Fuel consumption

[Chris_B]

well hello there.
I have a 99 GS and its only getting around 35mpg. According to this site it should be getting 50 or above. I get about 120 km's before hitting reserve, sometimes more sometimes less. So my question is, what could cause this? And what are some possible solutions?

The bike has an exhaust and air filter. I thought it was the float height so i adjust them to see no improvement. Other than that I dont really know what it could be other than my riding style, I am in the higher end of the rev band more often than not. The bike runs great, not rich. The plugs are nice and gray. Any input would be great.

[Squidward]

you sacrafice performance when you want to stretch out the mileage.












damn, I used the wrong name to post something useful

[LimaXray]

lol yeah you did squidy

that 50mpg is with the stock lean jetting.  Once you rejet thats gonna change.  To top it off, riding around in the upper power band is how you suck up as much fuel as possible.  If you want to save money on gas, get rid of your exhaust and filter, put the stock jetting back in, and ride around like an old lady

[Chris_B]

Ahh, I should have asked my question better. Is 35 mpg normal in my situation?

[Alphamazing]

Ahh, I should have asked my question better. Is 35 mpg normal in my situation?

No. What type of air filter is it? What type of exhaust is it? I have a lunchbox filter and get about 45mpg when I ring the hell out of it. ~47 to 50 otherwise.

[Cal Price]

I get around 50 to the UK gallon which is 20% more than the US gallon so 35 does not seem out of the box.

[Turd Ferguson]

For your situation I'd say 35 sounds on the low side, but still acceptable.

Your riding style affects mileage quite a bit too.  If I go through a tank taking short rides to and from campus (roughly 1.5 miles each way), I get about 35 MPG on my stock 2005 GS500F.  If run through a tank taking longer rides, I typically get upwards of 60.

-Turd.

[jake42]

okay, I've mentined this before but here we go.
when my 96 was stock i'd get low to mid mid 40's if i just used it for my daily commute. 16 miles round trip, mainly stop and go traffic with a few little twisty sections where I could wring it out a bit. 

then I went nuts.
V&H full system
K&N lunchbox filter.
150 main jet, 40 pilots
dropped the front sprocket from 16-15t.
had Bob B advance my ignition.
went from taller tires 80's back to the slightly lower 70's. Went from basically a set of touring style dunlops to pretty sticky pirelli sport demons.

now on that same daily trip I average 33-35 miles per gallon.
On long rides my mileage goes up quite a bit. Last time i went out and did about 85 iles one day and then a couple days back and forth to work and got low 40's

Oh, and with all the mods, my bike is much more fun at about 8-10k so perhaps i spend a little too much time up there.

Jake

[Codger]

Factory '05 F US Model.
Running around town or running 70 for 3 hours straight, always get 50 MPG.
Normal running: little hammering, little babying.

[galahs]

My last fill up I actually recorded 3.2 Litres of fuel for 100kms.

Bloody awesome! 

I usually fill up between riding 300 - 350km's. I have never gone to reserve.

Mine is a stock 2005 GS500F

[Chuck]

I get about 55MPG (indicated) on my stock '01 + fairing.  Since the odometer reads ~10% high, it's probably ~49MPG actual.  I get an extra 4-5MPG with the fairing vs naked, so if you're concerned about fuel economy, that is an option.

[Alphamazing]

I get about 55MPG (indicated) on my stock '01 + fairing.  Since the odometer reads ~10% high, it's probably ~49MPG actual.  I get an extra 4-5MPG with the fairing vs naked, so if you're concerned about fuel economy, that is an option.

The odometer is actually VERY accurate. It has to be by regulation (in the US at least) so you are actually getting 55mpg, as you originally thought. I got 55mpg with my naked '04 pretty regularly before I dropped the filter on and rejetted.

[Chris_B]

So, Im still not sure what you guys think it could be. When i got the bike it had 133 mains in it, way to big so i dropped them down to 127.5's. Im pretty sure the previous owner installed a jet kit as the needle jet has the circlip for adjustment. My floats are set at 15mm from the base gasket. It has the K&N lunchbox and the exhaust is off an R6.
I still say it should be getting better than 35mpg. But im out of ideas on what would cause this..anybody in a similar situation?

[Egaeus]

The odometer is actually VERY accurate. It has to be by regulation (in the US at least) so you are actually getting 55mpg, as you originally thought. I got 55mpg with my naked '04 pretty regularly before I dropped the filter on and rejetted.

I don't know about the GS, but the odometer on my 2000 Frontier is off by about 4-5%.  So is the speedometer.  This has been verified via mile markers, mapquest, and the popo. 

[Chuck]

The odometer is actually VERY accurate. It has to be by regulation (in the US at least) so you are actually getting 55mpg, as you originally thought. I got 55mpg with my naked '04 pretty regularly before I dropped the filter on and rejetted.

I measured it using highway mile markers for 25 miles.  It's wrong.

[Bluebellylint]

On most of our GS's you will notice ~10% higher on the speedometer than actual, but our odometers are accurate.

[pandy]

This has been verified via  ...  and the popo.