I have owned my GL1500 SE for about three months. During this time I have completely tuned up the bike and fixed some minor problems. I have also taken two trips of over one thousand miles each and have had one nagging problem, that being poor gas milage. I am currently getting approx. 36 mph when I drive the bike at freeway speeds of 70 to 75 mph. The mileage drops to 32 mph when I drive at 85 mph on some of the desert crossing and down to 28 mpg at 95 to 105 mph on some of the empty stretches of US 50. At the 28 mph I am restricted to a range of 150 miles before the red light comes on. Even at the 36 mpg I can only go 190 miles before the light appears. This is causing me concern since I cover this distance in a little over two hours and on many of the roads out west gas stations can be a rare commodity.
Some background: prior to owning the Goldwing I owned a ST1300 ABS. This bike routinely got over 45 mph when driven at 85 + mph. I purchased the Goldwing since due to knee problems I can no longer ride in the sport riding position. I have many years of driving experience and high speeds do not bother me so please do not preach about driving too fast. The Goldwing is rock solid at 95 + mph and what is even more surprising after a slight lag at about 85 mpg this thing really wants to get up and go. In many areas in the west the Highway Patrol will not bother you for this speed and in the past I have been past by them doing over 90 mph.
Back to the issue: I have researched the issue on other pages and my mileage seems about normal for a Goldwing except for one gentleman who claims to get over 40 mpg but does not explain how. This means making some modification to get better mileage. On the ST1100 I was able to improve gas mileage by around 7% by going to radial tires. I can not find information on radial tires for the 1500. Has anyone made the switch? and if so to what tire? Has anyone modified the exhaust to get an increase in power without additional noise? Any increase in power should relate to better gas mileage. I do not want to strip the bike since I like the look and need the luggage space. Any help would be appreciated.
Some background: prior to owning the Goldwing I owned a ST1300 ABS. This bike routinely got over 45 mph when driven at 85 + mph. I purchased the Goldwing since due to knee problems I can no longer ride in the sport riding position. I have many years of driving experience and high speeds do not bother me so please do not preach about driving too fast. The Goldwing is rock solid at 95 + mph and what is even more surprising after a slight lag at about 85 mpg this thing really wants to get up and go. In many areas in the west the Highway Patrol will not bother you for this speed and in the past I have been past by them doing over 90 mph.
Back to the issue: I have researched the issue on other pages and my mileage seems about normal for a Goldwing except for one gentleman who claims to get over 40 mpg but does not explain how. This means making some modification to get better mileage. On the ST1100 I was able to improve gas mileage by around 7% by going to radial tires. I can not find information on radial tires for the 1500. Has anyone made the switch? and if so to what tire? Has anyone modified the exhaust to get an increase in power without additional noise? Any increase in power should relate to better gas mileage. I do not want to strip the bike since I like the look and need the luggage space. Any help would be appreciated.