How to make an 850 able to tour.

[Triam]

It's an 850. It won't be as good at fuel efficiency as an 1100, or a 750. They just aren't.

It should be in the 40s cruising at moderate speeds anyway.

That's the question. I got 30 miles per gallon last time I checked. That's a 25% difference with what Steve got on his bike. Does that big of a difference mean that there's something wrong?

[tkent02]

Most likely a lot of different things a little bit wrong. Everything from tires to carburetors affects mileage, literally hundreds of things. Start on one end and maintain everything you can find. Carburetors having problems will likely be the biggest issue.

[Steve]

Do all the "normal" stuff:
- clean the carbs (properly),
- adjust the valves,
- make sure the electrics are in good shape.
- Make sure the brakes don't drag,
- keep the tires inflated.
- Make sure the nut that holds the handlebars is properly adjusted,
- ride sanely.
You should get into the 40s.

Yeah, hard riding or even just riding fast (75-80 mph) into a headwind (of about 20 mph) will drag it down to 28 mpg (guess how we know this), but later on that same trip, we got three consecutive tanks over 55 mpg, with the best one right at 59. (This was with her 850L, not my 850G'K'.)

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