2006 600H.O. RMK - Mileage

[Mort2112]

Does anyone have a base idea of what the expected fuel mileage for an '06 600 H.O. should be getting? At last fuel up my estimated mileage was just over 7 mpg. 63 Miles on 9 gallons of gas.

I realize there are tons of factors, including snow depth, etc. However, my buddy's '98 SummitX 670 seems to be pulling about 12 mpg, and he rode about 61 miles in the same span.

He rides more tamely than I do (he's a beginner, first full season), but that is still a pretty glaring difference.

It's also possible that I'm just on the throttle more, but I still wanted to check and see if anyone had any indication of what it should be.

 

[volcano buster]

Sounds like your mileage was good enough to get back to the truck.

Too many variables plus comparing across brands doesn't help either.

Went out yesterday with a guy for a break-in ride of a '13 600 Pro. I was on my 660 and he used more fuel than I did (first time ever). And we figured it was just his twitchy throttle finger keeping the rpm's varied all day being the difference. 81 miles on 3/4 tank of fuel.

 

[markowinnipeg]

Rode this past weekend with a 2010 Yamaha Apex, 2012 Arctic Cat 1100 Turbo with all the goodies (250hp), 2010 Ski Doo 1200 and a 2008 Polaris Dragon 700......did 300 miles and my D6, Cat, Doo and Yamaha all took with a $ 1.00 same amount of fuel the D7 was about $7 bucks more a fill.
No idea on mpg but this was average riding giving her as usual

 

[wakerider]

I have a 06 switchback with the 600 ho in northern Wisconsin last weekend I got like 8 mpg and that was riding mostly trails and a little powder. Talk about ****ty but I guess that's just what these sleds get???

 

[Mort2112]

That makes me feel a little better, sorta.


Doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary after all.

 

[MORSNO]

I get around 10mpg, but every trip is different due to snow conditions and area ridden.

 

[Poo727]

I have a 06 switchback with the 600 ho in northern Wisconsin last weekend I got like 8 mpg and that was riding mostly trails and a little powder. Talk about ****ty but I guess that's just what these sleds get???

I don't usually watch miles, just consumption as compared with my other sleds on the same ride or similar rides and conditions. My 06 600 switchback with the 727 kit and many other mods usually will use slightly more fuel than the stock 2013 800 pro RMK 155" we also have. "MoRE" being a gallon or so per day. BUT that is surprising as heck to me because I am usually the one on the switchback and my buddy is on the pro. I weigh nearly 50 pounds more than he does and I ride much harder than he does. Mainly because I have too in order to keep up with the better of the two sleds in the mountains and also because it freaking rips so why not.

My switchback has right at 5000k miles on it. I didn't install the big bore kit until 4500ish and I really haven't noticed much of a difference in consumption since the change. Nor did I ever notice much of a difference between mine as a 600 vs. other sleds of every brand I rode with, be it trails or mountains. There were times, or trips/conditions I should say, that I did notice poor fuel economy as compared to other trips but I think for mine, this was do to and caused because of my failure to properly adjust and tune for the conditions and/or altitude.

 

[motodad383]

I've noticed that our old 600 switchback uses as much or more fuel than our 800's when boondocking here in MN or riding out west in the mountains. Never check MPG, just make sure we have enough fuel to get back to the lodge or a fuel stop. The worst I've seen was in Jan. 09. We went to the UP of Michigan, as they were getting lake effect snow of epic proportions. After riding the afternoon we got there, we got up Sat. morning eager to ride. My son started his 06 600 switchback, to let it warm up, it quit shortly after. Upon trying to restart it, with no luck and getting pissed off like a teenager does, I pulled on it 4 times then told him it was out of gas. We added fuel and it fired right up. It had 27 miles on full tank of fuel and it was empty.

 

[Mort2112]

Just as an exercise, I'm going to start trying to quantify my mileage for the rest of the season. The common thread seems to be deeper snow really pulls the mileage down, which makes sense for me. I'm a big guy, and riding in deep snow on a 600 would definitely drag efficiency down, where my buddy is riding the 670 HO from BRP, which pushes quite a bit more HP than mine does.

 

[Poo727]

I've noticed that our old 600 switchback uses as much or more fuel than our 800's when boondocking here in MN or riding out west in the mountains. Never check MPG, just make sure we have enough fuel to get back to the lodge or a fuel stop. The worst I've seen was in Jan. 09. We went to the UP of Michigan, as they were getting lake effect snow of epic proportions. After riding the afternoon we got there, we got up Sat. morning eager to ride. My son started his 06 600 switchback, to let it warm up, it quit shortly after. Upon trying to restart it, with no luck and getting pissed off like a teenager does, I pulled on it 4 times then told him it was out of gas. We added fuel and it fired right up. It had 27 miles on full tank of fuel and it was empty.

