Encouraging. 5.94 vs. 6.08 would be within what I would consider the normal liberties taken with specifications. And although the OM says 6.08, the web site advertises 6.0.
Understand, insufficient fuel capacity is one of my pet peeves about today's bikes. I think the designers of motorcycles are way too caught up in making their bikes look sleek and forgetting that versatility and flexibility also sells motorcycles. I wonder if many of them even ride or if they ride, ever take a decently-long trip on a bike.
Every touring bike should have comfortable 300+ mile range, just like most cars. An ADVENTURE touring bike, that is by nature designed to explore backroads were gas station availability and hours are even more spooty, needs more. The only mfg who has truly addressed this so far is BMW with the 8.9 gal capacity on the GSA.
This article is about sportbike range, but shows how ridiculous the issue is with this type of bike.
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2011/08/md-opinion-cant-get-home-on-the-range/
- Mark