So I'm riding around some back roads on Monday afternoon, all is well, bike is running smooth etc. I pull up next to a guy at a traffic light riding a 1973(?) Mach 3 Ducati, first year for the desmo he tells me, what a machine. We were at the light idling for probably 5 minutes in 75º heat talkin it up. Anyway, so I pull away from the light, get up to around 60, and the bike starts sputtering, and backfiring, then goes completely dead, then springs back to life. Rode for another 10 minutes with intermittent problems. I then parked it for 15 minutes, get back on, 5 minutes into the ride, the bike starts acting up again, until it goes totally dead. I think it's a fuel issue, but I wanted to run this by you guys.

I checked for a kinked fuel line, no dice. The fuel pump seems to make a strange noise at the end of it's cycle when you first turn the key. I unhooked the return fuel line and let the pump push a some gas though the line. I noticed that the gas, at the very end of the fuel pump cycle began to look a little foamy. I got the bike to start again, rode it 500 feet, and died again. At this point I was not far from my house, so I began walking the bike home. Every once in a while starting the bke, only to have it dien in 15 seconds. Walking a motorcycle is a terrible feeling, I must say.

This is last years gas in the tank, so I'm quite sure this is the source of this problem. I filled up before storing the bike, but the gas is probably 8 months old.

Where is the fuel filter in this bike?

Any other thoughts on what else to check, or where to clean?

By the way it's a 2002 900SS with 3000 miles on it.

Thanks all in advance,

Matt