Smiles per gallon

I read with interest your fuel economy challenge in the November issue. The 2017 Suzuki V-strom 650 managed to achieve 76.9 mpg on what sounds like a careful ride. My 2015 V-strom regularly achieves 70mpg on a mix of urban and motorway commuting. The very best I have seen was 75mpg, while I was running the bike in. On a recent trip to Germany, the best I managed — after switching from E10 to proper 97 octane unleaded — was a reasonable 65mpg, fully loaded, which I thought was pretty good. Dave Loubser