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newsFuel economy across the Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is a large expanse of flat, in some places treeless, limestone land, that the Eyre Highway traverses connecting west and east sides of Australia. I have just got back from a drive across, Perth to Coober Pedy, a round trip over 5,000km, as reported earlier today:
"Naughty Kia?"
https://bkhome.org/news/202604/naughty-kia.html
...the Kia Picanto actual fuel consumption was a bit uncertain, depending whether we believe Kia or the petrol pumps. I'll say it is somewhere in the middle, about 5.0 litres/100km (47 mpg).
I had a chat with a guy at one of the roadhouses on the Nullarbor, driving a motorhome. This is a 4wd with fat tyres. He said driving at the 110 km/h limit on the Eyre Highway, he was getting 13 litres/100km, but when driving in the Northern Territory, where there roads have no speed limit, he was pushing 16 litres/100km (14.7 mpg) ...yikes!
Fuel consumption is a huge issue right now, as Australia imports
90%. It has become expensive, often about 50% more than before the
iran war. It is going to force up the cost of everything.
Chatted with a guy on a motorcycle, a Himalayan 450cc; he said
that he was getting 3.5 to 4 litres/100km. His bike is air-cooled,
whereas the latest models are water-cooled. I wondered whether the
water-cooled bikes would have better economy, and it does seem a
little bit. For example, this guy reports about 3 L/100km:
"Big Al’s Bike Review 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450"
https://www.ulyssesstgeorgesutherland.com.au/bike-review-2024-royal-enfield-himalayan-450/
This guy is reporting 2.8 to 3.0 L/100km:
"Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Review 2025: The Ultimate Budget
Adventure Bike?"
https://www.reallybigbikeride.com/royal-enfield-himalayan-450-review/
Interesting also, in total I passed five bicycles, four riding east, one west, and one guy walking. oh yeah, on the return journey, passed one guy jogging! -- he had a trolley behind him, attached to his waist belt. His has a single pole to hook onto the waist, but have seen others with two poles, like this one:
Ha ha, there's even a Facebook group for these trekking trailers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wheelie.radical
...looks good, getting the weight off the back!
Tags: nomad