First real pleasure ride on my new-to-me GL1100

[LukeMacPU]

I've been and ADVrider member for a few years now. Got into that when I bought my KLR... I digress.

My cousin and I took off to play some photo tag. First stop was the current tag, Putnam Park. This is a road course in rural Indiana. They host a number of events each year, most seem to be clubs and amateur races. Seems to be a nice facility.

Old tag, check!

Headed back toward the new tag... dang GPS led us through several miles of gravel. Couldn't find gravel roads on my KLR, but now that I'm on the 'Wing with my cousin riding a Soft-tail, we couldn't avoid 'em!

Arrived at the new tag a little dustier than we planned...

New tag, check!

All told, we rode about 85 miles, and it was fun. I'm really liking the GL1100 and planning a bigger trip to MI next week. My cousin was totally jealous of the comfy seat by the end of the ride. He's going to be pulling off the solo saddle and putting a more comfortable one back on his bike.

I think I'm going to regret not having a windshield before I get to MI.

[sunnbobb]

Great photos and way to go!

[Placerville]

Nice ride!

[Brant]

So this photo tag, is this some type of game or competition on ADV rider? Thats an awesome site, BTW.

[LukeMacPU]

So this photo tag, is this some type of game or competition on ADV rider? Thats an awesome site, BTW.

Just a game.

Starts with someone posting a photo of their bike by a landmark or in some specific location. You have to figure out where it is (usually with some hints) then ride your bike there and post a photo of your bike in the same spot. You then ride to a new spot, snap a photo of your bike and it someone else's turn to track down your "tag".

There really isn't a winner, but it's a fun way to find new spots to ride. You get to share photos and maybe a cool location that you know about at the same time.

[LukeMacPU]

This is sad because there are no pictures. I understand if you stop reading now.

Just put roughly 1000 miles on the ol' GL1100 in the last week. Basically in 2 days of riding with family vacation in between. The good news is the bike effortlessly ran 75-85 mph the majority of the way. The bad news is I was stopping for fuel every 120 miles!

Is that type of fuel economy normal for this bike? It is naked with no fairing/windshield. That's another sore subject, but I'll get to that in a minute. I had no luggage (Mrs. took it up in the truck with the kids a few days earlier). On the fast stretches, I hit reserve just over 100 miles. Best mpg was 130 miles and 3.87 gallons. Seems like I should do better than 33 mpg, what gives?

I've ridden long distances at highway speed on other un-faired bikes, but this was brutal. I sit so upright on this GL, that I was basically doing a mini crunch or pulling on the bars to keep from being blown over backwards. That got old fast. Definitely regret not pulling to trigger on a wind screen before the trip. My hip flexors and abs are sore along with my hands from hanging on.

Anyway, I may still be fighting a fueling issue. Just seems to take forever to pick up when swapped to reserve. First sign of sputtering I moved the pet-cock, still coasted to a stop from 80 mph before it got fuel. Just turned it over with the starter a bit on the side of the road and it fired back up. Seems that can't be normal.

This may be more of a technical post now that I'm re-reading it. Mods please move to appropriate area if needed.

Thanks in advance for any input on my odd experiences (running out of gas even though I have plenty, poor fuel economy).

[KYpondman]

I get 42 on my @1 '82 with plexifairing windshield @60 -65 MPH. Kick it up to 75-80 and MPG drops drastically.
Claude

[lcallison]

My 82, even when running hard got near 40 mpg, with fairing and bags. With the sidecar I get 29 average.

[sgwilly]

You should definitely get better mileage. I ride pretty hard and I get 37-39 mpg routinely. Nice mellow riding and I'm up around 45 mpg. While it does take a few moments to get the reserve going, you shouldn't be coming to a stop when doing 80mph. More like 60mph at the worst. Really only about 10 seconds before reserve kicks in. I'd look into replacing your fuel filter and/or cleaning your tank/petcock. Not sure if that would affect mileage but if your tank is gummed, chances are your carbs are too to some extent. You could try a can of SeaFoam MotorTreatment and see if that cures your ills. That's typically recommended as a yearly preventative maintenance measure. Just add a whole can to a full tank of gas. Then run it all out while enjoying the day.

Even a small screen to get the wind blast off your chest is a huge benefit at 70mph+ riding. I swap between a small Memphis Shades Hellcat screen and a Plexifairing 3 for cold weather or a big trip on lots of interstate.

[brokentoe]

Putnam Park. This is a road course in rural Indiana.

Putnam Park is a great place. I've been there racing with a friend and his car club.

[Brant]

I get a consistent 38 mpg on my 83. Thats an average of highway and in town, with some fast get ways. I would also encourage you to check your speedometer against a GPS unit for mileage.

[LukeMacPU]

I get a consistent 38 mpg on my 83. Thats an average of highway and in town, with some fast get ways. I would also encourage you to check your speedometer against a GPS unit for mileage.

I posted my mileage issue over in the technical section. Lots of good suggestions. I've replaced my fuel line clamps on the suction side with better ones (no more air bubbles), and I vacuum synchronized the carbs. Much smoother running below 4000 rpms now. I'm currently burning a tank of fuel with Sea foam in it. I'll check my mpg again on the next full tank.

I did compare GPS speed to speedo indicated speed and found them to be within 1 mph at 75 mph. I did not compare ODO to GPS, but speedo was pretty much dead on.