then comapre the mileag my odometer shows. So far I have gone with Google, assuming it is more accurate.

2. I fill my tank to a certain line and then ride my route. In this case I went 40.5 miles on back country roads.

3. Once I'm back at home I fill the tank back up to that same full line, but I measure how much fuel I'm putting back into the tank by using at 24 fl/oz jar which has half oz measurments on so I can get very precise.

4. I fill a 24oz jar with premixed fuel and pour that into the tank. I must use a funnel, because the jar tends to spill and dribble just a bit.

5. I count how many jars it takes to fill the tank back up that fill line. If the last portion is less than a full jar I calculate how much is left in the jar and then substitute it from the full 24 fl/oz jar - 5 x 24 fl/oz jars (5 X 24) = 120fl/oz 

6. I then do some math to convert Fluid Ounces into Gallons (using google equations) - 120 fl/oz = .9735 gallons
   

7. Then I divide the miles that I rode by the total gallons used. 40.5 miles / .9375 gallons = 43.2 mpg

8. Then I compare my figure with the standard mpg estimates that others claim to get (avg 50mpg). I feel that 43mpg is an accurate figure.

Im curious how others are calculateing their MPG. How are you estimating the milage you have ridden and how many gallons / liters you have used. Please list any tips and trips here, so that others can benifit from your know how.

Thank you.

Rog