Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember The Natural Philosopher
saying something like:

WE suspect that, at full power, its less efficient than part power. So
the curve of efficiency is definitely sort of parabolic. Where IS the
most efficient part?

Useter be peak of the torque curve and probably still is.

I agree that slowcoach acceleration is pointless and wasteful of
everbody's time, as is boot to the floor (but godammit, it's fun), so
when I'm driving economically it's always a compromise, usually about
half boot to get up to speed and a whiff of throttle to stay there. On
all sort of vehicles and engine types I've found this pays off without
holding anybody up.

I digress...
Years ago I had to accompany a rider on a clapped-out 175cc bike on a
motorway trip of around 120miles. I was riding one of my GS850s and of
necessity had to accelerate gently and limit my top speed to ~60mph.

At the end of the trip I was astounded to find I'd done at least 60mpg
on a bike that normally returned 38mpg.

same as me i my old Triumph spitfire. Surrey to Cambridge used to be
around 38mpg..till I had to do it in 6" of snow. With wheelspin at
anything more than a gentle prod, and a top speed of more than 50mph
impossible, I recorded over 50mpg on that run..