Ladies and Gents,

Mine is a 2013 Softail Slim w/Thundermax Tuner upgrade (about 18 months ago). Maybe 5 or 6 months back, I started having occasional trouble starting her up. Would take maybe 2 or 3 cranks now and then--but NEVER from cold starts at home in the mornings. I put a Big Boar battery in it (wanted to amp up my battery anyway, and this gave me an excuse). But that didn't help.

This morning (for example), the bike started fine out of the garage and I rode to the coffee shop on my way to work. Was there about an hour. Then, leaving the coffee shop, it didn't want to start. I must have cranked it about 8 times before finally turning over. And the cranks always sound normal too; just doesn't want to turn over for some reason.

I thought maybe it was bad gas and put some treatment in the last tank, but that obviously didn't help. Plus, once started, she always purrs like a kitten (a really LOUD kitten), so it doesn't seem like bad gas to me.

Other than occasional trouble starting, this bike runs perfectly.

I've heard about issues with gas caps causing improper tank seal, and I did put an aftermarket locking gas cap on mine. Could that cause this kind of problem? And if so, wouldn't it act up when running/idling too?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

 

Interested to see the replies. I have the same issue in reverse...sometimes (not all times) need multiple cranks for the first start of the day...all other starts throughout the day are fine (07 SG with a 103 kit).

 

Your problem sounds like maybe a weak battery issue. Do you trickle-charge it overnight?

 

Try hitting the starter right after the run switch instead of waiting for the engine light to go out. Mine does the same thing when hot, and this works for me every time.

 

Thanks. I'll try it and report back.

 

That didn't work. Still cranking it 2 or 3 times before it turns over, or sometimes on first crank and sometimes up to 8 or 9 cranks.

Maybe it's bad gas? I imagine a tank full of bad gas could stay with ya for a while, no? I did put some treatment in it, and didn't notice much change.

 

Did this problem start when you put the new gas cap on? Or did you do anything else to the bike when the problem started. You could get in touch with Zippers and see what they say and maybe send them a copy of your tune

 

U may have problem with ckp sensor.

 

Loosen the gascap when the conditons for the hard start are right. Try it for a few starts. If it goes away and starts, its the cap.

 

having the exact same problem.

I will be putting on a new CPS on Thursday and hoping that fixes my problem.