Hey Everyone, I recently purchased a 2007 ZX-14. The bike is simply great! I really love it. But i have a serious issue with the fuel economy. This is my second bike. My first bike was a Honda VTR1000/Superhawk. With that bike I was able to manage about 35/40MPG easy. Last summer i dont think i ever got below 35 once. I do mostly around the town driving.

Well, i am not getting anywhere near good fuel economy with this bike so far. It could be the tune that was on the PC3 when i got it. I have not changed it yet. It was dynomapped by Lake City Motor-sports in Bellevue, WA.

Anyways, i am not a hard rider. I am a very casual rider. I simply like acceleration, but i never really ride over the speed limit. I bought this bike because it is WAY!!! more comfortable then my Superhawk to ride for more then 20 minutes. I am young, but i have some back issues, so i needed a bike with quality suspension and a great riding stance so i can go for more then 30 miles without pain. I have found it in this bike. The Fuel economy is just killing me.

I am getting about 24 around town and 31 is the best over any distance on the freeway. I have only ridden 330 miles so far, but i want to fix this ASAP. My riding style is definitely very cautious right now. I have only gone over 6 grand about 2x in 2 weeks. I usually only go up to about 4500ish. Around town I am in 3rd at about 30-35 mph and 4th 40+. On the freeway i have been using 6th gear over 60MPH. I was really expecting 40-45 MPG. It is fuel injected and only a little larger displacement then my V-Twin Superhawk. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also what would be a good PC3 map for fuel economy with the mods that i mention below? The closest to mine that i have found would be the "M224-014 Muzzy full exhaust, Stock air filter, Secondary butterflies removed" on the PC3 siteThanks for reading!!!

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 9/30/2011 @ 11:57 PM *

Ya..welcome...24...BAD.Try that map on the website...the djm map.You should see some much better mileage.At least around 36-39.(stock gearing?)

I believe it has a Vortex Aluminum sprocket on the rear that was a 1 tooth gear reduction. Which i believe means it should get a bit better fuel economy then stock. I think he did it so it was a little easier to drive. If it does help fuel economy in the long run, i will be happy. Otherwise i would prefer a steel sprocket and I will probably put it back to stock gearing later.

One other thing i forgot is that i have a Speedo Healer, so the MPG is very accurate.

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 4/8/2011 @ 11:49 AM *

stock I've been getting around 30mpgs. if i remember right.

I get around 35 mpg on average.

yep...should be able to get at least around 35...usually more with stock gearing.One down in the back...IDK.I'm pretty sure that the engineers at Kawa set er up to achieve the best possible mileage they could...knowing it can EASILY burn fuel if run aggressively.I do believe if you install a PCIII minimum,and map it correctly...depending on who you take it to,that high 30's is very reachable.Maybe even 40's in some cases.I've heard of that here(back a ways).I had 16/42 gearing for the longest time.A tad more aggressive,and responsive.After I got used to the response,I tried some different riding styles.I did get 37 at one point.But that was the exception with that gearing.I also had a custom map made from a knowledgeable guy...and my mileage with that gearing was actually pretty good...36 avg.

16/43...dropped to about 30,32 mpg.Stock(again) where I'm now at....avg is right now around 36.

Aftermarket pipes and a 4 degree advance will only increase any mileage,unless you go more aggressive on the gearing,then you're gonna burn more for sure.I think you're gonna find the "sweet spots" in the rpm range/and gear you're in...makes a big difference where the engine is running at,and what gear she's in for the given speed.Higher rpms,lower gears....your mileage is gonna drop.That means....like driving at 50mph in say,3rd.It's gonna burn differently than 50 mph in 6th.My best economy is....6th gear at 4500 to 5000 rpm.Second best...5th gear at 4000+.

Surprisingly,at 80.90 mph,in 6th,I get very good mileage.70ish in 5th is very good also.

If you're getting 24 city...something is VERY wrong.Plugs?Timing?Air filter?Something.That's not really possible to see that on an average unless she's got a problem.UNLESS...you're opening her up in 1st or something,and staying there!You can tell alot about how efficient your throttle skills are by setting the "fuel indicator" mode to instantaneous.This will give you a real time display of highs and lows at what throttle input you're doing.Also...you can reset your "mileage" to ZERO (for "avg" display).Then ride and see if she "readjusts" differently.Sometimes if you don't reset that(occasionally),it can get "stuck" so to speak with the burn amount not doing much.A reset makes the computer recount from zero,and usually it will end up showing a different(better) mileage than before.Might try that just to see what happens.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/8/2011 @ 11:47 PM *

Wow, I had a very interesting day.

