Gas Mileage for a GS850G??

[Darin Jordan]

Just curious... what kind of gas mileage should one expect from a well-tuned (not quite there yet... ) 1980 GS850G??

[BassCliff]

Hi,

On long trips I get a smidge over 40 mpg when doing a steady 70 mph on the freeway. My range has been 32 - 45 mpg.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Skateguy50]

Was thinking with my "upgrade" to an 850G I would not be riding the 650 as much, seeing that I get a consistent 45+ mpg on the 650 I dare say it will still be my commuter for work. The cage gets 35-40 but is not nearly as fun as the bikes.

I will enjoy the range on the 850s tank and defiantly be my touring bike for rallys

[rustybronco]

On my '82 with a windscreen I get 43 heavy wristed and a smidge less than 50 when trying to get the best mileage I can.

[Redman]

Just curious... what kind of gas mileage should one expect from a well-tuned (not quite there yet... ) 1980 GS850G??

Ask BillLloyd.
He likes to talk about getting 50mpg on his 81 850G.
(but he only goes about 45-50mph on interstate also.)

.

[talkinboutshaft]

mileage

In the last ten years of ownership, I have consistently gotten 34 mpg doing mixed riding, and I try for WFO whenever possible.

81 850 G

[Tim Tom]

I'm somewhere in the 35-45 range. Depending on how I am riding that tank. Mine is the '82 model with the 5 gallon tank, I usually refill at 160 miles or so, just to be safe but I have stretched a tank to just about 200 miles with conservative riding.

[850 Combat]

Mine get between 40 and 45, usually on the higher side. They are usually used on trips on non interstates in rural areas, so pretty much 65 or below with not that much stop and go thrown in. They get one to two MPG less than a 1000G when ridden basically side by side.

[DanTheMan]

32-40, sometimes as low as 29.5. Of course, a lot depends on loading, and WOT operation, headwinds, etc. I got down to 25mpg on my CA trip last year, loaded up riding into 45 mph headwinds doing 70 mph.

[Steve]

I only have experience with THREE 850s (you can click on the links in my sig to see them), and they are all different.

"Junior", my full-dressed '80, gets rather consistent lower-40s.

My son's '81 gets lower- to mid-40s.

"Angel", my wife's 82 L is generally in the 40s, but has gotten mid- to upper-50s on a ride through the mountains in WV and KY.

.

[GS1000S]

Mid to high 40s on highway if ridden conservatively. Wick it up hard for very long and it will go down 10+ MPG.

[Brendan W]

Done a couple of tanks now and putting in 15 litres at the 190+ mile mark. So that comes out at 48 mpg US / 58 Imp. which is as good as I ever got from the Z650 bought new in 1981. A much lighter bike but with contact breaker ignition and the old slide carbs.
I'm worried , was expecting 48.01 mpg - do I need to rebuild the carbs to save the planet
Front is Conti tkv11 100/90 with plenty of tread so the odometer should be good?

[tkent02]

They get one to two MPG less than a 1000G when ridden basically side by side.

Interesting, probably due to the different gearing?

[Darin Jordan]

I may be doing something wrong then... because I've never gotten better than 38mpg... I've suspected that the jetting might still be a tad on the rich side, but it may just be my riding... I don't think I'm ever below 70 for long on the freeway, especially on long trips over I-90... Around town (commuting), I regularly get 36mpg, which I'm not really going to complain about...

[rustybronco]

I get 40~43 mpg on my windjammer equipped '80 GS850G.