Never had this issue before - I was approaching a traffic light, downshifted through the gears to first, pulled in the clutch as I stopped, and the bike just shut off. I switched the ignition switch off and then on, fuel pump primed, engine restarted without issue. Made it to the next traffic light, and it did the same thing. I rode it home.

Two days after that were problem free. This morning on my way to work, Im in 3rd gear rolling along at 40mph on the throttle, and the bike just shuts off. Half a second later, it starts running again, but the Engine light comes on. Stays on for ten seconds, then goes out and the remainder of the ride is fine.

Any thoughts? I'm supposed to be taking this bike on a lengthy ride in two weeks through a couple of states. Its EFI and has about 33k miles on it.

 

1999 touring bikes ( Road King) had a bracket.
The bracket holds what was called something like BAS sensor.
Bike attitude sensor or bike angle sensor or something near that name.
Basically the sensor gets tripped and shuts the bike OFF when it thinks the bike has fallen on its side.
The broken bracket causes the sensor to to be in the wrong position thus shutting the motor off during a slight vibration or turn.
It is a safety feature when working correctly to cut the motor off after a fall or accident.
The reset is to turn the bike off and on.
Review the bracket.

 

Where is the BAS located on the bike?

In all three cases, the bike was perfectly upright. And in the last case, the bike re-started on its own. It's like the bike lost all electrical power and then power was restored.

 

That would seem correct.
The broken bracket would allow the sensor to be out of alignment.
Kinda/sorta like a tilt sensor on a pinball machine.
If bracket is broken then the sensor is out of position and trips with very little movement.
A tripped sensor should kill motor as described.
So many bikes and years to remember location but on a 99 to about 01 i believe it is behind one of the side painted covers under the seat.
Might be the clutch side/left side.
Switch would be fine but the holder/bracket/attachment point would be the problem....a few zip tie or similar would resolve the situation.

 

Go here:
http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc

enter bike year
enter model
search by description BANK ANGLE SWITCH
I think part number is 32495-98 ...part is fine , problem is bracket..
You should be able to see a diagram
If you want a color picture... just go to e bay and type the part number 32495-98 and that should be what you are trying to check.
Buy nothing....wiggle the sucker around to test and rule-out as a likely problem .

 

The second thing to check would be fuel but the description would be different.
That would be a loss of power and not a rapid shut-off.
In that case you would look inside the tank for garbage or a loose piece of tank liner blocking the fuel sock.
Per description it reads just like a BAS sensor bracket.

 

Thanks. Will check.

 

It may be the bank angle switch, but I would first check for stored trouble codes. The engine light coming on the off indicates that there was a thrown code.

 

I seemed to have discovered the problem: the ignition switch.

Yesterday I pulled it into the garage, put it in neutral, and reached for the switch to shut the engine off. It died before even touching the switch. I slightly touched the switch, and the electrics all came back on, fuel pump re-primed, etc.

I see lots of ignition switches on ebay for about $25. How much is an OEM H-D? Presumably the key with the new switch will not match the fork lock?

 

Pull the switch, disassemble it and clean the contacts.