I got to work and the weather was just awesome! So i thought i would just chill out in the parking lot and play with my bike instead of work :)

Well, when i bought the bike, i attempted to reprogram my PC3. It gave me an error of not connected properly. I read online for the same error. Everything said i needed to get it in there tight. I did that. I even took a knife and cut around the usb end to make sure it was in as deep as possible. This did not solve the problem.

Well, then i emailed power commander, he said i should call. Well, after a quick troubleshooting session, he said he did not believe the PCIII was connected. The bike ran fine, so i was very confused. Well i tore the fairing off and low and behold i found the image i posted. The previous owner had connected it into itself. I was totally shocked! WHY!!!! He said he had it installed.

Anyways, i have it running correctly now. The fuel economy has come up just a tiny bit, but not a lot. I wonder if the tooth increase actually is hurting the fuel economy. I have driven about 25 miles since i installed it and my average is 25 MPG. It is almost all city driving, but that is not good. Again, i have not run this bike over 6k RPM. I am really just cruising on it. Something definitely seems wrong.

Oh, Is it common for our motors to have bad valve cover gaskets? I noticed some oil leaking from the valve covers. It is not a lot, just enough to be noticeable. I am going to maybe try another map tomorrow and see how that goes. I have been using the instant mpg a lot. I am not finding a sweet spot yet. Cruising in 4th gear at 35-40mph is just about 30mpg. The bike has 11,300 miles on her. Is there anything else that might be causing poor fuel economy?

Thanks for writing such a detailed reply Blue.

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 4/9/2011 @ 5:30 PM *

lower gearing will tend to give more power for acceleration at the cost of fuel mileage. Your engine is spinning faster at cruising speed than if the gearing was higher.

It was my mistake, it is one tooth higher, not lower.

Ya...it's gonna do as Edge said.Do you have the 9volt battery deal...the one that connects to the white plug in on the powercommander?You need to have that connected when you're sending or retrieving a map.Plug that in...make sure your 9v is new...full power..it'll run out REAL FAST if you leave it in there for any length of time.Plug that in,turn your key on.Have the usb connected to the computer first off.Anyway...so do that.Open the software...should show the commander is NOW connected(no "not connected" messages).Okay...yer in.Click "get map"...it'll retrieve the present map that's in there.Should show at the bottom window WHICH map it is.Now...click "open map file"...it'll open your choices of maps loaded into your powercommander software.If there's NONE in there,you need to get online and download the full map list in there..it'll allow you to download ALL the usuable maps for your bike.Pick the one closest to your configuration(after you've downloaded to the Powercommander program).Click on the map you want to send.Now...click "send map".It will load into the Powercommander brain and will say "map successfully sent"...give the bike 30 seconds without doing anything.Then shut of the key and remove the 9v battery.Now you will need to set your Throttle position.This is critical to correct operation,fuel and burning.I won't go into how to do it unless you want me to...it's fairly involved...but straightforward once you see how it's working.If you don't have the "set throttle position" on your Powercommander software...the instructions...go online and you can download the instructions there.Straight out...you will NOT need to have the engine running to set the throttle position,so don't be concerned about "opening er up" in neutral.All settings will be done without the engine running.

I'm assuming here that you DO have the powercommander connected to the harness on the bike...ready to go,yes?Plugged in and ready.

Now,to make sure the map you sent is in there and is ready,open your initial Powercommander program(with the bike all hooked up..the 9v also,and usb connected to the computer and Powercommander port).The window that opens should show the present map...with the description at the bottom.Just so you KNOW she's been remapped.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/9/2011 @ 3:59 PM *

Hi blue, My post above was letting everyone know that i have the power commander running fine. It has the map that was supposedly done on a dyno. I have saved the map to my laptop. I just finished washing and 3 step waxing it. WOW! She looks so much better.

I am going to run the dyno map for another day and then i will decide if i need to run a different map.

