I have been trying to decide if I really want to get a larger gas tank. So I did a little testing. (sorry if this has been done already) My bike is stock...
On Monday I did a ride to the local foothills near a lake. I wanted to ride in various situations in real world riding style. Some flat straight road, some curves and some dirt road. Total ride was just over 140 miles.
I took 2 30oz MSR fuel bottles so I could ride until I ran out of gas just in case there was no gas station close.
I went 87 miles until the reserve light came on. I was then able to go another 36 miles until the engine stopped. Total miles was 123 from a full tank. The variable would be I don't know if I had 1.9 gal or if I was able to squeez in 2.0. Its close either way.
If my math is correct I averaged somewhere between 62 and 64 MPG. I ran the bike pretty hard on the road (up to 75 mph) and much slower on the 20 miles of dirt. I did not ride it to try and get the best MPG.
The way I break it down for every 2 oz of fuel I can go 1 mile.
If I carry one 30 oz fuel bottle I can go approx 14 extra miles. If I get a 1 gal fuel bag ( good for 60 + miles) and take two 30 oz bottles that should give me me a extra range of approx 89-91 miles. Add that to the range of the stock tank (123 +-) and I get a total range of 212 miles (+- depending on variables like air temp, wind, altitude)
So the bottom line is I can ride to our local high mountain areas and putt around for awhile and not worry about gas. Just like my KLR 650. (which is for sale)