GS Miles Per Gallon Chart ( Link )

[Steve]

I know Mr. Steve reports that his wife's 850 gets better than 50 mpg sometimes. Perhaps I should ride a little more conservatively.

BassCliff:
That trip where we got 50+ for several tanks was at the end of a trip with a rather eye-opening beginning. The trip was a long weekend with our GoldWing chapter, going to West Virginia. The group was wanting to take the freeway to get to a particular restaurant by a certain time so we could then take our time on the twisties on the rest of the way to our destination. We were running between 70 and 75 mph on the freeway, and into about a 10-15 mph headwind. Normally, she will go about 130-140 miles before putting it on reserve. First tank: 90 miles. Second tank: 95 miles. This works out to 30-32 mpg. I actualy got better mileage with my Wing on that portion of the trip (32-35 mpg) and I was carrying a passenger and pulling a trailer. I then bought a one-gallon gas can to carry in the saddlebag for the rest of the trip because where we were going, there were not gas stations on every corner.

When we slowed down for the curves on the second half of the trip, her mileage came back up into the mid-40s. Two days later, on the second day in West Virginia, mileage was into the low 50s. On the way home, there were two consecutive tanks in the 55-59 mpg range, then the last tank on the way home was about 53. No adjustments were made to the bike on this trip, I attribute the low MPG solely to the relatively high speed on the freeway and going into the wind.

I can only shake my head when I hear about the consistently high 40s and into the 50's for an 850. I would love to go on a ride with some of those high mpg machines for direct comparison.

One thing to ask is if the bike's odometer error has been calculated and the mileage corrected for it. It is different for each bike also, especially for older bikes that you can assume have had at least one and probably many speedo gear replacements. Ride a known distance (highway mile markers help here) after setting your odometer to zero. See what it reads at the end of the distance. Try to go for at least ten miles if you can. The greater the distance the easier to see the differences. If your odometer shows more than the known distance then the mileage you are computing from your odo readings is overstated. If it shows less than the known distance then you are actually getting better mileage than your calculations are telling you.

Don:
I know for a fact that the speedo drive has been replaced on her bike, I did it.
Yes, actual mileage will differ a bit, but how about a direct comparison?
On that trip, her 850 and my Wing went everywhere together.
Her odometer for the trip registered 1174.6 miles.
My Wing registered 1178 miles (no tenths on the main odometer).
The GPS registered 1184.4 miles.
That's 0.83% error on hers and 0.54% on mine. Close enough?

[duaneage]

Hals mileage specs for the Hondamatic CM400A list it as 46-52 mpg. I never got more than 42 out of mine, even on a 55 mph trip on flat roads.

I do see 48-55 on the GS650G though.

[80GS750]

my 78 gs1000 gets around 45 on a good tank.. right where it should be.

it also has pods and exhaust... so im not easy on it...

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I rode down to the Julian rally yesterday. On the way down I got 32 mpg. On the way back I got 45 mpg. Headwinds make a big difference on something as aerodynamic as a 30 year old motorcycle.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[C.V.]

Hi,

I rode down to the Julian rally yesterday. On the way down I got 32 mpg. On the way back I got 45 mpg. Headwinds make a big difference on something as aerodynamic as a 30 year old motorcycle.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

I got my best yet out of my '79 on fridays palomar ride (and a subsequent 50 miler on sat) - 39.5. Most of my previous readings were based on work commute, which was 75+ fwy speeds, and lots of city riding. usually get around 34-36 under those conditions.

[Buffalo Bill]

Before carb tuning, better mileage?

In my newbe days I was getting 46 MPG from my 82-1100G. It was not synced yet and had no power above 5000RPM, so I shifted between 4000 and 5000RPM.
After I synced the carbs it has plenty of power up to the redline, so now I wind it out and have a great time, but only 42MPGs. (No brainer).
Also a windshield will give you 10% better mileage above 45MPH.

[GQROD]

I think headwinds and aerodynamics play a major role in mpg, my mileage is still not in the 50's, but i'm a little more realistic in my expectations.

I am seeing 40mpg now which is far better than the 20 i was seeing before i snipped the plug wires to get better conection to the caps.

I also went to a 16/43 set up to bring the cruising rpms down which is great.

I imagine just highway miles i may see the venerable 50 mpg, but i can live with 40, still fiddling with the mix though so leaning it out slightly might make it better. But those with bigger engines will have better mpg since the engine doesn't have to work as hard as the smaller engines despite the cc difference.

[donimo]

mines not on there

I will post once I get mine running, be interesting to see if its any better, funny how bikes dont scale that much sometimes due to engine size...

my 50cc got 76mpg (city, 90% full throttle, 2-smoke), was rated as 130mpg, pretty weak factory estimate eh?

[maro]

My 81 650G consistently got 53-57 MPG this past sunday during a 12 hour, 500 mile trip. Only 3 hours were highway, the rest were roads doing approx 40-50 MPH.

Can't complain about that

[duaneage]

My 400 only got 44 on the same highway trip right in front. Little bikes pay a price in efficiency at 80 mph. Maybe I should have drafted you?

[donimo]

well, I dont plan on ever going over 80kph (50mph I think), its 50% of the reason I went for a 400 is the (hopefully) better city milage, any 400 gs owners keep track of their mpg's?

[ChemistryRocks]

My '83 1100GL gets anywhere between 46-48 mi/US gal. Granted I barely ever crack the throttle any significant distance, but I'm still getting used to the difference of torque from my old GPz 550. To add to that, my trips usually average 35-60 mi/hr, so are pretty fuel efficient speeds as well.

[MelodicMetalGod]

I think headwinds and aerodynamics play a major role in mpg, my mileage is still not in the 50's, but i'm a little more realistic in my expectations.

I am seeing 40mpg now which is far better than the 20 i was seeing before i snipped the plug wires to get better conection to the caps.

I also went to a 16/43 set up to bring the cruising rpms down which is great.

I imagine just highway miles i may see the venerable 50 mpg, but i can live with 40, still fiddling with the mix though so leaning it out slightly might make it better. But those with bigger engines will have better mpg since the engine doesn't have to work as hard as the smaller engines despite the cc difference.

I was surprised to see the GS550ES listed at 55-65. Best I've ever gotten is mid-thirties. I'd have to find a way to realize a 57% improvement to get to the bottom of that range. Wow.

[GQROD]

I was surprised to see the GS550ES listed at 55-65. Best I've ever gotten is mid-thirties. I'd have to find a way to realize a 57% improvement to get to the bottom of that range. Wow.

See now i thought i was going crazy when i thought 35-40 was great !

Glad to see i'm not the only one with more realistic mpg on this model,

I doubt i'll see the light of day of 50 the bike is over 20 years old and definetly not owned by caring GSer's before me.

The fact that it runs well at all is a testament to this site and it's member's support!

[MelodicMetalGod]

See now i thought i was going crazy when i thought 35-40 was great !

Glad to see i'm not the only one with more realistic mpg on this model,

I doubt i'll see the light of day of 50 the bike is over 20 years old and definetly not owned by caring GSer's before me.

The fact that it runs well at all is a testament to this site and it's member's support!

...and your tenacity and determination. You've been all over that thing since the day you got it. Not sure that I would've been able to make the time and effort to bring it back from the brink. You are to be commended!
Even so, somehow, I get the feelin' that you're not quite done tinkering. Seems that you're very much enjoying the wrenching aspect of your GS. I wouldn't be surprised if you wind up with your bike worthy of a show or two. Keep up the great work!