GS1000E only getting 22 mpg! Does this sound right???

[debby]

What mileage can I expect from a bone stock 78 GS1000? It's all original, no mods, stock 2 into 1 x 2 exhaust, Stock sprockets.

I get 50 mpg on my '79 GS1000, all stock except for a K&N filter in the stock airbox and a Dyna ignition.

Debby

[Hoomgar]

I don't have a clue about the jetting. I haven't dug in that deep and wouldn't now what I was looking at even if I had. The owner about 2-3 people before me did some things with the bike, like putting the pods on and I was told that it was bored out to an 1150 but I don't have the resources to back that claim up. No documentation about were the work was done and what the results of a dyno were.

As far as I can tell it is the stock carbs with the stock 4-1 pipe. The only thing the last owner did to the exhuast was to try and paint it black. Did a botched job at best. The paint is all flaking off.

On to the carbs question, is there a stock number that should be on the carbs to tell me if they are stock or not? What do the points and condenser look like??? What would it look like if it had electronic ignition??? All I know about it is that I turn the key, put the choke on slightly (if it has been sitting cold for several hours or more), put the cutoff switch to the run, and push the ignition button and it starts. Other then that I'm not sure.

That is what I was looking for. So it has a 4-1 header and PODs. You open the right hand engine cover (three screws) and you can see if there are points in there or if an electronic ignition has been installed. If points then you will need to make they are cleaned, gapped and set correctly first. This is assuming the valves are adjusted correctly? Do you know about that? If not, they need checked first.

Basic order of attack:

Compression check on warm engine. If good move on.
Check valves and adjust as needed.
Check and set points if using points.
Make sure PODs are in good shape. Are they K&N? If so clean and reoil them. If not K&N, pray.
Now with all of that established buy and install a DynaJet stage III jet kit.
The DJ part numbers you would need are:
Main jet, DJ138.
Jet needle, DN0304.
Jetting washers, DW0001.
E clips, DE0001.
Just see if you can get the DynaJet stage III kit.

We will go from there.

The carbs should really be disassembled, dipped and cleaned if they have not been. All new o-rings put it and floats adjusted correctly.

If you have an entire weekend, read this thread or as much as you can.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=80632&highlight=Fuel+Economy

[semerm]

easy check

I would check to see if either of your brakes are dragging, and if the chain is too tight? (assuming it has a chain (I do not know that for sure). Pods withoug re-jetting can mess a bike up. Just my .02.

[Ghostgs1]

Somethings definitely amiss, mine gets 40 to 55 mpg depending on how hard I ride and traffic conditions. Mine is stock except for a Jardine 4 into1 with can and has dyna S electronic ignition, wires and coils. What condition is your tuning? Timing, carb balance? Wires good? Carbs may benefit from BG 44K. Good luck, Ray

[renobruce]

On to the carbs question, is there a stock number that should be on the carbs to tell me if they are stock or not? What do the points and condenser look like??? What would it look like if it had electronic ignition??? All I know about it is that I turn the key, put the choke on slightly (if it has been sitting cold for several hours or more), put the cutoff switch to the run, and push the ignition button and it starts. Other then that I'm not sure.

If they are the stock carbs and if they have the K&N pods, they should look like this:




If it has eletronic ignition it will look like this:



If you have points, the two black gizmos won't be there. You will have something totally different.

The two possible clues you give is: 1. you used to get 33+ mpg. 2. You just took off and put back on the carbs. Yanking the carbs off the intake boots might have caused a leak in the o-rings that are between the boots and the engine. Did you take the boots off when you removed the carbs? If so, did you replace the o-rings? If not, you could have a leak there, even though you say it's running good. On the carbs, on the intake side, there are three ports for tubing. The middle one should go to your petcock. The two outer ones should be open with no tubes on them, since you have pods and a pipe. Check everything to make sure you reinstalled everything right and have all your connections tight.

As Hoomgar said, start with checking if you have points or electronic ignition. If you have points, they could be shot, which would effect you gas mileage as well.

BTW, I only checked mileage once on my 1000... before I got it completely dialed in. 35 mpg. But that was only a 3 gallon test.

[gotjeepzj]

thank god, I thought I was alone. My 79 1000L Get's about 22-25mpg. It has stock air filter MAC(I think) 4-1 exhaust. Not sure about sprockets. I posted a thread a while back asking what the stock teeth count was, but I never got an answer. I do know my speedo is off. I'm showing 75 doing 60. But wouldn't that make my mileage worse. Showing I'm going more miles than actually? That being said my other vehicle is a jeep grand cherokee with 6.5" of lift sitting on 33" tires with stock gearing so my mpg in that is about 12-15. So any improvement is an improvement.

[renobruce]

I posted a thread a while back asking what the stock teeth count was, but I never got an answer.

42/15 on the sprockets

[rckrzy1]

thank god, I thought I was alone. My 79 1000L Get's about 22-25mpg. It has stock air filter MAC(I think) 4-1 exhaust. Not sure about sprockets. I posted a thread a while back asking what the stock teeth count was, but I never got an answer. I do know my speedo is off. I'm showing 75 doing 60. But wouldn't that make my mileage worse. Showing I'm going more miles than actually? That being said my other vehicle is a jeep grand cherokee with 6.5" of lift sitting on 33" tires with stock gearing so my mpg in that is about 12-15. So any improvement is an improvement.

