An mpg q and a bit of reassurance??

Paulbee

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Hi everyone,

I new to the forum and new to the world of the 1100GS!

I bought a 1998 GS at the end of August. I had intended on getting a weestrom as my first bike, but for various reasons I ended up with an 1100GS!

The bike has 62000 on the clock and MOT show that it has done 4-5k per year. I am getting used to the size, weight and power and actually really enjoying riding it. I mostly use it for commuting - a 12 mile trip each way which sees me doing a bit of stop starting in the morning, but then a clear run at 50-70 mph until work. The return journey tends to have slower moving traffic in the last half of the journey so much more 2nd and 1st gear action. Why am I telling you all this?? Well I seem to be getting poor fuel economy. I think I am getting around 31-33mpg. I usually get 130 -140 miles before the fuel light goes on and I top it right up. I am about 85 kilos and carry a back box with no more than 10 kilos in.

My question here then is - is that a similar mpg to what other people get? It came with a remus revolution on it (although I also have the BMW exhaust). I took it on a dyno rod yesterday and that showed it was burning slightly lean, which is what the guy expected. No blue exhaust at top revs, just black, but a bit of misfiring around the 1500 rev mark. He reckons the engine was giving power and torque of nearly the maximum expected and said that was good for an engine with this mileage on.

The guy reckons I should put a fuel injector cleaner in and see how that goes. What do you think and if so - any suggestions as to which one? He also reckons a set of new sparks, although the guy I bought it off said he had replaced with BMW plugs about 2000 miles ago before a trip into Europe.

I was putting about 100ml of 10/40 semi synthetic in each time I was tanking up, but the oil was never about the red dot. I stopped doing this though is it seemed excessive from what I had seen on the forums about oil consumption. Again it does have 62k on the clock, so would that seem normal to you? The engine makes a regular clicking / ticking sound which is noticeable when idling at lights etc and a bit of whining when starting off, but most people reckon that is the nature of the beast.

The comments made by the guy I brought it off (an advanced riding instructor) was that I should adjust the knob on the seat to increase mpg.....I am a new rider, but I do try and keep revs between 2-4k, so don't think I am pushing the engine hard, but it could just be me!

Sorry this is quite long and rambling, but I wanted to give some background info. It might be that the mpg is right (just seems low compared to the 45mpg I have seen when looking at the bike specs) for the type of riding and rider it has, but thought I would check. I do like the bike, but in the back of my mind I am wondering if there is something serious lurking that I will need to sort out.

Thanks for any thoughts /help you can give.

Paul
 
Hi Paul I'm in Sheffield also (Chapeltown) no matter how I ride I nearly always get 50mpg or more unless I have all panniers on doing 85-90 then it drops to about 40-45mpg. Your mpg seems a little high it may just be it needs a good service and everything setting up correctly eg throttle bodies , valve clearances etc.

Good luck and enjoy a great bike. Tony

Ps never check or top the oil up after just turning engine off it needs at least 15 min before you check the oil level to give it time to drain from the oil cooler etc although these engines are known for burning a little oil.
 
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I have had my 1100 from 67K I think. It now has 105K on it.
I have a Remus silencer.
When I first got it I was getting 50 mpg no matter how it was ridden.
After I removed the cat code plug (which gave much better low rpm riding) my consumption dropped to 45mpg, which again seems to stay the same however I ride it.
It doesn`t use any oil and never has.
 
It's too low.
I have one too (albeit for sale now) - 70 K miles (not relevant ... more miles may actually help) , on purchase (50K) was typically 38 to 42 range .. tried all sorts of things (one change at a time) to improve .. eventually the thing which had real impact , was adjusting the CO pot ... which I had (wrongly) assumed would only impact very low speed running ... got it up to high 40's as an average by doing this. Rarely get over 50mpg , rarely less than 46.

good luck with sorting !

PS - essentially zero oil consumption ... may have added oil once between services.
 
Hi

I get a regular 50mpg plus on my 1100 Sounds like yours needs a good tune/fettle

Just put a good mineral 20-50 oil in it I use Silkolene Silokolube it meets all the specs
 
".........adjust knob on the seat to increase mpg " mmmmm - I wonder what that means??
 
