GS1000E only getting 22 mpg! Does this sound right???

[babcockdonald]

OK, here is the situation. I have a 1979 GS1000E model that is running great, no hesitations, idling at around 1200 rpm's, plenty of power when I twist the throttle, carbs were just cleaned...

I am only getting 22 miles per gallon out of the bike right now, which makes me think that the bike is running rich. However, I am not getting any of the symptoms that it is running rich, gasy smell when driving, hesitation on quick acceleration, trouble running at low idle (the bike has never stalled on me at low idle since the carbs were cleaned).

Nothing was done to the jetting, so I don't know what to look for. The bike was getting 30+ mpg before the carb cleaning, but the bike ran like crap (stalled out at low idle, big hesitation when quickly trying to accelerate, constant gasy smell when riding) and I knew it was running rich before the carb fix.

What should I be looking for to fix this "problem"? Other then the poor gas mileage the bike is running great!

[scotty]

nothing is that bad wow

Plug colour please.

[babcockdonald]

plugs are clean and shiny. had them regapped and cleaned out about a month ago when I pulled the bike out. checked them after running the bike after the carb work and they are still shiny.

[Road_Clam]

OK, here is the situation. I have a 1979 GS1000E model that is running great, no hesitations, idling at around 1200 rpm's, plenty of power when I twist the throttle, carbs were just cleaned...

I am only getting 22 miles per gallon out of the bike right now, which makes me think that the bike is running rich. However, I am not getting any of the symptoms that it is running rich, gasy smell when driving, hesitation on quick acceleration, trouble running at low idle (the bike has never stalled on me at low idle since the carbs were cleaned).

Nothing was done to the jetting, so I don't know what to look for. The bike was getting 30+ mpg before the carb cleaning, but the bike ran like crap (stalled out at low idle, big hesitation when quickly trying to accelerate, constant gasy smell when riding) and I knew it was running rich before the carb fix.

What should I be looking for to fix this "problem"? Other then the poor gas mileage the bike is running great!

Very possibly a stuck open choke plunger. How's the bike accelerate? Does it struggle to reach peak rpm's ? You could also have a bad needle/seat assembly. Do you ever smell raw fuel?

[babcockdonald]

It accelerates great. The bike is running with out any noticeable problems. Like is said no hesitation on acceleration, no sputtering on low idle, idle is set to 1200 rpm's, runs at about 3500 rpm's doing 60 in 5th gear, no gas smell while riding, very minimal gas smell from the air pods even after a 1-2 hour ride, no crud or anything on the plugs (they look almost brand new still), etc...

The bike is running the best that it ever has, with the exception of the gas mileage.

[Guest]

Are the pods a new add-on, or were they on there before? Also, did you vacuum synch the carbs after the rebuild?

[hp1000s]

Odometer erros?

[hp1000s]

Ooops..."error"

[babcockdonald]

the pods were already on the bike. I didn't tear the carbs down that much to have to resync them. only adjust the float levels. i had one that was stick a little and 2 that were just a little off. they weren't even dirtty enough to tear down all the way. they just had a little excess gas residue from being floaded out.

odometer errors are not possible. the only places i have gone is back and forth to work 4.5 times. 12 miles each way for a total of 108 miles for an average gas usage of 21.6 miles per gallon.

[Hoomgar]

Unfortunately the GS1000 is notorious for this when it has been modified if not setup correctly. If it has a 4into1 exhaust and POD filters then low 20's MPG is actually very normal. All of mine did that as well as many others I know of. The trick is in the jetting. I am guessing that you bought the bike jetted incorrectly, not your fault.

The list of mods is critical to be able to even start. I see you say it has POD filters but what about the exhaust? What carbs are on it? Is it still points and condenser or has it been converted to electronic ignition? We need to know these things first. Then we can go from there. I had to rejet my 1000 for the same deal, I was getting about 20 t0 22 MPG. After I finally got it right, it gets high 30s and on the highway will give mid 40s. I am told that even better is possible but that it is very difficult with a header and PODs.

Give me the scoop on your ride man and I'll see if I can help you sort it. It is fixable

[J_C]

Generally you want to do an MPG calculation based on multiple tank fill ups and average them. Because of so many varying factors (stop and go traffic versus relaxed highway speed, RPMs, etc) there is just way too much room for it to be on one end or the other. I remember being shocked at the gas mileage of my SV, only to find that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was after factoring in a few more fill ups.

Not saying you don't have a problem, but continue keeping track

[babcockdonald]

I don't have a clue about the jetting. I haven't dug in that deep and wouldn't now what I was looking at even if I had. The owner about 2-3 people before me did some things with the bike, like putting the pods on and I was told that it was bored out to an 1150 but I don't have the resources to back that claim up. No documentation about were the work was done and what the results of a dyno were.

As far as I can tell it is the stock carbs with the stock 4-1 pipe. The only thing the last owner did to the exhuast was to try and paint it black. Did a botched job at best. The paint is all flaking off.

On to the carbs question, is there a stock number that should be on the carbs to tell me if they are stock or not? What do the points and condenser look like??? What would it look like if it had electronic ignition??? All I know about it is that I turn the key, put the choke on slightly (if it has been sitting cold for several hours or more), put the cutoff switch to the run, and push the ignition button and it starts. Other then that I'm not sure.

[babcockdonald]

JC - i have been keeping track for 3 weeks now and the mileage that I am getting per tank ranges from 105 (if I get stuck at a lot of lights) to 120 (if I am going steady and only stopping at a few lights) and that leaves about .25 - .5 gallons of play room each time.

[Road_Clam]

Unfortunately the GS1000 is notorious for this when it has been modified if not setup correctly. If it has a 4into1 exhaust and POD filters then low 20's MPG is actually very normal. All of mine did that as well as many others I know of. The trick is in the jetting. I am guessing that you bought the bike jetted incorrectly, not your fault.

The list of mods is critical to be able to even start. I see you say it has POD filters but what about the exhaust? What carbs are on it? Is it still points and condenser or has it been converted to electronic ignition? We need to know these things first. Then we can go from there. I had to rejet my 1000 for the same deal, I was getting about 20 t0 22 MPG. After I finally got it right, it gets high 30s and on the highway will give mid 40s. I am told that even better is possible but that it is very difficult with a header and PODs.

Give me the scoop on your ride man and I'll see if I can help you sort it. It is fixable

Holy crapp running GS1000 batman!!!! Low 20's ???? I am currently averaging 41 mpg on my 1100, piped and slightly richened up. My MPG # should increase a tad, as I just swapped from a 42T rear sprocket to a 40T. Jeez, those 1000's are fuel pigs respectively.

[Billyboy]

What should I get?

What mileage can I expect from a bone stock 78 GS1000? It's all original, no mods, stock 2 into 1 x 2 exhaust, Stock sprockets.