is 40-45 mpg on gs450 right?

[old_skool]

I'm safe there. My vocal chords only go so high.

I think some in the riding game go a lot higher...

[koolaid_kid]

I think some in the riding game go a lot higher...

LOL.
Actually some of them did, but the women seem to have abandoned the thread due to the rampant animosity.

[JMHJ]

5th gear at 35mph??? I'm a very conservative rider but often times at 55mph I'm still in 4th (on my 850).

Sometimes I'm still in 2nd at 55mph, but I don't cruise there .

And sometimes the frontend comes up when I hit 2nd - that's why I just got to replace a splined part in the rear end

Suzuki owner's manual "Shifting up schedule":

0-12mph - 1st

etc.

Over 31 - 5th

and my favorite, under STARTING OFF, "To shift to the next higher gear, accelerate gently,..."

[tkent02]

Suzuki owner's manual "Shifting up schedule":

0-12mph - 1st

etc.

Over 31 - 5th

and my favorite, under STARTING OFF, "To shift to the next higher gear, accelerate gently,..."

Too dangerous for me, I'd fall asleep before getting out of second gear.

[themess]

5th gear at 35mph??? I'm a very conservative rider but often times at 55mph I'm still in 4th (on my 850).

Why?

When cruising at 35 mph - or 25 mph, 5th is fine.

[tkent02]

Why?

When cruising at 35 mph - or 25 mph, 5th is fine.

If you like wasting fuel.

[old_skool]

If you like wasting fuel.

Exactly, these aren't fuel injected computer controlled machines, carbureted vehicles might be able to lug around at lower speeds in a higher gear, but they aren't breathing properly or burning the fuel efficiently, and will eventually even foul plugs over an extended period of time no matter how well tuned it is, carburetors aren't as precise or forgiving. A higher rpm will actually use less fuel as it will burn more efficiently, making more power with less gas, hence the better fuel mileage, and at a certain point will reach it's maximum potential and start going the other direction. It's all about balance.

[tkent02]

They are also not economy car engines, with everything from cam timing to valve diameters to fuel delivery to intake and exhaust tracts designed 100% to be super efficient at slow engine speeds...
These were designed as high performance motorcycle engines, with large valve overlap, fat intakes, large valves, carburetors that need airflow to get the fuel metered correctly, dozens of other design parameters all optimized for the high RPM torque and horsepower.
Everything was intended to work the best at a fairly high RPM...
To lug it around like a tractor is very inefficient.

[nejeff]

Why?

When cruising at 35 mph - or 25 mph, 5th is fine.

I sure hope your joking. Are you advocating lumping around in 5th gear at 35mph? Lets see...I have 5 gears and bikes capable of say 105 to 110(maybe more) mph. So you use the first four gears to get you to 35 mph and for the next 70 mph you use 5th? Can you do it, yes. Should you do it, no.

[themess]

It shouldn't lug at 25 mph in 5th. Nor should it use excessive fuel. If it does either, it isn't tuned properly. Note that I wrote, "when cruising". A commute on a city street with a low speed limit is much different than accelerating to highway speeds or higher. If traffic demands it, driving in a lower gear makes sense to make it easy to accelerate rapidly. If traffic density is low, that isn't needed.

[JMHJ]

A higher rpm will actually use less fuel as it will burn more efficiently, making more power with less gas, hence the better fuel mileage, and at a certain point will reach it's maximum potential and start going the other direction.

Which is why 5 speeds ain't enough

Seriously though, where is that point... 6k? 7? The peak of the horsepower or torque curve?

These came out when the speed limit was 55, which might have played a part in the 5-speed design. If 5th at 55 is inefficient though, Suzuki goofed, and shoulda left 3rd or 4th as top gear.

[tkent02]

Nobody ever went 55.
Slightly slower then maybe in places the cops hang out but never 55.

RPM, depends on how much power you want. 6 or 7 is too high unless you want quite a bit of power, like up a mountain highway at high speed.. This will of course be different for each bike. I try to select the gear that gets the speed I want with the least throttle. If two gears are even, downshift. Accelerating, higher revs than cruising for sure, but never even when cruising slowly get the RPMs so low that opening the throttle doesn't do much. It's not doing much because the engine can barely breathe.

Do this, burn a whole tank using one gear lower than you used to.

See what your gas mileage does.