300 miles before reserve?

[Mike Harman]

I spent 4 days or so trying to run out of gas. I was up to 300 miles today and I finally gave in and filled up. I put in 4.2 gallons so it calculates to 71.5 mpg. I never touched the reserve switch.

Does this sound about right for a stock 2001? I wonder why anyone bothers with jetting, pipes, etc. Suzuki has had plenty of time and some pretty decent engineers to get the bike tuned. My plugs look clean, only slightly tan. It has lots of power, warms up fairly quickly after I get moving, no complaints at all. If my mileage holds up, I would get 370 miles on a tank before it runs dry.

[werase643]

I think you are smoking crack....but that is just my oppinion :dunno:
i think the average on the forum is 180-200 before reserve on a 01-up
with the bigger tank

[Shadowhawk]

I get 45-57 mpg on my Gs450.  I'm 6'1" and about 220lbs.  Either you have an excetional bike :dunno: , or you'/somebody put gas in it since the last fillup.  I'm picking up my Gs500 next month.  I'm expecting about the same mileage(minus a little) as I am getting now.

Don

[JLKasper]

If you're getting 70mpg plus, either you must ride like you're being followed by a cop, or have a helluva tailwind on your side.  If I were you, I'd check to make sure that your fuel lines from the undertank petcock aren't switched.  Those last few miles may have been on reserve and you didn't know it.

If you're happy with your performance, I wouldn't change a thing.  Just tell us what your secret is.

[Cal Price]

Most of us would be well chuffed with 200 to the tank, I get about 55 miles to a (4.54litre) Gallon and think I'm doing pretty well. I normally fill my 19 litre tank about 170/180 just before I would need to hit reserve. If you can get 300++ to the tank you either have a big tank or an amazing riding style, perhaps you should write a book, it would sell well in Europe where gas costs a fortune.

[Frost]

wow...300 miles???
i get around 320 KM before hitting reserves....
but never really tried hitting reserve after feeling running out of gas....
320 is just an estimate....

[vtlion]

daaaaaayam!  You sure you didn't replace your front wheel with one from a scooter or something?!?!?!  :lol:

[MacDuff]

Before rejetting I got a consistent 68 mpg commuting to work.  Have yet to check the mileage this season on the rejetting.  I only did the carb work due to a lean surge at highway speeds.  

MacDuff

[JeffD]

Are you running that thing super lean or something?    I get high 40's  because I'm a big sail (6'2") and catch alot of wind but 70's are hard to get on most 250cc bikes.

[Stephen072774]

wow.  I have a shock jetted 2001 with cobra pipe and I usually go around 180 miles before I hit reserve.  I'm averaging about 47 mpg.  I'm a small guy too.

[jake42]

shaZam! I only got 48-52 on my 180cc Yamaha.

after rejetting this spring with a K&N pod and V&H pipe and bob's ignition advancer my Gs dropped from mid 40's for my commute to mid 30's.

jake

[JeffD]

Wait,  You only did this ONCE.  You cant base statistics on a single event.  Go through another gas tank and see what you get.  I'll bet it will be around 40's or 50's.

I think your odometer got bumped on accident or something.

[The Buddha]

I have made mid 50's in my 90 before rejetting, after rejet it fell to about 50, my 89 was at ~50 with 8K before rejet. And fell to 45 after. Now it makes 37 with the wear it has on it and my affliction with the twisty grip.
Cool.
Srinath.

[sbloom67]

I get about 50 - 52 miles per gallon on a 2004 GS500F.  And thats all highway use

[Mountaineer]

OK, I'm back, had to come in under an assumed name from a different address.

I have checked the gas mileage twice. Before the 300 mile trip, I had checked it after a fillup and guessed I was getting close to 70mpg. So I decided to run it all the way to reserve. That's when I hit 300 miles and put in 4.2 gallons, still had not hit reserve.

McDuff says he was getting 68 mpg, so here's my take on it:

I use a windshield-a National Cycle Street Shield which is small but keeps the blast off my face, hands and chest. I don't normally hit it hard off the line, and I ride mostly curvy back country roads in WV where you just can't go very fast most of the time. Other times I'm on highways with 55 mph speed limit. I often exceed the speed limit, but it depends on traffic and road.

I usually don't bother to shift down through the gears when stopping, I just let the bike slow down and click from 6 to first with the clutch in.

I've been riding since 1967 and I want to live. I've decided I don't need to take on the competition, except once in a blue moon. I want the bike to last 26 years, just like my previous bike-a 1977 GS400X. The gas mileage on it was about 50. I think Suzuki has created a great bike in the GS500, and I think they've done a great job of making it run efficiently. It sounds like a lot of people on this list are into racing, acceleration, and fiddling around with stuff. That's fine, but the stock settup is as good as it gets.

[Von Vester]

I can get 300 miles on a tank of gas if the last 100 miles are downhill and the gas station is at the bottom.

Mountaineer: What part of WV. I live Lewisburg (southeast WV). I ride all over the state and LOVE those WV mountain roads.

[The Buddha]

OK great gas mileage isn't neccesarily the best for the engine. The lean surging and overall running hot are bad for it.
BTW I was drafting semi's on the 404 in Toronto, nearly start to finish on a few consequtive days, and still only made ~60 on the 90, it was jetted at that point though... You jet it to run cool, and cooler means longer life, ok you are negating some of that when you rev it and street race it. But still I think overall you'd get more good from it.
Cool.
Srinath.

[Mike Harman]

OK, Seshadri, explain to me how a properly tuned engine getting 70mpg translates into a hot engine? Did Suzuki set the GS500 up to run hot? What is lean surging? What are the symptoms? How does rich jet equal cool engine? What temp ranges are we talking about?

I'm up for understanding the advantage of changing the jets to correct what you feel is a factory miscalculation by Suzuki resulting in shortened engine life.

Thanks.

[Shadowhawk]

The engines are tuned(from the factory) to pass EPA certifications, and (at least in cars/trucks), to get the CAFE standard.  This does not mean the best for the engine.  It is generally jetted too lean to get the most from it(llife or power), as far as most are concerned, but when more and more people are buying vehicles that get <20mpg on a good day, I can support rejetting to get more life and power from a motor that will get 40+(on average) mpg daily.

Don

[werase643]

go for a ride
highway speed
60mph
pull in the clutch and hit the kill switch
pull over
pull a plug..or two
are they white or tan...ceramic part around electrode and electrode area?