I am a total Noob. I rode bikes In the 70's but all small stuff by comparison to my 2005 Roadie. I am no mechanic but I know the difference between an Allen key and a filter wrench.

I bought a used 2005 Road Star Midnight. It has 48K on it, but you could tell that the owner loved his baby.(He traded it for a big HD)The bike has V&H longshots and the carb appears to have been remapped or jetted. I don't know enough to tell what was done, but it appears to have been adjusted for the exhaust. It has a stock air intake and paper filter.

Her acceleration is smooth and responsive (and powerful) throughout the ranges. She can rattle windows two blocks away. Wind her up and let go of the throttle on the highway and she sounds like a V-Twin, no backfires or strangeness.

Here is the rub. I am getting 27mpg. I do not need any choke to start her. I suspected she might be a little rich, so I pulled a plug and it has a light soot. Not bad but clearly rich soot.

I have never messed with carbs and jetts etc. When I take this to a mechanic, do I need to mortgage the house? It this an expensive black magic fix? Are there more things I can check to get a better idea?

Keith the Noob.

BTW, I am fixing the fuel sender myself thanks to everyone's great info on the clinic. Thanks. The dealer wanted $300 minimum. I can replace it with the new version for about $75 and a little time. Thanks.

Falcore, I am a big supporter of Dyno Testing, simply to find out where in lies the problem to begin with, whatever the cost of the test, it will pay for itself in no time simply through gas pricing

could very well be rich. with just pipes and no aftermarket air cleaner you really didn't need a rejet just a tweak of the pms screw you should get way more mps than that unless you have a problem with the need to drive wide open.

sounds like you have a carb problem alright.. the right carb tune should net you 40+ mpg.. do it yourself..its not hard to do..

It may not have been rejetted. It was adjusted somehow because those pipes should have made it way lean. For it to be rich like this something is off. 27 mpg just sounds poor since I am very gentle with her. I rarely, unless someone is trying to change lanes into me, ever see 1/4 throttle. On the highway it is barely cracked at 65 mph. Hell she cruises with the throttle hardly open.

The most recommended mechanic in town has a dyno. It is set up mostly for use with Power Commanders (whatever they are). Their site says a cruiser takes about two hours on the dyno at $75 an hour, so that is not too bad. I think I will call them in the morning and try to book time with them. I am thinking about having them change the plugs and add a K&N filter before the tune on the dyno. Hate to have the airflow change with the K&N and then need to tune it again.

If they can get me to 34 or 35 mpg then I will save $80 in fuel this summer on my ride. I will pay probably $200-300 for the adjustment, but I bet it will also save me in the end when it comes to soot in the cylinder and SVS. She runs strong, but something tells me that if they can make it run better, it will be good in the long run.

Thanks guys.

Wow, if they could get it to 40 mpg that would save me over a hundred on the ride. I guess we will see. Thanks. I will let a pro do it until I get better with working on her. The clinic is helping with the step by step advice, I am just a little new to dig into the carb. My ride is set to start in 10 days. I can't afford to screw up

Keith if the bike is set up right and has the right mods you can get as good as 50 mpg highway. I have gotten as high as 52 with a tailwind on both my bikes. (05 & 07)

First, and second, your jetting sounds rich. Before the dyno test put your air kit on and it will lean it out a bit. once tested they will be able to hit the "sweet spot" with the jetting.
I am getting 42 mpg riding hill country with very little high gear

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I agree that a dyno is the best way to see what you need, but following what others use can get you really close. Changing your jetting is no harder than working on your fuel level sending unit. Don't go and spend a bunch of money at the dealer's when you can do it yourself in less than an hour. Since you still have the stock intake on the bike, there really was not a need to rejet. It is no wonder your mileage is in the crapper. Either toss on a more free flowing air intake or go back to stock jetting. You should be able to get mid 40's fairly easy.

+1 on all the above. You could put a K&N filter in the stock box(part#YA-1704) for now,to save on a little money. But that's up to you. Any way hang around here long enough and these guy's will have you doing all of it.