Ok as some of you know I switched from a stock front sprocket to an 18 tooth. Some people didn't want to believe that it wouldn't change gas mileage that much but today I decided to try some hypermiling to see how good I can get the miles. I inflated the tired to 38/38 psi front/rear and during the whole trip from LA to San Diego and back, I needed to buy some automotive detailing clay from a guy I know who has the best deals I've ever seen, I travelled about 55 mph which hovers right around 4500 rpm and eased up on acceleration and kept a decent tuck the entire time. I took a longer route from the 91 east to 15 south stopped to eat and buy the clay, then to Ted Williams west to 5 north. When I hit reserve my miles was an astonishing 293.8 miles. It took the usual 3 and a half, 3.47 to be exact, to fill up. This equates to 84.66 mpg. AMAZING! I don't regularly hypermile because it's annoying and kinda dangerous to go so slow on a motorcycle, got cut off and passed a couple times too. So tires are aired down to 32 which is where I like my cheap ultra hard Kings tires 12,000 on the rear and looks like I'll get about 4,000-6,000 miles out of them, I think they help too because the rear is 140/70-17 and have lower rolling resistance cause they're hard tires. But this is still great mileage nontheless and bodes well because I'll be able to ride to Las Vegas next week on one tank and avoid filling up at Barstow which has expensive gas.

So what what mileage milestones has everyone here accomplished now that gas is on the rise and we've got one of the most fuel efficient motorcycles around?

Hey qwerty dude, you should put in 45 tooth front sproket, and 12 tooth rear and switch to 30 mains and 7.5 pilots. You can get 950 miles to a gallon. 
Cool.
Buddha.

 
Thats awesome mileage  You have one Green GS 

Quote from: scottpA_GS on July 18, 2008, 05:02:25 PM

Thats awesome mileage  You have one Green GS 

But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile. If you want to even match a car for environmental friendliness you need to get something like 500 miles to the gallon... Fuel efficiency does not strictly equal greenness...

Quote from: fred on July 18, 2008, 05:28:06 PM
But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile.

I'm calling BS here.  Maybe 10x more per cubic inch/cc.................maybe. But you still end up ahead.

Quote from: spc on July 18, 2008, 05:46:24 PM

Quote from: fred on July 18, 2008, 05:28:06 PM
But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile.

I'm calling BS here.  Maybe 10x more per cubic inch/cc.................maybe. But you still end up ahead.

Nope, LA Times disagrees

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-throttle11-2008jun11,0,3268856.story?track=rss

Quote from: fred on July 18, 2008, 05:28:06 PM

Quote from: scottpA_GS on July 18, 2008, 05:02:25 PM

Thats awesome mileage  You have one Green GS 

But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile. If you want to even match a car for environmental friendliness you need to get something like 500 miles to the gallon... Fuel efficiency does not strictly equal greenness...

A lot of the newer bikes have them. Kawasaki had one in the ZX9R, back in 2000. Ducati uses a honeycomb screen. My 92 has a 999 midpipe with one.

Quote from: fred on July 18, 2008, 05:28:06 PM

Quote from: scottpA_GS on July 18, 2008, 05:02:25 PM

Thats awesome mileage  You have one Green GS 

But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile. If you want to even match a car for environmental friendliness you need to get something like 500 miles to the gallon... Fuel efficiency does not strictly equal greenness...

You must have gotten bad info or play around Harley's.Most bikes made outside the US come here jetted lean to meet and beat EPA and CARB requirements.

Ben - A car is a lot cleaner still ... but basically a 500 is going to put out a good bit less of the bad pollutants (not counting co2) than a v8 of similar vintage. But bikes are dirty cc for cc than cars.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on July 18, 2008, 06:48:18 PM
cc for cc than cars.
Cool.
Buddha.

So that = less than cars cause smaller cc 

Maybe ... but once you rejet, its adios baby.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: ben2go on July 18, 2008, 06:23:31 PM

Quote from: fred on July 18, 2008, 05:28:06 PM

Quote from: scottpA_GS on July 18, 2008, 05:02:25 PM

Thats awesome mileage  You have one Green GS 

But motorcycles don't have catalytic converters, so they already pollute something like 10 times the amount cars do per mile. If you want to even match a car for environmental friendliness you need to get something like 500 miles to the gallon... Fuel efficiency does not strictly equal greenness...

You must have gotten bad info or play around Harley's.Most bikes made outside the US come here jetted lean to meet and beat EPA and CARB requirements.

Look at the LA Times article, they say in the first full paragraph that the CARB standard for motorcycles allows 10 times the pollution for motorcycles than it does for cars. EPA standards are way less than CARB, but even CARB is basically nothing when compared to cars...

Do you guys not know? The 3-circuit carb was designed to pollute less, not just for better mileage, add to the fact that I have all CARB equipment still on my bike including the catalytic convertor so my bike is clean. My uncle does smog testing and says I'm within car standards which means I pollute far less than cars cause it's measured in a ppm scale. As much as I am for progressive causes like the environment I'm not gonna jump on the liberal bandwagon that the times has always been riding. Statistics lie period. The times is not above using statistics to make anyone look bad. Think about how much pollution goes into making a hybrid car, far more resources than a smaller econobox. And yet the times seems to think if everyone buys one the world will be saved from ecological disaster. Take in point this particular. If 1% of total motorcycle miles creates 10% of the pollution what percent of that is old decrepid bikes and custom jobs that pollute. Jesse James got fined for grossly polluting vehicles. Harley's with straight pipes and a rejet run rich as hell. There's a reason why old scooters are called two smokes. Dirtbikes have no cats. All those bikes contribute to the percentage that makes it look like all bikes pollute. Please don't sully the cleanliness of my bike because assholes want loud pipes and need to run rich to do so. Every loud bike out there needs to run richer than necessary to keep from detonating or burning a valve so blame them just leave my bike out of it. Mines been tested clean and all 3 circuit GS500 that remain stock are clean as a whistle. Just remember to get your facts straight before assigning blame.

