Increasing MPG

essjay · Jul 22, 2012

In about a month or so my 2 mile commute (I usually cycle) is going to turn into a permanent 60 mile round trip and I'm seeing can I justify keeping the 1150GS. While the GS will be great for the first 23 miles, it will be awful for the final 7 - straight through the millde of the city centre. I've been using it for the last two weeks as I'm on site with a client (again through the city) and it's just too big and heavy for that purpose in addition to being not too nimble through the gaps in cars.

So I've been looking at other bikes which might do the city part better as lets face it, almost any bike can do the A roads and motorway leg. Other bikes are the Versys, NT700 (probably too big again) and the new NC700x. Also all those bikes will probably do around 70mpg.

So to justify the GS, I'm thinking I might need to try and squeeze a few more MPG out of it. Any tips or tricks? Will an exhaust system help (have stock on now), power commander etc?

ELIMINATOR · Jul 22, 2012

On the Motorway, ride a bit slower? I can get mine up to 55mpg, but, I'm really gentle on the throttle.

iftikartaxis · Jul 22, 2012

type

HONDA 90 perfect :beerjug:

bowser · Jul 22, 2012

I have no idea what on earth you are talking about, I commute each day on mine 12 miles through London with a set of verns world beaters, no difficulty at all, I still get about 45 to the gallon as opposed to the 50 I get on a run.

But any saving in fuel would be lost in the purchase price of a new bike and it would be years before you recoupe,

richie · Jul 22, 2012

bowser said:
I have no idea what on earth you are talking about, I commute each day on mine 12 miles through London with a set of verns world beaters, no difficulty at all, I still get about 45 to the gallon as opposed to the 50 I get on a run.

But any saving in fuel would be lost in the purchase price of a new bike and it would be years before you recoupe,

Agreed, had no problem commuting in Bruxelles with my old GS, or this year with the Vara for that matter. It is yours and paid for, now use it :rob

Uncle Crumpet · Jul 22, 2012

Zero the trip meter every second tankfull! Makes a huge difference!

Fanum · Jul 22, 2012

If you're riding a bike like a GS and your primary concern is MPG, I reckon you've lost the plot :blast

Get a modern Chinese scoot for a grand on the road, use it for 3 years until the warranty runs out then throw it in a skip......you'll still be better off than trying to get better MPG from a GS.

PS yes, you can tune a GS or any basic agricultural engine design to get max MPG, but long term, it will burn out valves, you'll spend so many hours doing it (and what's your hourly rate, to put that in perspective? ) and generally not enjoy the bike so much that it just ain't fucking worth it :rob

80% of motorcycles are not about MPG or efficiency, they are about fun and the illusion of freedom.

essjay · Jul 22, 2012

I'll give the GS a go probably for the first week or so and assess the MPG. As it stands, a yearly train ticket price equates to commuting 2 days per week in fuel, but the bike is 33% faster......

I agree, trying to get better mpg from the GS is flogging a dead horse.

Fanum · Jul 22, 2012

bowser said:
I have no idea what on earth you are talking about, I commute each day on mine 12 miles through London with a set of verns world beaters, no difficulty at all,

Filtering is a state of mind. :thumb2

I used to do half a circuit+ of the M25 everyday, north or south, and M11, M20 etc etc......

If your bars fit through, and you can drop that imaginary line two feet, your arse will go through......even if it won't, as long as your bars fit through and you have Vernatechs on, you'll leave nothing behind but a few scratches on the car and a grin on your face :thumb2

Irresponsible, illegal, antisocial, FUCK YEAH!

Don't worry about filtering....and don't worry about MPG......rationalise that by thinking how much an hour you would charge on a job/earn on a job, then see how much you save in time on your journey.....See? You're quids in already!!

Steptoe · Jul 22, 2012

Keep the revs below 4k.

And get a standard GS gearbox, not the adv spec box.
With an ADV tank fitted it makes a 5ltr difference for the same miles with every fill up.

essjay · Jul 22, 2012

Steptoe said:
Keep the revs below 4k.

And get a standard GS gearbox, not the adv spec box.
With an ADV tank fitted it makes a 5ltr difference for the same miles with every fill up.

So the ADV tank with it's extra weight and drag kills you by 5L per fill up?

Crosshair · Jul 22, 2012

I had time to muse this very issue today on a 2 1/2 hour motorway slog from Swansea to Newbury on my 1150gs.
If I had to go back to commuting, i'd buy another Suzuki V-Strom DL650

Its damn near as roomy, as comfy, used to to do 60+ mpg no matter how hard I thrashed it, giving a 250-280 mile tank range! Was also easier to filter on. The mirrors were amazing too.
Yes, it did have a chain but I NEVER adjusted it other than at tyre changes. It was still fine when I sold it at 20k odd miles.

My bike history is FZS600 Fazer, k7 V-strom, Yamaha xt660z and now the 1150 gs and whilst I love the extra oomph of the Beemer, the Strom was the best (and the ugliest) of them all :rob

essjay · Jul 23, 2012

Crosshair said:
I had time to muse this very issue today on a 2 1/2 hour motorway slog from Swansea to Newbury on my 1150gs.
If I had to go back to commuting, i'd buy another Suzuki V-Strom DL650

Its damn near as roomy, as comfy, used to to do 60+ mpg no matter how hard I thrashed it, giving a 250-280 mile tank range! Was also easier to filter on. The mirrors were amazing too.
Yes, it did have a chain but I NEVER adjusted it other than at tyre changes. It was still fine when I sold it at 20k odd miles.

My bike history is FZS600 Fazer, k7 V-strom, Yamaha xt660z and now the 1150 gs and whilst I love the extra oomph of the Beemer, the Strom was the best (and the ugliest) of them all

Have to say I did love my VStrom 1000......

kennyc · Jul 23, 2012

F800GS anyone? slimmer and better mpg personally I've always been happy with the 50+mpg I get from my 11RT and with the panniers off and just a top box, if the pots go through the gap I'm golden

Fanum · Jul 23, 2012

superscoot (Tmax , burgman, silverwing etc etc)

That's what I'd go for if I was planning a year of commuting

Keith Chapman · Jul 23, 2012

The GS will work fine in the city , filtering is no big problem, just ignore the rattles when the bike starts to get a bit warm. Once back on the open road it will soon cool down again.

Steptoe · Jul 23, 2012

essjay said:
So the ADV tank with it's extra weight and drag kills you by 5L per fill up?

No, that's not what i said.

Wilsdorf · Jul 27, 2012

I would say either enjoy the GS for what it is -a bike that can do anything. Or buy a cheap C90 for the commute.

essjay · Jul 27, 2012

Cheers for the wise words......

Like I said, I'm going to give the GS a blast for a while and take note after that. Something like a Burgman might do the job and some are very cheap (just over a grand). So maybe keep the GS and run a hack alongside it.

essjay · Aug 30, 2012

essjay said:
Cheers for the wise words......

Like I said, I'm going to give the GS a blast for a while and take note after that. Something like a Burgman might do the job and some are very cheap (just over a grand). So maybe keep the GS and run a hack alongside it.

First full week of commuting and the GS is doing well. 56.74mpg going by the odo which I'm guessing is 10% optimistic. I'm happy for now with even 50mpg.....

Got 252 miles to a tank yesterday and only took 20 litres so should be good for another 20 or so (again, going by the optimistic odo)

Increasing MPG

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