27 miles to the tank? Not sure how that could possibly happen? That's 2.5 mpg.

Not tying to be a smart a** but I'd be more inclined to believe that something was wrong, like loose fuel cap, leaks in tank or carbs, sled was tipped and drained fuel or perhaps it wasn't filled all the way or the trip meter was not working properly before I'd believe 2.5 mpg. Unless there was something seriously wrong with jetting I just don't see how one could use that much fuel that quickly.

I have never seen anything close to mileage that poor in any conditions or areas I've ridden. I've had mine in UT, Wy, ID, MI and Colorado and been in all sorts of weather/conditions.

 

[Poo727]

Just as an exercise, I'm going to start trying to quantify my mileage for the rest of the season. The common thread seems to be deeper snow really pulls the mileage down, which makes sense for me. I'm a big guy, and riding in deep snow on a 600 would definitely drag efficiency down, where my buddy is riding the 670 HO from BRP, which pushes quite a bit more HP than mine does.

Mort2112,

I'd be curious to see your findings at the end of the season. But if you want them to be a bit more accurate you may wish to record additional info such as the avg daily temps, elevation, and snow conditions. Humidity as well.

While I understand the thinking behind deep snow and increased fuel consumption, I don't necessarily believe that to be the most significant reason/factor to effect mileage. When dealing with carbed sleds there are many other reasons or factors that play a role.

Most of us jet our sleds in a one size fits all possible conditions where we each live or ride manner. This can cause serious swings in mileage/consumption from day to day.

Elevation can obviously play a factor as well. See jetting notes. But my experience has been that I have better fuel economy at higher altitude. ( in everything motorized) There is some science to support this and you can google if interested. I believe the baseline of reasoning behind this has to do with the lower oxygen levels and causing a different rate of fuel burn and the resulting loss of power.

Most fuel I have ever used was while riding in the UP of mich on hard packed freshly groomed trails. It was warmer, we rode all out that day and I probably averaged around 5-6mpg. In the mountains I usually ride 45-65 miles in a day and normally never use more the half a tank so that would be in the ballpark of 9-10 mpg. I ride much harder in much deeper snow on the mountain days then I ever thought about while trail ridding at sea level.

Just my 2cents

 

[Mort2112]

Mort2112,

I'd be curious to see your findings at the end of the season. But if you want them to be a bit more accurate you may wish to record additional info such as the avg daily temps, elevation, and snow conditions. Humidity as well.

Most of us jet our sleds in a one size fits all possible conditions where we each live or ride manner.

Yeah that's the case for me. I don't mess with jetting (never learned how) and have them jetted for 6-9k at 15 degrees (at least that's what I remember). This setting covers almost 100% of my riding time. The only time it changes is when I had to Utah and ride the Uintas, but that's usually once per year and I don't change the jetting for that even thought it's higher.

You got me thinking though....one ride, at Mores Creek Summit, happened to be where the lot is around 6800 feet iirc and a much shorter ride to the play areas. The other was at West mountain, where the lot is at approximately 5k, and the top 7-8 k where we were. It's also a longer ride to the play areas. At 5k altitude, it's probably a little rich until we get up on top. I'll try and log it next time to see what the differences are.

Thanks for the input. I'm really thinking along two lines: 1) That my buddy's sled is just naturally more efficient, and that 2) His has that DPM/HAC setup and mine is straight carb'ed. I'm also thinking a 670 rotax is just more efficient over all, which really could explain the difference. Now as for the actual mileage on my sled, I'm going to log it and include what I can about conditions and check it again as I ride.

 

[Poo727]

Yeah that's the case for me. I don't mess with jetting (never learned how) and have them jetted for 6-9k at 15 degrees (at least that's what I remember). This setting covers almost 100% of my riding time. The only time it changes is when I had to Utah and ride the Uintas, but that's usually once per year and I don't change the jetting for that even thought it's higher.

You got me thinking though....one ride, at Mores Creek Summit, happened to be where the lot is around 6800 feet iirc and a much shorter ride to the play areas. The other was at West mountain, where the lot is at approximately 5k, and the top 7-8 k where we were. It's also a longer ride to the play areas. At 5k altitude, it's probably a little rich until we get up on top. I'll try and log it next time to see what the differences are.

Thanks for the input. I'm really thinking along two lines: 1) That my buddy's sled is just naturally more efficient, and that 2) His has that DPM/HAC setup and mine is straight carb'ed. I'm also thinking a 670 rotax is just more efficient over all, which really could explain the difference. Now as for the actual mileage on my sled, I'm going to log it and include what I can about conditions and check it again as I ride.

I'd buy that on the 670. That's an impressive motor. Always has been. Let me know how it goes for you.

 

[rp7x]

07 600 ho 155 as low as 6 never more than 7 all western up, hammer down