Today I had to hit my reserve,as my bike stalled after turning into a parking lot and wouldn't restart until reserve was selected.The thing is my trip meter showed 128 and that was reset to zero when the tank was topped off.Doing the math that seems like about 25 mpg,will the fuel economy improve?  i'm in the break in period of under 600 miles
it seems strange ,I can look in the tank and it looks 3/4 full.

Did you hit a gas station and fill up again?  How much can you fit in?  Did it make a pssht sound when you opened the gas cap?

Sounds like a plugged vent to me...at that fuel range you should only be about 1/2 tank...I usually hit 300kms (190miles) before having to use the reserve...(it was often more than that)...so unless you weigh more than I do (doubt it), you should be getting better mileage... 

Maybe you have some bad gas, or there was some "crap" in the tank... 

Later.

Had another look in the tank with a trouble light,it looks to be about 1/4 full,forgive my newbie remark about 3/4 full,but still I believe this averages to 25mpg.I drive like a church lady shifting aroud 4k on average, weight is 180.I wonder if it stalled because it was going up a small incline of about %30 into the parking lot?

If it looks like it is about a 1/4 tank left, that is probably right at the reserve point...you have a 20L tank and the reserve is 5L...so that works, but your mileage is sucking...could be a tight engine...dunno...how many tanks of fuel have you put through it?  and have they all been around the same...??

I use my fuel mileage as a guage to how the bike is running...if you are running ethanol enriched fuel, your consumption will be higher...and might be causing you these problems...I use www.fuelly.com to log my fill ups and track my economy...I enter notes as to how windy it was, what temps it was, how the mix of riding is (hiway vs city)...all that stuff will impact the consumption...I'm going to start puting the station I go to on there so that I can see if my bike runs better on a different brand (they use different additives...can effect how the engine runs as well)

There are lots of factors...but most should only change things a little (except wind...that can be quite drastic), but if you see a big swing one way or another you will know something is up...

Later.

Stop and go will kill your mileage.

It also depends on if you fill up to the filler neck/skirt inside the tank.

I get 50mpg during the commute week, because my commute is 5 miles and there's 5 lights coming and going.  I typically have to switch to reserve around 135 miles.

On my group rides I typically get 60-65mpg.  I was getting 65-70mpg before the ethanol was added.

I'm fairly new here and to my GS (2007) >2000 miles and have been using fuelly. I have only put two tanks through and have been tracking between 45-50 mpg.

- Put the bike on the center stand
- Fill to neck and to make sure, slowly to see if it starts coming Up the beck. Once it is coming up the neck, stop.
- Do NOT use any fuel with ethanol in it, unless it is the last fuel for 100 miles and you're down to vapors in the tank.

This should give you the most consistent fill up with better fuels. Then see how it goes for the next five fills.

Michael

 OK,i've decided to start from scratch.Went to my local gas station and filled it to the very top,right at the edge of the rim,as expected it was about 4.1 gallons.Since this was my very first fill up on the new bike there may have been some user error (hopefully).I'd love to have the 50mpg-60mpg as some are getting,unfortunately most every gas station around her sells 10% ethanol and thats whats in it currently.
My trip odometers zero'ed out, so we'll have to wait and see .

Each fill up will be different - as the angle of the bike and flow from the pump can make a difference on how much gas gets under the fill tube. Not all gas stations are flat and level so sometimes your bile will tilt more one way or the other.
In short - don't base mileage on one fill up. Keep a record and average it over a few fill ups. I fill up before I hit 200 miles. Get a receipt, write miles on it, stuff it in my pocket and zero the trip meter again. Then every once in a while I take them there pieces of paper and average out the miles & gallons.
When you're only putting a couple gallons, one quart can make a difference in your mileage calculation. I've had 75 and 40 mpg on a single fill - it all depends - so you have to average over a few fills.

newbie question.

wheres the switch to put it on Reserve? 94 GS500

the switch below the gas tank on the left side?

and how far do ya turn it?

is it the knob circled in red? if so, up for normal, and what?

thankfully I havnt needed to switch, therefore I'm not sure if thats it.

UP - reserve.
Sideways (pointing right I think): PRIME
Down: Normal ON position

This is based on the longer part of the lever

Quote from: adidasguy on May 20, 2011, 03:19:10 PM
UP - reserve.
Sideways (pointing right I think): PRIME
Down: Normal ON position

This is based on the longer part of the lever

wow, So glad I asked sooner rather then later.
Since I bought it, its been in the UP position.

which means I've been riding it on reserve.

(edit)
yep, totally forgot I downloaded an owners manual.
Diagram is in there.

The 2000 and older GS fuel cocks were different.  Lever down on, lever left res, and lever up pri; my 97 was that way.  The 2001 and newer are still lever down on, but lever right prime, and lever up reserve; my 02 GS is this way.

I always got 60 mpg or better on my 97 GS from my first new bike tank full and on for 80k miles except for a drop off to as low as 50-55 mpg for short distance winter trips and for spirited perormance riding in the mountains.  My 02 GS gets the same, went to reserve at 220 something miles today and put in 3.8 gal at 238 miles. 

Quote from: gsJack on May 20, 2011, 04:04:11 PM
The 2000 and older GS fuel cocks were different.  Lever down on, lever left res, and lever up pri; my 97 was that way.  The 2001 and newer are still lever down on, but lever right prime, and lever up reserve; my 02 GS is this way.

Yep. I have old and new bikes so left.right - meh. Important thing is UP reserve, DOWN is on (same) and basically, sideways whichever way is prime. Another blond moment.......  back to frustrations of that construction and Trey's steering issue. Or should I just jump on Junior and ride?

Quote from: MarksGS on May 20, 2011, 08:57:20 AM
Today I had to hit my reserve,as my bike stalled after turning into a parking lot and wouldn't restart until reserve was selected.The thing is my trip meter showed 128 and that was reset to zero when the tank was topped off.Doing the math that seems like about 25 mpg,will the fuel economy improve?  i'm in the break in period of under 600 miles
it seems strange ,I can look in the tank and it looks 3/4 full.

On my '09, during the break in period, I respected recomendations for RPM and riding style in the owners manual...

I got 67 MPG.

Now my mileage varies, depending on a number of factors...anywhere from 55 to 67..

Cookie

Quote from: adidasguy on May 20, 2011, 04:13:20 PM

Quote from: gsJack on May 20, 2011, 04:04:11 PM
The 2000 and older GS fuel cocks were different.  Lever down on, lever left res, and lever up pri; my 97 was that way.  The 2001 and newer are still lever down on, but lever right prime, and lever up reserve; my 02 GS is this way.

Yep. I have old and new bikes so left.right - meh. Important thing is UP reserve, DOWN is on (same) and basically, sideways whichever way is prime. Another blond moment.......  back to frustrations of that construction and Trey's steering issue. Or should I just jump on Junior and ride?

Not quite, down is always on but res isn't always up.  Older bikes have lever left res and prime up.  That's how I happened to leave my 97 parked in pri for a month leaking gas into the sump after I got the 02, I though it was in res not prime.

   Went 222 miles until reserve today ,so that a fairly decent 54mpg...I love this bike

Should be much more than 34mpg.

i had to switch over to reserve at 241 miles today and im gettin 62.8mpg  thats if i keep the revs down and just cruise  
and i only have 800miles on mine(09 500f)... 1st fill up i got 60.3  shes totally stock