A friend of mine noticed that I drove a new two-wheeler to my office today.
“Wow, you bought a new bike?” he asked even before I could open my mouth.
“Yes. I bought it last week.” I was about to explain the make and model and the new features of the bike. But my friend cut me short and asked, “kitna mileage deta hai?”.
Mileage, which refers to how many kilometres a vehicle can run with one litre of fuel, is the most important deciding factor for most middle-class Indians. Mileage is also a successful marketing term for most dealers. Other features can wait.
Some manufacturers claim that their bikes give a mileage of over 90 km/litre. The number on the road may vary between 30 and 70 for most two-wheelers. The exact number depends on multiple factors, such as road conditions, driving efficiency, etc. There are two key factors which, if effectively controlled, can push this number upwards.
First, let us begin with how the vehicle moves. The engine produces power by combusting fuel inside a chamber. The energy produced by the engine is transmitted to the wheels using a set of gears of different sizes. When the vehicle is under resting condition, it requires more energy in the form of torque to pull itself and start moving. The lower gears, which are bigger in size, do this job. Once the vehicle is in motion, the torque needed to pull the vehicle reduces. We want the vehicle to drive faster to reach our destination more quickly. The higher and smaller gears do the job of converting engine power to more speed. Engaging the top gear for most of the driving is important to achieve better mileage.
As speed increases, more and more fuel gets burnt inside the combustion chamber. As a result, some of the fuel will not have sufficient time to complete burning and produce power. As we continue to accelerate, the combustion efficiency lowers, resulting in poor engine performance.
To increase the mileage of your vehicle, ensure that you drive in top gear or higher gears most of the travel time, but have a watch on your speed. The lowest speed you can maintain at the highest gear will give you better mileage.
