Sounds like the fuel filter is something I can handle. My wife tells me the problem with the bike is the Dunlop 401HD (harley davidson) rear tire that I had installed on my bike on a Sunday morning in Batesville AR. I was thankful just to get back on the road, thought I was going to be stuck for a couple days!

Maybe

had a problem like that ended up being water in the carb bowl drained it and problem solved

fireman922 wrote:
Do you hear the fuel pump cycle on when you turn the key on? My guess is a cranky fuel pump.

Paul

If you hit the kill switch and turn back on should cycle the pump or I have been told that. You could pull the fuel line and see how it is pumping. Use a glass or something that you can see the amount.

Tomorrow I am going to change the fuel filter. I will see about checking the fuel pump at the same time, while I am dealing with fuel lines and such. The comment by edluva1 is intersting. I had a problem with water getting in the tank in the past. When I would ride in the rain as sometimes happens on a long journey, water would get sucked in past the gas tank seal. I used a seal refresher product to soften up the gas cap seal. The next time I got stuck riding in the rain and had to fill up, the gas cap was held tight, vacuum sealed to the tank. Another issue, but despite the fuel drier, maybe there is lingering water in the carb bowl. On my old Vstar I could drain the bowls without removing the carb, is it the same with a Roadstar?

Thanks to you all for your comments and ideas. Until we meet on the road...

Yeah you can put hose on the drain and open the hex head bolt on bottom of the carb. you can use the same hose to check the carb float level bonus round.

There's a bonus round too?!? Never knew a breakdown could be so much fun!

Wait till you get to the "sudden death" round! BB

Sudden Death! Is that where I check for spark with my tongue?

Dealers were closed yesterday so I am going to get the fuel filter today. I will change that and drain the carb bowl for potential water. I will report back on if the repairs worked and what I end up breaking.

Doug

I replaced the fuel filter and the bike wouldn't run. I was going to drain the carb bowl, seemed like a good idea and was easy on my 1100 vstar. Well on the R* I didn't see how to get to the screw and such, saw it couldn't reach it! So, not ready to give up for the night, I checked for good spark (with a screw driver!) Blue and steady. I pulled the fuel line from the fuel pump to the engine. Attached my trusty extra hose and hit the starter. Engine cranked but no fuel came out the hose. Bad fuel pump? It also doesn't cycle when I flip the kill switch off and back on. Again...bad fuel pump? This is another R&R I can handle! Any tricks with this repair?