Inithra Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Hi all. I've been using Fuelly for a couple of months now, and it seems to be showing that I get a really bad MPG from my bike compared to other people on the same model. I average 60mpg, compared to the next lowest of 83, with some reaching into the 90's!I've always had speed issues, and have been meaning to get the carb serviced to see if that resolves them, but never have the spare cash. Could the carb be causing the poor MPG too? Or should I be looking at something else? Chain and sprockets are practically brand new, tyres are at correct pressure. Bike itself is a Y reg, with just over 17k miles on the clock.Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Check your sprockets are the standard ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9bhp Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hi all. I've been using Fuelly for a couple of months now, and it seems to be showing that I get a really bad MPG from my bike compared to other people on the same model. I average 60mpg, compared to the next lowest of 83, with some reaching into the 90's!I've always had speed issues, and have been meaning to get the carb serviced to see if that resolves them, but never have the spare cash. Could the carb be causing the poor MPG too? Or should I be looking at something else? Chain and sprockets are practically brand new, tyres are at correct pressure. Bike itself is a Y reg, with just over 17k miles on the clock.Thanks! Not telling you to suck eggs but are you calculating right?Also, id check the air filter and spark plug.Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Yours has a carb, do the bikes you're comparing to have fuel injection?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9bhp Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Yours has a carb, do the bikes you're comparing to have fuel injection?? Good call! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inithra Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 The sprockets are standard - ordered and had them fitted just before I started tracking the mileage.I'm not doing the calculations, Fuelly (a website) is doing that for me - all I do is put in how many litres it took to fill the bike, and how many miles I have done since I last filled it up.As for fuel injection vs carb, yes some models have fuel injection (those are the ones that get 99+mpg) but there is a 2002 model I compared it to which is also carb that gets 83mpg, still quite an improvement on my 60!As I said, I do have speed issues (ie, it can struggle getting above 40mph, on good days I get 45, very rare occasions I get 50) that may be carb related, so I do plan to get that done when I have spare cash and the time to take it in. That may kill both birds with one stone, who knows?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 As I said, I do have speed issues (ie, it can struggle getting above 40mph, on good days I get 45, very rare occasions I get 50) that may be carb related, so I do plan to get that done when I have spare cash and the time to take it in. That may kill both birds with one stone, who knows? Thats not right.. should do almost double the speed!Something wrong that needs looking at ASAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 hows the air filter? sorry not read the thread so dont know if its mentioned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 urgh your telling me about mpg problems..i rode from my house to a local pub yesterday.. the pub is (according to google maps and my sat nav), 11.2 miles away..I started my bike up with the fuel guage needle exactly on half way line..Rode to the pub and back, so 22.4 miles, and im on the red...and it was all 5th gear cruising at 40 - 45mph riding, along the bumpy roads...I rode to cambs bike meeting the tuesday just gone, and to cambridge tuesday morning..which works out to be roughly 92 miles... and it cost me 30 fricken quid in petrol on a 125!!!!!it used to do about 80-90 miles to a gallon!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 which works out to be roughly 92 miles... and it cost me 30 fricken quid in petrol on a 125!!!!!I get about 120miles from 18quid on my S1000RR at not so politically correct speeds.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 whats MPG on a sports bike ooooo look fuel light I need fuel ..................100 miles or so later oooo shit I need fuel again........but I have a grin like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 whats MPG on a sports bike ooooo look fuel light I need fuel ..................100 miles or so later oooo shit I need fuel again........but I have a grin like this Yep, doesn't bother me.. Its still cheaper than beer and I spend more on that than petrol these days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inithra Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 hows the air filter? sorry not read the thread so dont know if its mentioned Speed problems have been there since I bought the bike, had it serviced a month or two after I got it, when they replaced the Air and Oil filters, changed the oil, put in a new Spark plug and did something that had the word "tappets"/"tappits" in the sentence? Made zero difference to the performance.It goes fine in 1st and 2nd, accelerates normally, same as my last bike (that got stolen) did. I can get to 35 in 2nd, then change up to 3rd and can feel power drop off - unless I quickly change up to 4th, the bike will normally slow DOWN from 35 to 30 in 3rd. When in 4th, I usually get up to 40 fairly easily, anything more than that isn't acceleration so much as momentum. On a long flat fairly straight road speed gradually increases, but too many bends means staying around 40, any incline means speed dropping off quickly, and I usually have to drop down to 2nd to maintain 30mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 You have to skip through 3rd gear or the bike slows down?.......sounds like you've got a duff gearbox mate..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 yeah it sounds backwards!! what happens if you go from 4th to 3rd do you speed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9bhp Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 whats MPG on a sports bike ooooo look fuel light I need fuel ..................100 miles or so later oooo shit I need fuel again........but I have a grin like this Yep, doesn't bother me.. Its still cheaper than beer and I spend more on that than petrol these days.. HAHAYep, they can drill a hole halfway around the globe and ship it to us in a convinient location to fill our tanks.Yet.. its more expensive to pour beer in your pint glass.... astounding.Sorry for hijacking thread.Yep, as its been said, it does sound like a gearbox issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 this could be stand stand switch i know it sounds stupid but suzuki do strange things with them i would bypass it and the clutch switch as they both can cause problems a easy test and put back after if it make no difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 this could be stand stand switch i know it sounds stupid but suzuki do strange things with them i would bypass it and the clutch switch as they both can cause problems a easy test and put back after if it make no difference and suzuki do strange things with clutch switches!! never bypass a clutch switch on a suzuki!! although this is a carbed bike though on injected bikes they have neutral maps and the bike knows when the clutch is pulled and uses the neutral map wgich is not a good thing when riding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inithra Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 I have suspected that the gearbox might be knackered, but am hoping getting the carb serviced will fix the problem, as this should be cheaper? I've seen people asking for help with almost the exact same problem, and seen suggestions including cleaning the jets, resetting the float and similar, but nothing from somebody who had the problem about what caused/fixed it!One thing to consider is that this is not a powerful 125 to start with! All the reviews I read on it said not to expect much over 50/55, or that getting over those speeds takes a lot of work, and the max speed was only ever said by Suzuki to be 65. So I am losing 10-15mph, not 30-40, which is why I was hoping it might just be the carb.If/when I do get it sorted I will make sure to put here what did it for the next guy like me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9bhp Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Just clean the carb yourself, just take it apart, clean and put to gether how you found it.Its not as hard as you thing... loads of guide videos on youtube.Hope you get it sorted mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Have you checked the basics, like wheels free to spin, brakes not binding etc etc.Does the bike freewheel easisly or does it slow down rapidly when you pull the clutch?How's the sparkplug looking??Worth through the carb cleaning it and resetting it to factory defaults and then see where you are.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inithra Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Getting into the egine and trying to do it myself isn't really practical. Yes I have a Haynes, but I wouldn't even know what the carb looks like!The spark plug looks fine to me. I had the problems before a service which replaced the plug, and it was still there after too, so I have my doubts about the spark plug being the cause.I'm heading back to the home town for my 30th next week, so am going to ride it round to a mate of mines. He builds custom bikes, so while not a mechanic per se he at least can show me how to take it apart, tell me which bits to clean and help me put it all back together again. I've definitely spent birthdays doing worse! Shame about the 200 mile ride there, with a max speed of 50 if it's running well. Going to set off at 3am to avoid traffic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumor_uk Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 tappets ... you set them up? is that the same as valve clearance? if you read the forums on fuelly some people are die hard on there. switching off the engine down hills, pumping the tyres dangerously high, taking parts off the bike etc. so don't expect to get the higher figures if you're not actively trying to save fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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