Top 50 motorcycles for MPG

Recently on our Facebook page I noted a recent discovery in a Google search.....Top motorcycles for MPG. The results turned in the usual suspects, scooters, 90cc, 100cc, 125cc and so on. What really caught my attention was the lack of newer bikes making the list. The old Honda CX500 made the list for crying out loud. What's going on? While the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and a host of other car manufacturers are upping their game for more fuel efficient cars, the motorcycle builders are solving the high fuel prices with scooters?!  If the ole CX500 can get 52 mpg and keep up with freeway traffic, why would I buy a plastic encased bumblebee?  A recent ride on a slightly used Yamaha FJR 1300 was awesome, but the sales guy told me the best I might hope for on a long trip, was maybe 35 to 38 mpg. While I'd rather own the FJR, my 2006 Ford Taurus Station Wagon is year round climate controlled, weights close to 5,000lbs, seats up to seven and gets 30 mpg on long road trips. It's really tough to beat the hard numbers when your trying to make budget.  The wagon cost me $12,000 grand, had 60,000 miles on it, while the FJR was 3 years old at $9,000. In anybodies book, the wagon does more for ROI (return on investment.)  Yea, yea I know.....the bike is waaay more fun....but it's hard to have fun when I haven't been able to ride in two months due to icy roads, snow, and finger numbing cold. I still have to go to work, attend college classes, run the errands, pick up friends, blah, blah, blah.  So for a lot more folks than main stream media wants to tell ya, we motorcycle folks have to compromise.  Me, I chose five to six year old cars, money left over, and multiply older bikes.  Here's the kicker.....the Yamaha XJ900 Seca makes the top fifty list at number thirty, with a factory 52 MPG.  But wait there's more.....with the modifications we've done (Yamaha 650 Turbo Seca fairing engineered to fit the 900 Seca,) the MPG's have risen to 58 MPG.  More on why in another post.  Ciao for now.