Blue, yeah, the power commander was not connected at all. The post above shows what i found. The plug was connected into itself! I could not believe it. I talked to the previous owner and he said he did not know. I think i believe him. I dont think he worked on the bike much. He had the shop do most of the work.

Here is what she looks like now after the wax :) Much prettier in real life.

Oh wow, this image makes me sad. That is my supra, my baby, in the background. It was stolen and totalled about 2 weeks after this image was taken :( I miss her. She is totaled in my garage. The insurance took care of me and the guy got 19 months in prison, but my baby is still totaled. I miss her :(

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 3/10/2012 @ 9:38 AM *

Small update.
I have learned a few things. On the freeway with the map I have installed, the bike gets 33.3 MPG at 60-62mph. If i go up to 70mph, it increases to about 36mpg. Everywhere around my home is 60 max, so i wont ride 70 often around town.

Another really interesting thing i learned was that it gets 36MPG at 30-33mph in 5th!
This totally shocked me. The revs are about 2000RPM. I am going to use this a lot. I never imagined using 5th gear around town. I often rode in 4th gear around town on my superhawk, but never 5th. I never do that in my car either. Because our engine is so damn powerful, it is not hard to just basically idle it in a high gear and get really great fuel economy. The negative point is that i need to double or triple down shift when i need power, but it is pretty cool to get that good of fuel economy around town.

I am going to try another map tomorrow and see how it works. Thanks everyone for your replies.

Well..it sounds okay to me.You're finding the sweet spot for mileage.Good one!You'll get er sorted out.Nice bike Viper...she's tuned and set up for cruising I see.Nice.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/10/2011 @ 1:01 AM *

Yup, that was my dream. A comfy bike with decent power. The other option was a VFR, but i think i found the better bike.

Do others ride in 5th gear at low speeds? I find this very strange, but it does seem to work.

I usually try to be very careful about lugging.Without the bike actually "jerking" because of engine "overload" and not correct gear,I think with these motors it's very difficult to feel it "lugging".So I try to make sure it's not getting that going on.6th gear at,say,40?IDK...I wouldn't.There IS a "shift" area/rpms chart in the manual somewhere(I think the Owner's Manual...not the service manual).It does seem pretty low for running and shifting.In fact,I've NEVER heard of anyone who actually followed that part of the operating instructions.Only 9mph in first,then shifting to 2nd for whatever it was.Try that...see how your bike feels.IMO...WAY too slow to be shifting into 2nd!But it's in there somewhere...Kawasaki recommended it and put er in there.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/10/2011 @ 3:06 AM *

Cool, thanks for the reply.

I will check out the graph. I saw it but i didn't read it. I have never really had to worry about this before. My superhawk allowed me to ride is decently hard and still get near 40mpg. Thanks again for all the support blue.

Time for an update. I have been riding this bike for about 3 weeks and the Fuel economy is not any better. I am getting about 110-120 miles per tank. Which is about 22-24 MPG. The last fuel up was about 23MPG. This is not making sense. The read out on the bike said 27MPG. I am doing everything possible to get the fuel economy up. It is actually not fun to ride because i am so damn worried about the fuel economy. I am cruising in 5 as often as possible around town. If i am on a straight and going over 35 i pop it into 6th.

So something must be very wrong. This makes no sense. If this engine was in a car, it would probably get 30-40mpg. A 1.4L motor in a 500lb vehicle should never get much lower then 50MPG. My old bike was carbureted and got 40MPG.

Cruising on the freeway on a straight at 60-65mph, i can only get 33.3 average on the computer. I have not checked to see what it really is getting, but i think it is a bit lower.

I have not changed the spark plugs or anything internally. I wonder if the higher gear on the rear is really screwing with the design of the bike and actually hurting the fuel economy.

On another topic, what MPH does a stock gearing bike red line in 1st? The other day i got on the freeway and didn't shift and it was going 80mph in 1st with over 1000 revs to red line. I was just surprised. I have never done that in my life. :) I wonder if he put the bike up 2 teeth. I have not counted yet.

Is there anyone on here that has tuned these bikes for maximum fuel economy. I would really like to make this bike get 40-45 when riding conservatively. I did put another tune on the bike 2 weeks ago, but it did not change anything from the Broc's tune. It felt almost the exact same.

