• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

How to make an 850 able to tour.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Triam
  • Start date Start date
T

Triam

Guest
So, I have been working on my 850 since I got it and I've finally decided what my goal is. I want to take my 850 on the 600 mile round trip that my family makes every year for the fourth of July.

My question is what do I need to do to it so that I don't have to worry about it breaking down.

So far I've done the following:
Cleaned the carbs
Complete valve job.
Valve adjustment
Oil change (all three)
New air filter

I've got planned the following:
Install sh-775 regulator
Switch front wheel direction (it's rolling backwards)
Rebuild brake components and install stainless steel braided lines.

Sorry if there's already a thread on this. I couldn't get the search function to work well.
 
Looks like you have all the bases covered, tires good?
Carry a toolkit, some spares (plugs, quart of oil etc.) and away you go!
 
Are you SURE the front wheel is backwards? :-k

The wheel itself is different on each side of the hub. The left side will have the notches for the speedo drive, the right side does not.

It is possible to swap the brake disk direction, so check the wheel itself, don't depend on the directionality of the brakes.

.
 
Steve said:
Are you SURE the front wheel is backwards? :-k

The wheel itself is different on each side of the hub. The left side will have the notches for the speedo drive, the right side does not.

It is possible to swap the brake disk direction, so check the wheel itself, don't depend on the directionality of the brakes.

.
Click to expand...

Oh, ok. The discs are backwards so I assumed that I just needed to take it off and switch it. If my speedo is working does that mean that I need to take it off and just switch the discs?
 
Triam said:
Oh, ok. The discs are backwards so I assumed that I just needed to take it off and switch it. If my speedo is working does that mean that I need to take it off and just switch the discs?
Click to expand...
There is a good chance that it's only the discs, but look for the notches in the wheel hub to be sure.

Back to your original question: How to make an 850 able to tour.
Click on the link in my sig that shows my 850. That was taken somewhere in Vermont, on our way to meed with member Lurch12_2000 and a few of his friends for a tour around part of New England. Yes, I said "our way" because Mrs. Steve was riding with me. That was a 750-mile, three-day weekend that was all done on the 850 with absolutely no problems. By the way, fuel mileage averaged 41 for the trip. :D

Lurchride2_zps89d0d1a5.jpg


.
 
The disc works fine either way. I had two rights on one bike for a year or so, no one but me ever noticed. Or was it two lefts?
 
Steve said:
There is a good chance that it's only the discs, but look for the notches in the wheel hub to be sure.

Back to your original question: How to make an 850 able to tour.
Click on the link in my sig that shows my 850. That was taken somewhere in Vermont, on our way to meed with member Lurch12_2000 and a few of his friends for a tour around part of New England. Yes, I said "our way" because Mrs. Steve was riding with me. That was a 750-mile, three-day weekend that was all done on the 850 with absolutely no problems. By the way, fuel mileage averaged 41 for the trip. :D


.
Click to expand...

I'm versed in your opinion of fairings. I love the oil cooler, and maybe I should put one of those on as well. I'm not a big fan of the look of the hard bags, although I understand the comfort. It's the same problem that I have with the fairing. Last time I checked my mileage I got about 30 per gallon.... Not fantastic.
 
Triam said:
I love the oil cooler, ...
Click to expand...
I have an oil cooler??? :eek:

When did that happen??? :-k

I just looked at that picture a bit closer and saw what you might think is a cooler. Right next to the right frame tube is the mount for the fairing. The same thing can be seen on the other side, looking like the tubes on either side of a cooler. Between them are two horns, which make a shadow behind them. That darkness can definitely be interpreted as the rows of a cooler. :o

Trust me, there is no oil cooler on that bike. :-\\\

.
 
Triam said:
Last time I checked my mileage I got about 30 per gallon.... Not fantastic.
Click to expand...
Your bike needs some work, which might include some adjustment to the nut that holds the handlebars. :eek:

In local town riding, my mileage will dip into the upper 30s. Out on the highway, I have hit 44. That trip was fully-loaded and two-up, with an average of 41.

My wife's 850L (also pictured in my sig) is regularly in the low- to mid-40s, and has gotten over 55 mpg on several tanks on one trip to West Virginia a few years ago. :D

.
 
Steve said:
Your bike needs some work, which might include some adjustment to the nut that holds the handlebars. :eek:

In local town riding, my mileage will dip into the upper 30s. Out on the highway, I have hit 44. That trip was fully-loaded and two-up, with an average of 41.

My wife's 850L (also pictured in my sig) is regularly in the low- to mid-40s, and has gotten over 55 mpg on several tanks on one trip to West Virginia a few years ago. :D

.
Click to expand...

Does that mean that there's something wrong with my bike if I'm getting bad mileage?
 
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.
 
tkent02 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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?
 
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.
 
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. :eek: (This was with her 850L, not my 850G'K'.)

.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top