Hi I just bought my first bike (92GS500) and I have a few rookie questions.
1. About how many miles can I expect to get out of a tank of gas. Mostly city riding.
2. Where should I shift in regards to RPMs. For instance, in my car, I shift when RPMs get to about 3000 and the redline is around 6000. On the bike, the redline is higher but where should I be shifting. Also, what's a good cruising rpm?

Thanks for the help
Patrick

Hey Patrick, welcome to the board and congrats on your purchase!  

I'm sure some GS owners will correct me, but I say you should expect between 40/50mpg. As for shifting, your gonna get a wide array of answers on that.

I'd say the best thing to do is find your own favoriet shift points. The engine will let you know if your shifting too soon, it'll lug, and as you wind her out under accelleration you should be able to feel when it stops 'pulling'. The bike's motor is going to be built for more RPM than your car, I wouldn't recommend shifting at 3000 RPM on the bike.

I have a '92 used for metro commuting (roads + freeway).  I get 120 to 140 miles before I have to switch the fuel petcock from ON to RES (reserve fuel).  But your mileage will vary from tank to tank (as much as 20%), and also depends on the quality of your fuel, and any performance modifications to your fuel system, and the proper operation of your carburettor.  So take my mileage with a grain of salt.

It may be helpful for you to practice switching the fuel selector from "ON" (primary fuel) to "RES" (reserve fuel) while riding.  (sorry if you know all this). The petcock is located just aft of your left ankle or calf.  Practice switching it while riding in a parking lot.  Then later, when you get about 120 miles on the tank, go for a ride on a quiet, safe road until your bike starts to surge fast-slow-fast-slow... then you'll know what it feels like when you start to run out of fuel, and how many miles you are able to get with your riding style before you "hit reserve."

BTW, if you haven't taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class, you should consider it.  It covers reserve fuel and a hundred other things in only a couple of days of new-rider training.  They go over some common mistakes that trip-up new riders.  Taking the class was well worth my time, and taking it may also give you a discount on your m/c insurance.

Sorry if I've been redundant.  I see that others responded while I was typing.

Quote from: preardon1. About how many miles can I expect to get out of a tank of gas. Mostly city riding.

If you have a California model, you have about 3 gallons before REServe.  (3.5 gallons on a non-CA model)  Switching to REServe supposedly gives you another gallon before the bike runs bone dry, but don't count on more than a few miles!  Get thee to a "gassery" as soon as you can.

Assuming the bike is in stock trim (no rejetting, etc), is running well (carbs are clean, etc) and doesn't have TOO many miles on it (15,000 or less?) you can expect between 40 and 50 mpg in the city.  Some of that depends on the answers to your other questions.

Quote from: preardon2. Where should I shift in regards to RPMs.

If I'm pulling away from a stoplight I'll shift at 7 or 8 thousand, otherwise at around 5,000.  Others on the board may tell you to wind it up to 9,000 at least!   It's OK - it won't hurt anything but your miles per gallon....

Quote from: preardonAlso, what's a good cruising rpm?

Again, I may be conservative, but I like to cruise between 5 and 6 thousand RPM...   7,000 if I'm in a hurry on the "superslab".

Thanks for the quick response. BTW I plan on taking the MSF course as soon as I can. Thanks
Patrick

Thanks for the quick response. BTW I plan on taking the MSF course as soon as I can. Thanks
Patrick

Welcome to GS world, I won't get too much into tank range, I have an '03 with a slightly different size tank and if you are from U.S. we have a different gallon just to make it simple! but I normally go about 180miles before filling, in practice this gives me a slight "comfort margin"

RPM, I'm with Kerry, some will say "rev the hell out of it" and there is no harm in that but it will burn juice a lot quicker. Changing down is more interesting and problematical but you will soon get a feel and an ear for it. Be very carefull changing down in the wet or other slippery conditions it can have the effect of slamming on the rear brake and put you somewhere you may not want to be! Avoid clutching-in when crossing drain covers etc, that can also be interesting.