I've noticed that my bike gets better mileage just over 3k than under

Man oh man, this is getting frustrating.
I fueled up yesterday. 25.5 MPG over 129 miles.
Something has to be wrong.
The onboard computer said 27.2 MPG, so i know for a fact that it is not correct anymore. I really thought it was.

Does anyone have a good economy tune for the PCIII?

How often do people change their spark plugs? I checked the shop manual and it said every 15k. On my superhawk i would change mine every 1-2 years because it only required 2 plugs. Pretty cheap.

What else could cause such low fuel economy???

I just put on a new tune. I am trying anything. I used the "muzzy full exhaust" Tune:
2006 Kawasaki ZX14
Muzzy full exhaust
Stock air filter

I read this thread
and so i tried a map that did not specify "no flies". I remember that the bike was WAY more responsive when the tuner was not installed.I have been extremely disappointed by the performance over the last week. The tune that was done by Broc's was just very mild and smooth, but it did not feel powerful. The muzzy tune has cut the fuel back in a lot of ways and i feel it much more responsive.

So with the new Muzzy tune, the bike still does not get more then 34 MPG on the freeway. This does not seem right. I just cruised on the freeway for about 2 miles in a very flat area and the computer would not go over 34.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again.

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 4/23/2011 @ 11:03 PM *

Okay....go on the Powercommander Website.Download a map there that is mapped for your bike's configuration.Pipes...secondaries(in or out),air filter.If it doesn't have one JUST like your bike...say,the pipes are different,get as close as possible.Load into your PCIII.THEN,set the throttle position according to the instructions.If you need help doing that...PM me...I'll walk ya through it.After that's all set....take your bike out on the open road.Get in cruise mode(riding)Give the ECU some time(5 or 6 minutes at least)to read your "avg" mileage.NOW....note your mileage.Okay...NOW,while moving and cruising at a near constant speed...say,70 in 6th,push your RESET button on the dash(the lower one) while you have the mode set to "average".It will line out.Do not start accelerating or decelerating...just cruise evenly.NOW...watch your mileage.DO NOT STOP to do the reset.It will reset while moving by pushing that button.Keep yer eyes on the road (natch) while you're pushing that button.You should see a seriously big change after about 15,20 minutes of constant speed riding.Once you get a base point...mpg...at whatever speed yer running...then everytime you accelerate,yer adding MORE fuel to the calibration.Everytime you decelerate,you're removing fuel.Simple sounding...sorry...don't mean to sound like you're ignorant or something.Not at all.If the accelerations exceed the decelerations...you're mileage is gonna drop.If she's not running at peak fuel efficiency,you'll see what's happening.RPM's too high for a given gear?Maybe too low?I would say that MAYBE you're not getting very good efficiency in the city because you're running in too high a gear for the peak performance area(say,6th gear at 35 mph).She may not be lugging.But the torque and power areas may not be matching up with your gear position.

You can easily see what RPM's do at say,70 mph.Check out your mileage.Okay,70 in 6th....how much?...NOW drop to 5th...don't change anything.Keep the throttle where it was...the rpm's will change.You can do this for several combos.See what she's happy at.Give er time to calibrate the "new" settings(gears,rpm's).You will get a pretty good picture of what's best.The reset is the main key.Get your values lined out at your cruise mode.It will clear the ecu of any previous highs and lows.

Throttle inputs should be done smoothly and in small increments IF you want to save fuel.Lighting the candle and jumping into throttle up to 110 percent is gonna destory mileage.Remember...when you CLOSE the throttle,you eventually have to OPEN it back up.How you open it back up will make a big difference in mileage.

The ECU is calibrating fuel going through the injectors against wheel travel(feet).

