Anyone local SoCal Carb Gurus/ Fuel economy ideas?

[sonicgroove]

Hi, All

I just went out on a long cruise yesterday with my friend. I am getting poor gas milage. based on my calculations, since my speedo doesn't work, I'm averaging about 30ish mpg. I would at least like to be hitting 50. I calculated this by filling up b4 the cruise and asked my friend to mark his milage. After about midway through the cruise I filled up again which was about 1.5 gals and asked my friend how many miles we traveled, 52, then just divide it by 1.5 and came to 34mpg. Is there anyone is SoCal who can help me out with carbs? I'm new to carbs but am willing to learn. I do have some technical know how just not regarding carbs. If you have a set of carbtune syncs and/or colortune I'd really appreciate it. :grin: I'm in LA area.
I'm thinking about changing the gearing, what are your thoughts? Do you think the 550 has enough power to holdup to longer gear ratios. I believe stock is 14/47 for my bike.

-groovin

[salty_monk]

Sounds like you're MPG is low... I get about the same on my 1000G & I know for a fact mine is running rich.

Similar location too.

Dan

[BassCliff]

Not until I absolutely have to

Hi sonicgroove,

I've not a minute of experience with carbs. The only reason I can spell carburator is because I have a spell checker. :-D

I will be checking valve clearances, bleeding my brakes, and changing fork springs soon. I'm putting off carbs until I have to. I average 36-38mpg on my 850.

I have talked to this person, The Bike Whisperer, and he seems like a stand-up guy. I haven't used him yet, but you might want to give him a call if you need serious work on your carbs and get no other offers of help.

There's been lots of threads about changing front and rear sproket sizes but I seem to recall the general consensus is that the factory ratios are the best.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Guest]

Where are you at?

[sonicgroove]

Thanks for the info. I really want to sync my carbs and color tune if anyone local has the means of doing so, I'm apprecaite it :-D.

I, too, also know I'm running rich. I believe I posted pics of my plugs on another thread.

Eagle Rock to North Hollywood.

-groovin

[KEITH KRAUSE]

If you inherited the problem it could be as simple as poor mixture screw adjustments from a PO? Lots of other things could cause it too. Did it just start getting poor mileage or did you inherit the problem?
I can't guess exactly, but if stock, a CV carbed 550 should get around high-40's when cruising on a longer ride, maybe a bit better.
Check basics first.
Clean air filter?
Correct plugs, gapped correctly? How do they look?
Mixture screws set to typical factory settings...about 1 to 1 1/2 turns out? Try adjusting them using the highest rpm method if any doubt. General cruising around is usually at 1/4 throttle or less, which is greatly effected by the mixture screw adjustment, since they are a part of the pilot circuit. Be careful if the screws seem stuck. The heads strip easily.
Any fuel leaking from carb overflow lines to ground at all?
Does oil smell like gas in the crankcase?
Other things that can contribute to less mileage are low inflated tires. Try at least 32 psi to 36 psi. You may be surprised how quickly MC tires lose pressure.
A too tight chain will also rob a little mileage. It should have approx' 1" slack at the mid-point between sprockets when on the centerstand.

[sonicgroove]

The problem was not inherited, it came with the bike. Whats PO? Filter is clean, plugs are new and gaps correctly and are showing a dark rich mixture. Still not sure about the mixture screws. I don't know what the highest RPM method is, if you could link me to a how to or explain it that would be great. I don't see any gas leaking nor do I smell gas. The tires as well as the chain are good.

Is anyone near me? Everyone seems to be pretty far.

-groovin

[DanTheMan]

The problem was not inherited, it came with the bike. Whats PO? Filter is clean, plugs are new and gaps correctly and are showing a dark rich mixture. Still not sure about the mixture screws. I don't know what the highest RPM method is, if you could link me to a how to or explain it that would be great. I don't see any gas leaking nor do I smell gas. The tires as well as the chain are good.

Is anyone near me? Everyone seems to be pretty far.

-groovin

inherited from PO: translation: inherited from Previous Owner. You might be running too rich, causing the low mileage problem.....
But, if it's fun to ride, runs well otherwise, who cares???????:-D\\/

[sonicgroove]

I kind of do. I was really hoping on saving gas through use of the bike. Especially commuting to and from school. My SC300 is a gas guzzler. I get 18-20 mpg. I was hoping to double or possibly triple the miles per gallon by using the bike.

Thanks for translating.

-groovin

[salty_monk]

You should be able to more than double them.....

Do a search on here. Keith gives an in depth on setting the mixture screws in a post to me. Read the GS1000G carb jetting thread.

Dan

[DanTheMan]

I kind of do. I was really hoping on saving gas through use of the bike. Especially commuting to and from school. My SC300 is a gas guzzler. I get 18-20 mpg. I was hoping to double or possibly triple the miles per gallon by using the bike.

Thanks for translating.

-groovin

I get 35-42mpg on my old 850. You should be able to attain that anyway...:-D

[sonicgroove]

Thanks, I'll do a search on that post now.

-groovin