What kinda milage should I be getting?

[PanheadJosh74]

I have a 1982 gs1100gk I was wondering what is the avg gas mileage for for a bike of this age. And how how much fuel/miles do I have once I switch over to reserve?

Pan

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I'm sure some actual owners of your model would be more specific, but I'd say about 38 to 42 in the city and add about 4 to 8 MPG on longer rides.
This would be for a correctly tuned bike of course.
"Average" riding habits. Harder riding will lower the MPG.
Typical reserve amount is about 1 gallon remaining.

[kalessin]

If I'm real hot and heavy on the throttle of my GS1100GL in city riding, mpg can dip lower, down to about 30-35...

[chef1366]

I ride hard and I'm a big guy and I get about thirty MPG. I put my wife on the back and ride highway miles I get about forty MPG.

[Clone]

It will depend on many factors, pods? Jetting? Exhaust? Tire pressure? When you shift? How aggressive you are with the throttle? 8-[
I get Mid 40s average with the 750, some of the 1100 guys get in the 50s, some get in the 30s. Many different riders, many different styles, very differing milage results.

[PanheadJosh74]

Im just looking for a ball park

I seem to be getting about 22-30 mpg highway and I was thinking I should get closer to 35-40 The bike has very high miles on it though and the carb rubbers are a bit checked. To my knowledge the carbs have never been rebuilt and I know for a fact the motor has never been rebuilt. The exhaust it pretty rigged the guy I got it from was short on money so he put cherry bomb mufflers on with a back pressure ring welded in the end. The bike runs great and has plenty of power. The previous owner ( who was the second owner) said he thought the 1st owner may of put some bigger cams in but I have no proof of this. Still running stock air box. I avg 60-75 mph most of the time on the highway and never take the bike over 80mph. Is there anything I should be doing to improve milage? carbs?, pipes etc? let me know.

Panhead Josh

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Well, 22-30 (average 26) is very poor mileage in my opinion. Could be a lot of things.
If compression is low/unbalanced, then it needs to be fixed. Timing may be off, dirty/poorly adjusted carbs...
If you're just looking for some easier/simple/cheaper things to get your best fuel mileage for now...
Try 36 PSI in the tires.
Make sure the air filter is clean.
Make sure the sparkplugs are the correct heat range and are gapped correctly and in good condition.
Make sure the plug lead/cap connections are clean and tight on the plug ends.
Put a timing gun on and check the timing. On some models the plate can move and the timing will be off.
Ride slower.:roll:
If you want to try something a little more involved, it may help to at least partially clean the carbs. This would involve removing the filter housing and CAREFULLY spraying some carb cleaner several times through a tube into the pilot and primary air jets located at the lower rear of the carb throats. Follow this with a blast of high pressure air because you don't want any cleaner soaking an o-ring or evaporating in there. Run the bike soon after this cleaning too. The pilot air and primary air jets, if partially clogged, won't allow enough air into the carb passages and fuel atomization will be poor, leading to a rich mixture. Not saying you have dirty jets, but it's a possibility. A complete carb clean/check is always best though.
You may also want to check your mixture screw adjustments. They should be set by using the highest rpm method. If they're set too rich, this would have some effect on overall MPG. Be careful if you move them because they can be very stiff. If the factory caps are still on and don't look tampered with, the screws shouldn't be a cause of your problem.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Another thing, make sure your bike idles at the factory setting...about 1,000 to 1,100 rpm's. A higher idle will lower the mileage around town and is also harder on the brakes and makes the bike run hotter.
Make sure your clutch cable has the correct play/slack. No play can cause slipping and lower the mileage.

[b1ackd3ath]

Do you have to remove the tank to do this 'partial' cleanin?

[Redman]

Suzuki manual for 82 GK specifys:
- Fuel including reserve: 5.8 USGallon
- Fuel reserve: 4.4 USQuart

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Do you have to remove the tank to do this 'partial' cleanin?

No. But most people say the most work is removing the airbox from the carbs to access the pilot/primary jets.
You can also remove the bowls with a short screwdriver and access more parts to clean. The floats, float valve, main/pilot jets, etc.
I'd just remove the carbs and do the complete job and to be sure the carbs are 100% clean and inspected/floats adjusted correctly.
The above "partial" cleaning is just a short cut option that MAY be enough for some.