Speedo is on FRONT wheel so gearing don't mean squat on a bike, only front tire size. And my soeedo may be off but the ODO is dead on.

[gotjeepzj]

Speedo is on FRONT wheel so gearing don't mean squat on a bike, only front tire size. And my soeedo may be off but the ODO is dead on.

I haven't tried my odo when i got it the trip reset was snapped off. I don't do alot of highway travel to check it against mile marker's.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

babcockdonald, just a minor carb clean caused the poor mileage? No other repairs/adjustments?
First things that come to mind are the pilot fuel screw (underneath) settings and the side air screws. If there's any chance you moved them, try intially setting the pilot fuel screws to 1 1/4 turn out from LIGHTLY seated.
THEN, set the side air screws to 1 3/4 turns out. Fine tune by using the highest rpm method. Re-test.
Use a good fitting tool to avoid stripping these screw heads.
I'm also wondering if you have the stock VM26 carbs? Do they look IDENTICAL to Bruce's? Bowls too?
What doesn't make sense is you have "clean" plugs but poor mileage. Intake leaks can cause strange results, but you say the cold and warm idle is about the same...1,100 rpm or close?

[babcockdonald]

renobruce - yes, the carbs look like the ones in the picture. I am not sure yet about the coils/electric ignition yet. I haven't had a chance to take the cover off yet.

keith - the only thing that I did was adjust the float level on 1 of the carbs to match the other 3 (it was sticking and causing the bike to leak gas), and a general cleanup (nothing on the inside of the carbs, just lots of gas that I drained out and then I let them dry out. The only parts that I cleaned was around the top and around the bottom were the gaskets are. I'll try the pilot screw adjustment this weekend and see what it does.[-o<

A general update on the bike: I put about 200 miles on the bike this weekend, and if I spent most of the time in no traffic I was getting about 30 miles to the gallon. After getting back from a trip starting out in Bangor and going to Bar Harbor (55 miles away) I noticed that the bike was now idling at 2000 instead of the 1200 that it was previously set at. I adjusted it back to 1200 (that seems to be were it runs the best). It will run at 1000, but it seems like it wants to stall out even though it never has at 1000. Cold idle is about 1000, and warm idle is a little under 1200 (1150ish). Didn't have any problems keeping up with the other bikes (there was 18 others) and the second oldest bike was 20 years newer then mine!\\/

That night I had a full size Dodge Ram (with the HEMI emblam on the side) pull up beside me at a stop light. I gave it a nice slow start and all of a sudden the Ram's driver floors it. So I go into race mode and completly smoke him. He only got 2 feet in front of me off the line and after 100 feet he was history. I pulled into the gas station that was off to my right (my initial destination before the incident) and he pulls in behind me. I go in the store and he comes up to me and says "What the hell is that for a bike? That friggin thing sure is fast!". I told him that is was a 1979 Suzuki GS1000E. He said "Man, I got a full size Ram with the Super Charged Hemi. I got 460 horses and you took me!"

I didn't want to crush him any more by mentioning that the bike was only running about 85% of what it should be at.:-D

[Hoomgar]

They are fast Enjoy it man. Your mileage is not that far off now but it could be improved a good 10 MPG or even more if your really interested. It will take more work but you have the guys that can get you there posting in this thread already so...

Your idle increase while warming up sounds like an intake air leak. It could also be the idle adjustment screw walking from vibration but usually they go out not in. Make sure it has a good vacuum sync and see where it gets you. If your still not happy with it, then it is time to start going down the checklist I gave you. Keith or Bruce can help you with that as well. All that info comes from Keith anyway

As encouragement, these bikes are well worth the time you put into them.

[babcockdonald]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll keep you updated on the progress. Hopefully it stays at about 30+ miles per gallon. I haven't had much time to tear into it that much as I have been working on my other bike a 1982 Yamaha Vision 550. Carbs need a cleaning really bad, floats were sticking (fixed), and the petcock is shot (replacing it with a on/off valve on the back side of it. I don't have the money to replace it, and it is irrepairable from what I can tell. I pretty much just acts as an outlet tube to drain the tank.

They are tempermental bikes, moreso then the GS's, but if you give them some TLC then they are good bikes. It will be better for my 12 mile commute to work each day. Smaller bike (heigth wise), and it will make a good bike for my wife when she gets her license.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I only suggested the pilot and air screw adjustments thinking you may have moved them during your minor carb cleaning and didn't set them back.
They could contribute to poor fuel mileage but I don't know if you inherited this problem or it just came along. If inherited, sure, the screws could be contributing to it. The PO could have things adjusted wrong. If mileage was fine at one point and you never touched the screws, they're not to blame.
However, the side air screws SHOULD be checked for highest rpm as basic tuning.
You're mileage improvement appears to have come from setting just one of the floats? What measurement did you set them at?