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/24/2011 @ 12:58 AM *

Thank you Blue for the thorough reply. I have done every step you outlined above. I have tried 4 maps so far. The ones that are built for my bike give me the worst fuel economy. They also strip all the excitement out of the bike. The broc's map that i got on the bike was so boring. My ZX-14 felt slower then my 100 HP, 30k mile superhawk. It was bad. That is why I have been trying others. Every map that has the flies removed really runs much richer then the stock butterfly maps. That is why i am trying one of those right now, but as my last post states, i am still getting just about 33 MPG with a much leaner map. I am very smooth on the throttle. I reset the fuel mileage average any time i try a new map or a new trick. I use the instantaneous MPG most of the time to watch how i am driving. I am getting just under 33 MPG at 60MPH on a flat road. I have read numerous places about people with this bike getting near 50 on the highway. This is why i am so concerned. I am reading about the part you said with the throttle positioning setup. I have not messed with the throttle positioning. I will ask if i have more questions about it. I never saw that in the manual.

Has anyone else on here got really bad fuel economy? I have the feeling that the higher tooth on the rear is hurting me. I am going to look into getting a stock sprocket. It is a pain in the butt to change the sprocket, so i was hoping it was something else. But the sprocket cannot be the only problem. Do our bikes have any injector problems, like they get dirty commonly and need cleaning? Is there a fuel filter on our bike that might be dirty? I cant believe i would be having these problems on a bike with less then 12k miles.

Also, is is common for people to remove the EGR system on these bikes? I know my old bike had the EGR system removed.

Hub, I cant quite see the image you were showing me. I don't totally understand what you were telling me. Can you zoom in on what you were trying to show me or circle the part you were showing? Thanks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

* Last updated by: viperkillertt on 4/24/2011 @ 9:58 PM *

Hey Hub does that floppy disk really help with airflow, and that genious what you did with the steak knife in the steering head!

Vipe, I think you're being a little unrealistic with your expectations for fuel 'economy' as far as the 14 goes. You made a comment about your super hawk getting 40mpg and thinking the 14 should get 10 more MPG than a superhawk. What makes you think this? The engine is bigger and the bike heavier. I figured right away that I would be sacrificing some practicality when I bought this beast and especially from the MPG perspective. You could always lean out your injection to get better mileage but you'll be payin for engine repairs in the long run. If I were you and MPG was my concern I would pop for my own map to be made at a reputable dyno shop and then do some testing of different gases from different stations. I find there can be mileage gained just by finding a quality source. Low price is never a good goal when buying gas for this bike. It likes high octane 'fresh' stuff. So if your getting your gas from Speedway or whatever company sells it the cheapest around you in attempts to save money you're just shooting your self in the foot. And then just make sure you are keeping all the maintenance items within specs all the time. Then rest assured you're getting the best you can out of the bike and throw your calculator in the trash can and ride that bike like you stole it. But you're mistaken if you think this is a gas sippin gas miser! I used to ride my bikes in the summer to save gas because they did better than any of my autos and justified riding through rain to get to work everyday. Now that's not the case with this bike, but common, if I really cared I would be riding a 600 instead.

I'll mention it again....just for shit* an giggles.City driving,with it's open throttle/close throttle is NOT going to produce very good results.The reset function on the display will clear any previous values,and start the calculations from scratch again.You do not want to go by your "city driving" values then get out and try to achieve a high mileage value.Clear the values by resetting the "avg" display once you're out there cruising at a steady pace...whatever that speed is.You do not have to stop the bike while resetting.Just push the lower reset button in for 2 seconds(in "avg" mode).You will see a big difference in mileage doing that.You will be able to actually notice your fuel consumption/throttle inputs much easier and see how certain gear/rpm areas are affecting your avg mileage.Just a thought.

Here's my deal.Not discounting Hub at all.He's correct.Okay,having said that...I'm running through town.Stops,starts.Gassing it here and there...you know...little lofting once in a while.Say...20 minutes or so...maybe longer depending on traffic.I looks at me guage..in "avg" mode.SHI^ man...30 mpg!WTF?Okay...I KNOW she does better than that.
FINALLY,I'm outta traffic.Open road...yep...I gassed er hard...120,130 on that last takeoff.Looks at me guage.29 mpg.SHI^ man,WTF?I KNOW something's not right( ).This aint good.Unacceptable.

Now..I'm really out there...open road...cruising good.80 mph avg.Hmmm...looks at me guage...hmmm...teensy bit better...31 mpg.STILL not happy.Continue my cruise.WTH...how bout I just reset this baby...just for shit* and giggles.Okay...I reset.Looks at me guage....37 mpg and climbing.WTF?Geez.She's doing just fine!Me happy again.Problemo solved!