Poor gas mileage

[Smellii]

I've been calculating about 38 mpg when I should be getting 50+ on my 82 GS850GL. I'm desperate to resolve this. What is the best way to get the best gas mileage from the carbs? I've vacuum synced them and backed out the mixture screws 2.5 turns. Exception is Carb #1 where the mixture screw is way too far out cuz the threads are trashed from the previous owner. (still haven't had the money to get a tap for it.) Is this setup the cause of my poor gas mileage?

Carbs dipped w/new o-rings and gaskets & vacuum synced
Airbox sealed
Valves adjusted
New exhaust gaskets
New Exhaust connectors

[koolaid_kid]

What is your riding style? Is the fuel mileage for city, country, mixed? Why do you believe you should be getting 50+ mpg?
You realize that the 850 is the heaviest of the GS bikes except for the 1100GK, right?

[DanTheMan]

The best mileage I ever, ever, ever got on mine and I've got the 17" rear tire was when I first got it, and before I realized where the power band resided. Then, I was shifting between 2500-3200 rpm, never went over 60-65mph, WOT didn't happen, and she only had 25k miles on the clock. I was consistently getting 42-47 mpg.
Now, my riding style has changed, and I generally see 32 mpg for the low end and I occasionally will see 45 mpg. Of course, the bike has a few more miles on it now too, like 96,700 presently. If you can get 50+mpg out of yours, I'm not sure what I might do, kiss yor feet for the secret? Naw, I won't go that far..............

[Smellii]

Thanks, koolaid_kid. I like to gun it at green lights (the novelty of it hasn't worn off yet and I drop it to 4th gear at many of the 45mph commercial stretches in case I need to maneuver quickly. City (45mph with plenty of lights) and freeway (75 - 80mph). I would say City 75% and Freeway 25%. I knew it was heaver than some but didn't realize to that extent. I got 122 miles to the tank when I switched to the reserve and put in 3.3 gallons. Does all this sound right?

[Smellii]

Ok, Dan. Hmmm. Well it seems I just had an unrealistic expectation for gas mileage. Seems I've been seeing "50+ mpg" plastered on related ads and posts and such. Ok. I'll settle down now. hehe. Thanks for your time guys.

[7981GS]

(still haven't had the money to get a tap for it.

$4.20 with tax and mine was Made in Germany.
Ordered it from a local high-end tool store... JLM.

BTW, 38-42 mpg was the best that I got out of my '80 850.

Daniel

[Smellii]

$4.20 with tax and mine was Made in Germany.
Ordered it from a local high-end tool store... JLM.

BTW, 38-42 mpg was the best that I got out of my '80 850.

Daniel

Apparently "poor" is a relative term.

[bwringer]

I get between 33 - 38 mpg if and when I bother to track mileage on my GS850G.

My KLR650 gets 48-50 mpg pretty consistently.

[Steve]

My wife's bike (see picture in sig) usually gets 40-45, but has been known to hit a low of 28 (high speed into a wind) and a high of 58 (several tanks of 50+, later on the same trip that gave us the 28).

Most of the mileage variances are from throttle-twisting and sustained high speeds. We have found that if you are looking for high gas mileage, keep your speeds under 65, probably 55-60. Of course, this works best if you are in "sight-seeing" mode, rather than "canyon racer" mode.

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