However, many people don't know how to maintain a diesel engine very well if they have been driving Gasoline engines their whole lives. For example, I got about 50 miles per gallon in a Diesel Rabbit I bought for my son when his truck was totaled with the insurance money. Whenever I drove it even if you were going up a 1% to 3% grade you had to shift down into 3rd gear to do this. So, literally this was the most gutless vehicle I ever drove in my life.
However, I did get at least 50 miles per gallon of diesel whenever I drove it too. The problem was I had had a 76 gasoline VW Rabbit which was one of the most powerful small cars I ever owned too with a 4 in the floor stick shift transmission. So, Driving the diesel Rabbit was only okay going on the level or downhill. But, it's also true I got the best mileage of anything I ever drove with it too.
So, possibly having a diesel motorcycle (the right one) you might make it from San Diego to Williams California (between 500 and 600 miles) with a 5 gallon diesel tank on board but it might be pretty gutless going uphill or up anything more than 1% to 3% grades too. In other words the power you need to get out of the way of people who don't see you because you are on a motorcycle likely wouldn't be there for safety like many other freeway bikes often have that get between 30 and 50 miles per gallon.
Note: The single most important thing I didn't know about Diesel engines is that you have to change the motor oil very often or it gets clogged with carbon and causes all sorts of problems. This is the single most important thing I learned about diesel engines from the 76 Diesel Rabbit I bought for my son in the 1990s.
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