My 1986 V-Max will only go 50 Miles before running out of Gas. The pipes aren't changing colors, gas isn't comming out the exhaust. I get that it's a V-4 1200cc machine but that puts me at 18MPG. Any thoughts?

Could be the odometer, does it feel like 50 miles or are you just going by the odometer? Thats all I have. I went 120 miles before my 05' was out of gas.

Did they increase the tank size between 86-05? Otherwise it might be a battery issue. Maybe there's too much juice going back to the battery and not to the plugs.

You really shouldn't ride THAT MUCH on the rear Wheel only, kills the Mileage everytime.

No, they didn't change the Tank Capacity. I'd check for a missing Spark first.

Haha, If that was the case there wouldn't be any doubt that it's rider input causing poor fuel economy. I'm pretty sure at this point that it must be an electrical issue.

Like i said, take an isolated Pair of Pliers and undo one Spark Cap after another while the Motor is running on Idle. If the Idle drops, it has Spark, if not, well, then proceed.

If you find the Bike sparking on all four Cylinders, undo the Hose on the front left Cylinder, cover the Hole in the Intake Manifold with your Finger or a Rubber Plug and put a MightyVac on the End of the Hose.

The Idle Speed should change when you're applying Vacuum to the Hose. If there's no change at all, your MAP-Sensor aka Boost-Sensor in Yamaha Terms is shot or there something wrong with the Wires/Connectors.

That said, Spark Wires, Caps and Plugs can fail too and the TCI is also not unknown for going haywire.

When you look inside the Caps from the Plug Side, you'll most likely see a Brass Insert with a Slot for the wide Screwdriver, undo this Insert and watch the Spring and Resistor coming out. Sometimes these Connections are rusty.

Also, the Spark Wires can develop green Rust on both Ends, unscrew them, take a Look, if so, cut a 1/4 Inch off and screw them back in.

Then, the Sidestand Switch in conjuction with the Clutch Switch at the Clutch Lever and the Run/Stop Switch cuts out the TCI as Safety Items, Lots of Possiblities ...

Is the front tire the stock diameter?.
A badly tuned Stage 7 can eat a lot of gas. If it is extremely rich (pull the plugs) somebody might have srewed around with the needles and/or jets. An electrical problem would most likely give you a miss.....fuel problem not necessarily so.

I can get 40mpg if i take it easy and cruise but if your going to hammer it 18 to 22 is all your going to get

But it doesn't run like it's missing untill around 50-53 Miles which makes me think it's running out of fuel. But then after I'm "out of gas" I put the choke on and it fired right up, turned the choke off and rode not even 1/8 of a mile and it "shut down" again. I'm going to see about having an emissions guy use his EGA machine to see how much crap my bike is putting out see if it's running rich.

and to add too it, I don't think my Fuel Light OR my reserve switch work.