Actually I have lots of issues but I'm having one with my bike that concerns me most. I could use some help.First off my bike is a 2000 Fatboy carbed.
This is whats happened cronilogically.
1) Took the bike to Eagles Nest HD to have the carb rejetted about a month ago. Ended getting a 20K mile service.
2) Not to long after that I thought I ran out of gas but when I switched it to reserve I took quite awhile till it restarted.I immediatly went and got fuel.This is not as it has been in the past. Previously the bike would fire right up once I turned it to reserve.
3) Took a 200 mile day trip and it happened again about 150 miles into the ride. After switching to reserve I had to pull off the road and crank it for awhile until it started again. Got to a gas station and got fuel. Got home.
4) Last week the same thing happened and when I went to the gas station it only took 2.5 gallons. This is when I realized there was an issue.
5) Drove Monday and Tuesday to work and back (20 miles). No issues
6) I rode to work today and had no issues(10 miles)
7) Coming home I got about 2 miles and the bike died again. Turned it to reserve and had to pull off the freeway to get it restarted. After this I could only go about 1 mile at freeway speeds before it would sputter,popand die again. After going through this process 4 more times I finally got the bike home. My first thought was that the since it appears that the bike runs fine with a full tank that maybe the gas tank filter could be plugged. I drained the fuel and pulled the petcock. No apparent plugging so I removed the filter and checked the ports in the petcock again it was clear. Put it back together and put about a gallon of gas back in. Switched to reserve and took off riding around on side streets at about 30mph, No issues. I then hopped on the freeway and after about a mile the same thing happened.
So this is what I've deduced so far:
It appears that it runs well with a full tank but dies when the tank gets to half. (mabe a coincidence)
When it dies it does notact like it runs out of gas because the engine doesn't just die. It starts missing, sputtering and poppingbefore it dies and this has only happened between 2500 and 3000 RPM.

So my question is could this be electrical and not fuel?
Anyone have any idea what I'm dealing with and how I could troubleshoot this?

 

Could it be a bad float adjustment? If the float level is to low there may be not enought fuel for High Demand usage laike the highway. Not sure just a thought.

 

+1 on the float level, easy way to test is to ride in town for a while and see if it runs through a tank with no trouble. Keep off the freeway and keep your speeds low. If that works out then bring it back. From what I remember about carbs, they would have n in that area to change out the jets and may have re-set it wrong.

 

At the risk of not sounding to stupid. Maby its not the fuel at all? Maby its battery related? Are all the connections tight?

 

+1 for the float..... but, it could be a number of different things. Check the gap on your plugs. Re-jet = more fuel which can cause the plugs to fowl faster if the gap is not set right (you may be running rich) Also, the gap being wrong can cause hesitation when starting.

Check your air filter. Probably not the problem it's self, but if it's clogged it could add to the problem.

Last, run some of that fuel system cleaner stuff through. Make sure you get the stuff made for carbs. All it takes is one bad tank of gas to wreak havoc on your motor.

Let us know how things play out.

 

Also at the risk of sounding stupid, does the tank have a equalizaion line from one side to the other? If so, can be kinked or plugged accounting for why you have problems at 1/2 tank?

 

Maybe another stupid suggestion could it be the vacum hose that connects to the petcock if it happened after the dealer messed with it its gotta be fuel related

 

Another +1 for checking vacuum or breathers of any sort. Is the gas cap hard to get off when this problem is happening? I had this problem one time on a Metric cruiser, vacuum was being created within the tank (making the cap hard to get off) and was not allowing the fuel to get to the carb (think of a straw where you put your finger on the top of it, it will hold the liquid in the straw until you remove your finger)...it presented the same symptoms you're describing. The fact that the bike was worked on recently...and the other thing is if you open the gas cap after the bike stalls out will it start right up (the vacuum is released)....? That would be your proof that there is a breather problem of some sort that is preventing the gas from coming out of the tank at some point during the ride, and once you fill it up (you've opened the cap) the problem goes away...until the vacuum in the tank is created again.

Hope that helps.

 

one last thought is check all of your fuel lines. If one is sucking in a little bit of air it may not leak. however, it could cause enough air to get into the bowl to cause the problem you are having.
I once popped off a fuel line to fill my mower. I only did it once and two weeks later started having the same problem you are having. Called my Dad he solved the problem in about 5 minutes.

 

I would look at the float and tank vent. After the bike dies, remove the filler cap. Listen for any hissing sound that would indicate the tank is not venting. But the float sounds more realistic from your symptoms.