Make sure your not placing the gas pump handle all the way in the tank.. that will only give you 1/2 tank of gas. pull the end of the pump handle out and watch the gas as you fill it, when you get to the bottom of the pipe inside your gas tank stop.... don't worry, the bottom of that fill pipe is not the top of your tank.. it will momentarily begin to fill quickly but then will lower back down (as the air vents out of the tank vent.... if you want to you can actully fill you tank up almost another 1/2 to 1 inch above the bottom of that fill pipe... there is a modification where some guys punch holes into that pipe and that allows them to fill above the bottom of that pipe quickly... I've done it to mine and it allows almost 1/2 gallon of gas greater than the 5.3.... and when your running hard at 85 - 90 mph and your gas millage is really sucky and your burning up the miles really fast... that extra half a gallon can make a huge difference on long runs...

Thanks for the info I will try checking the gas mileage with the half tank idea(good excuse to ride!!)

I just started tearing into my bike this weekend, port the manifold, check valves (600mile)and pull the carb to clean and rejet for my new V&H powershot pipes and Barons BAK. When I removed the carb it looks like someone has been into it already. The brass screws were stripped (replacing with stainless allens! like my vstar)and I don't know what stock jets are but and the mainjet was 170 and the cap was off the polit screw. The guy I bought it from swears he didn't have any work done on it. I wonder if this is why I am getting bad gas mpg, fouling plugs and backfiring?? Also any sugesstions on jet settings to start with?

The brass screws were stripped (replacing with
stainless allens! like my vstar)and I don't know what stock jets are but and the mainjet was 170 and the cap was off the polit screw.

I'd say the guy was less than honest with you. Stock is a 182.5, the screws don't come stripped out but they get that way the first time you try and take the bowl off (Yes, get allens)and I doubt they forgot to put a brass plug in at the factory. Now I would wonder about the milage being real.

Here's how I have mine set up. For now anyway

BAK W / Cobra LoBoys
Ported manifold (Lapped W / larger O rings)
167.5
4th groove W / stock spacer / washer config
PMS @ 2 1/2 to 3/4 (Somewhere in there)

Yeah, the guy had messed around with the settings for sure. I'm 100% stock, with the exception of stage one exhaust mod, and I'm getting about 41.5 mpg.

The guy probably didnt have work done on it my guess is he got in there screwed it up, figured he was in over his head got it smoothed out as best he could and sold it to you.....Coug

Sounds like you're moving to pretty close to the same setup that I have: 2005 Silverado with Baron's ported manifold, BAK and V&H Powershots. Settings I ended up with are: 172 on main, 3.5 on needle and about 2 on on the PMS. I have the accelerator pump duration screw turned back to about 1 turn out. With these settings I routinely average close to 50 mpg (unadjusted). I can usually get around 200 miles before my low fuel light comes on. That's just riding on country roads and not really hammering it.

With your bike running as rich as it seems to be, you're going to be pleasantly surprised at the increased power you experience when you lean that thing out properly.

Best of luck!

I'm also a new owner of a "ROADIE"... wasn't sure the kinda MPG I should expect, but I'm getting 40-43 back and forth to work and around town, took a 500 mile round trip to visit my folks, cruised 65-75 the majority of the way, got 50MP. However I feel it runs rich, cause my wife (when following on her VStar) sez when I roll on full throttle a puff of black comes out, + I note the pipes are black inside. But from what I read here I'll leave it alone for now. THANX for a good forum.

I usually figure my gas milage by filling my tank ,,,,, setting the trip meter,,,,,,,running it to pretty much empty,,,,,,,filling it again,,,,,,then divide by the number of gallons you pumped into whats on the trip meter. Hope it's accurate ,,,,usually tells me I'm running good...... lol