Torque or gas mileage which should it be?

I have to admit one of the things that attracted me to motorcycles was the cool-breeze-in-your-face fun... Well, maybe more that just that... it's also the twisting-the-throttle-I'm-outa-here-power fun also! But there's a third kind of thrill I get when I hop on my BMW F650GS motorcycle... it's the gas mileage fun!

What's that you ask? It's my own little bragging fun when somebody in an SUV filling up next to me asked, "How does that thing do on gas mileage?"

"60-75 miles to a gallon... depending on how I ride," I usually answered.

Funny how the conversion tend to come to an abrupt end between us. You could see the look of amazement in their eyes. But it's true. My F650GS motorcycle could actually perform the feat, sometimes even better... depending configuration, condition and throttle control.

Truth is my BMW F650GS' setup was not originally configured as such to start. It was only through a slight modification, the changing of the motorcycle's rear sprocket from the original factory 47 teeth to a smaller 43 teeth sprocket. That's it! Admittedly I lost a bit of acceleration/torque but the 4 teeth difference together with the efficient fuel mapping from the on-board computer produce wonders for gas mileage.

On freeways and highways 75 mpg is the norm when I'm in a "clean" configuration. Loaded up, my BMW F650GS motorcycle still managed 65-70 mpg! At extreme loads the acceleration is not quite as good but my gas mileage doesn't dropped below 60 mpg provided that I ride at 65 mph (or less).

Even though I have had the F650GS for a while sometimes the gas performance still surprised me like the first time I covered the stretch from Mammoth Lakes to Fresno, California. Be it that the bike was assisted in an ever slight incline, it made 165 miles using just 1.7 gallons. That's 97 mpg! For me it's a great way to tour! Got to love those numbers. The BMW F650GS motorcycle definitely becomes a very economical touring machine with the 43 teeth sprocket.

So the decision is... should you go for torque or gas mileage?