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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

MPG says you've lost your mind

So, I'm not happy with the way the NX has been running. I've chased fuel gremlins. I've checked for electrical issues. Nothing indicates that there's anything wrong except the hesitation that rears its head from time to time. Lately, the motor's been running pretty well. The latest indicator, how well it's running, is fuel economy. The last fill up was 1.518 gallons that covered 139.8 miles. You do the math; (fine, I'll do it for you) that's 92 miles per gallon. This is what I was expecting in the first place. How is it that a problem slowly fades and performance increases with use? I know it's not good when machines sit unused. This is certainly true of the NX. There's no other explanation for a bike, that's twenty-three years old, has just over two thousand miles on it. That would indicate, to me, LOTS of idle time. Doing the math shows about 89 miles per year, on average. Another thing, that occurred to me, is break in time. This motor had only one hundred miles on it since being rebuilt. Perhaps the rings are just starting to seat properly? I'd really like to know what a leak-down (compression) test would reveal. Finding the correct adapter, for my compression tester, would be great help. I'm now approaching one thousand miles on the rebuild and I'm thinking it's time for an oil change. Fortunately, I have Honda oil and don't need a filter (the NX has a screen). The weather is supposed to steadily improve for the next four or five days. Perhaps more sunshine and warm temps will prod the NX to continue to run well.

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