Hi Paul, definitely too low. Even going absolutely mental, commuting through London doesn't get it that low. Should be at least 40mpg, even ridden hard. Injector cleaner might make a difference, very much doubt whether new sparks would. First thing I'd check is the air filter. If that's blocked it could well account for this sort of fuel consumpion. Otherwise, try a proper, thorough service.
 
way too low...sound like mr dyno rod operator doesn't know much about bikes...should stick to plumbing..:rolleyes:
 
Thanks everybody for your help and advice. Really appreciate it. I thought the mpg was way too low. The dyno guy did mention the air filter - the new sparks were to try and sort out the slight misfire at low revs.

I will look at getting it properly serviced and tuned and make sure the CO pot is checked as well. Also need to get new tyres now (chip in yer thoughts on that as well if you can!!).

Really starting to enjoy the bike so don't want to sell it. Hoping some TLC will get it sorted without breaking the bank!!

Will let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Paul
 
I'm not sure it's too low.

I've got an 1150 ADV and live in london. When outside london or touring I get over 300 miles before the light comes on. I commute every day in london (18 miles/day) and if I get to 200 miles without the light coming on I'm doing well.

I'm pretty sure that there's nowt wrong with my bike but it does drink a tank in around 33% less miles in this sort of riding.

I've not really worked out MPG, but could that not be a corresponding drop to Paulbee's?
 
".........adjust knob on the seat to increase mpg " mmmmm - I wonder what that means??

CO pot, under the seat, accessable through a hole in the rear mudguard.

I had an 1100GS that i used as loan bike that only did 120-140 miles per tank, regardless of how it was ridden.
Totally standard with a nice quiet original exhaust.
But it was the fastest 1100Gs i've ever ridden. All my customers used to comment on how it used to fly along.
The mpg was a small price to pay for the performance.

Obviously if you haven't got the extra performance ( a remus on an 1100 will make it sound faster, but it won't actually go any faster :D) then you're fecked.

Also, if you want high MPG keep the revs below 3500.
 
I had an 1100GS that i used as loan bike that only did 120-140 miles per tank, regardless of how it was ridden. Totally standard with a nice quiet original exhaust.
But it was the fastest 1100Gs i've ever ridden. All my customers used to comment on how it used to fly along.
The mpg was a small price to pay for the performance.

I remember that one. That fuel gauge used to fall awfully quickly from 3 bars to feck-all (as I discovered on the A3 bringing it back)!
 
What the other posts have said, and put the standard exhaust back on that is what it was designed to work with if nothing else it will give you a quieter ride.
 
another thing to check, if you have a beige ccp make sure its the right way round as it will fit in 180 degree's out giving a much richer map, resulted in a drop of 8mpg for me, i normally get 48mpg measured from the sat nav not the speedo.
 
CO pot, under the seat, accessable through a hole in the rear mudguard.

I had an 1100GS that i used as loan bike that only did 120-140 miles per tank, regardless of how it was ridden.
Totally standard with a nice quiet original exhaust.
But it was the fastest 1100Gs i've ever ridden. All my customers used to comment on how it used to fly along.
The mpg was a small price to pay for the performance.

Obviously if you haven't got the extra performance ( a remus on an 1100 will make it sound faster, but it won't actually go any faster :D) then you're fecked.

Also, if you want high MPG keep the revs below 3500.

Similar experiences with a really nice standard 1100, adjusted the CO pot using a meter, changed the CO pot, everything checked and set correctly yet it still used a lot of fuel, but boy did it go well!:)
 
My standard 1100 does between 45 and 55 mpg. In all honesty I have to try quite hard to get it below 50 - the 45 happened a few weeks ago on a two up fully loaded 380 mile thrash down from Zeebrugge through Germany - I was with a mate on his 1200 and we were cruising at 80+.

If anything I think it actually runs a bit rich - a couple of months ago I adjusted the CO pot by ear after advice on here and when I checked it at a local MOT station it was running lovely and smooth at 4.5% and any attempt to drop it towards 2% made it run rough so I left it where it was.

No idea how the performance compares to other 1100's as I've never ridden another one :)
 
I have a 2002 GS - 40k, get about 180 miles between fills (light on and brim filled) has been as high as 210 and as low as 150 (motorway run at 90+). My 2005 GAS (43k) is worse - 220 to red light (but that is a 30 litre tank) - and that is keeping speed/revs down. In for a service today at ABW...so hopefully better tomorrow and 300 mile range.
 
Seems the legendary oilhead tank range is a myth then

My XCountry with only a 9.5 litre tank will easily see 150 miles to empty
 


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