While, like any motorcycle, you can start a Harley Davidson with a dead battery, it can be a pain. The best way to make sure your battery will be there for you when you need it is to check it on a regular basis. This is a task you can do without taking your bike in anywhere.
Tools Needed
- Screw Driver
- Voltage Meter
- Box Wrench/Ratchet
- Wire Brush
Steps
- Access the Battery
Since most Harleys have the battery underneath the seat, removing the seat from the bike is the first step. This should just require removing a couple bolts.
- Check
the Voltage
Using a voltage meter you'll want to attach the red lead to the positive terminal on the battery. The black lead goes to the negative terminal. Look to see the voltage your battery is delivering. Twelve volts is proper operation. If it's less than that it is indicative of a problem. More than twelve is OK.
- Inspect the Contacts
Corrosion and other residue are common enemies of good conductivity in any vehicle battery. This is true with Harley Davidsons, too. You can check for and clean up this problem quite easily. Start by removing the cables. You always want to remove the negative connector first (with any negative ground vehicle). A box wrench or possibly a ratchet will do this job nicely. Any corrosion on the battery contacts or the ends of the leads can be removed easily with a wire brush. When you put the cables back on be sure to do the positive first.
- Recheck
Voltage if Necessary
If you had a result that was less than twelve volts and you found corrosion on the battery contacts, you can check the battery again. If your voltage was twelve volts or more to start, though, you can skip this step and are done. When rechecking your voltage if the result is now at least twelve volts you have fixed the problem. If it's still below that level you will probably need to replace your battery.
Regular checks are a great way to maintain your motorcycle's battery. It can also help you to know when to replace a battery before you find out the hard way - when the bike has no power to start.