GSjack is the tire king,

I nominate qwertydude for mileage king.

My commute is mostly interstate, I think I'm going to try the big sprocket.

Be Safe
PJ

Oh yeah I also modified the carbs on a honda rebel and got 102 mpg city out of it with careful riding. That figure dropped to about 80 mpg highways so strangely enough the GS500 beat my honda rebel on highway miles, mostly because I had a huge windshield and big hardcase saddlebags on the rebel which cause a bunch of drag, the GS500F has a real aerodynamic advantage over a cruiser like the rebel. The rebel I knew polluted more than the GS though, no cats. When I rejettted for my mods strangely enough I had to richen the slow jet because I disabled the accelerator pump on the carb which sprayed a ton of fuel down the intake every time the throttle was twisted.

Hey qwertydude, first is that 85 miles a US gallon? If so, thats very impressive! Second, I just changed to a 17 tooth on my stock '07 and I like it, how does the 18 go when you're starting off, say on hill starts or riding two up? I'm getting around 4.1 litres/100km cruising at 110km/h. I think that's about 61mpg (US) at 70mph, but I'm wearing a bulky jacket and sittting upright.
David.

Just to clear some thing up. Motorcycle WITHOUT catalytic converters pollute 10x more than any other cars (including hummers).

Motorcycles may use less gas but the CO₂ they put out is much higher than a car. Sorry guys you can get 1000mpg on a bike but you're still polluting more than a car.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/motorcycles-pol.html

BTW. Engine size doesn't matter (500cc vs something else). It's the catalytic converter that makes the difference.

Yes that's 85 per US gallon. Keep in mind this was one solid trip. I've been averageing only about 75 mpg as a commute, 20 miles one way. I keep it around 65 mph, real not indicated. I weigh only 130 pounds, good thing is if I'm speeding along in left hand traffic going 85 real mph my mileage is still 65-70 mpg. But also on my bike is the zero gravity touring windshield which I think kinda helps since it eliminates a lot of buffeting that happens in that open space between the rider and bike when sitting upright a definite plus for longer trips too. As far as acceleration, it's not quite like starting in second gear with the 16 tooth. There is a little bit of a loss in power but I shift into second at around 15 mph instead of 10 like before. It should be a familiar feeling for anyone used to riding a liter bike those things it seems you don't shift out of first until 25-30 mph or more. But I have no problem with it in the city. In fact aside from riding the clutch for say another car length when starting off I think it's better for me because I'm shifting less often in the city since it widens the gear ratios so I'm not constantly shifting up and down because of the closeness of the gears. I've ridden two up with a ahem heavier gal before and had no problem off the line and with hills. This is good for longer commutes, freeways and touring, sport riders and primarily inner city commuters probably won't like it. Oh yeah and Top gear acceleration is a bit tougher but I can always click down a gear or two which in my case 5th ends up being the same as the old 6th so for passing I usually shift into 4th, whereas the 14 tooth guys can't just shift into 7th gear when they get tired of the screaming revs and poor gas mileage. Oh yeah and keep an eye out on you chain you have to replace it as soon as it wears out since the sloppiness will mean itit rubs the shift lever and possibly the clutch pushrod. I had the former happen already not the latter but I'm glad I caught it in time, so now theres a slight 1mm thick chain cut on my shift lever. You can feel it happening because you feel something tapping on the shift lever. I've ridden two up with a ahem heavier gal before and had no problem off the line and with hills

Read that article again very carefully, not just the headline which paints a bad image for all motorcycles as I've said before. I hate sensationalist news articles by the way, read all the comments too.

"because motorcycles are about twice as fuel-efficient as cars and emit a lot less C02."

CO is a big polluter but that's what catalytic converters are for, yes the GS500's with 3 circuit carbs have them. As for NOx's, low compression engines like ours tend to have less of them. It takes a hot cylinder with higher compression ratios to produce NOx's, hence supersport bikes do tend to pollute with NOx's slightly more. Remember I had my bike tested, even though we don't have to I just was curious to see how clean the GS is, and good news is very. Yes there are slightly more NOx's than newer cars because of the lean running mixture causing a hotter combustion, but it's still well within the legal California limits for cars which means it's better than 50 state legal. And remember this is a ppm scale, so since I get 4 times as much mileage even if my emmisions were 4 times worse than the legal limit, per mile I'd still be polluting about as much as a poorly maintained car of which there are plenty of examples; heck a dirty air filter or bad O2 sensor on your car can cause you to fail a CA smog test in a snap and yet the GS passes with no trouble. That my friends is a clean bike.

Congrats on your high mileage!  I'm sure it'll mean a little less out of pocket for your commutes.  As for now, I'm content getting the near 60ish I already get.  Perhaps if I actually got to commute more and my commute were longer, I'd consider going up a tooth.   As for the pollution, I say ride away.  You WERE looking to save money weren't you?  Your increased mileage should provide that benefit.  I feel that we should be environmentally conscious and avoid blatant disregard for the ground, air and water.  However, I also feel that global warming is a SHAM.  Perhaps that won't be a popular view.  But then again, I don't think anybody in here is selling their bike for scrap because it pollutes too much.