Starting Question
Starting Question
What would cause my 2015 RGS to hesitate when I engage the starter especially when hot. It's not all the time but frequent enough to make me wonder. The stater engagages then seems to hesitate for a second or two then proceeds to start the bike. Don't want to get stranded. Battery seems to check out OK and is always on a tender.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Any ideas?
Thanks
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 139
Likes: 2
From: Northern Virginia
My new 2017 FLHTP does the same thing. I could be wrong, but I suspect that it's normal - perhaps due to relatively high compression and nominal starter motor output. I don't see a problem with it, as she always starts, and the battery and electrical system are fine.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 433
From: Menifee, CA
Same here 2016 Ultra Classic. At 22k miles while in LA this past January, I started noticing the same hesitation. I took the bike to Huntington Beach HD to have them look at the battery, since my experience has been that such a hesitation signifies the coming death of the battery. Even though I had been riding daily over 100 miles in and around the LA area, my battery showed only 70% charge. Still, they said the battery is fine, and warned me to keep the bike on a tender when not riding. My bike is a daily rider, and never sits for more than a few hours at a time, and is usually hauling at highway speeds.
I took their advice and, back home in NM, I started putting the bike on a charger (not a tender) between rides. Once the charge is complete, I remove the charger. Doing this, I pretty much never get the hesitation anymore.
I've concluded that this bike has a very large ignition-off drain on the battery, and that the starter system requires a very fresh battery. Just riding around town will probably not get the battery up to snuff because the charging system is weak. Hence, the charger between rides.
I've heard the hesitation now on many other Harleys besides mine, so I think this is a common situation. The bike seems to start just fine, even with the hesitation, but it *is* unnerving when it happens, and I'd prefer it didn't.
I took their advice and, back home in NM, I started putting the bike on a charger (not a tender) between rides. Once the charge is complete, I remove the charger. Doing this, I pretty much never get the hesitation anymore.
I've concluded that this bike has a very large ignition-off drain on the battery, and that the starter system requires a very fresh battery. Just riding around town will probably not get the battery up to snuff because the charging system is weak. Hence, the charger between rides.
I've heard the hesitation now on many other Harleys besides mine, so I think this is a common situation. The bike seems to start just fine, even with the hesitation, but it *is* unnerving when it happens, and I'd prefer it didn't.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 433
From: Menifee, CA
BTW, I use an Optimate 6 charger. This charger performs a leak down test on the battery immediately after a charge. The test runs for several hours. First time I charged this bike with this charger, the leak down test showed that the leak down is excessive. I decided to see how the battery acted when disconnected from the bike. I drained the battery awhile with the radio, then pulled it out and charged it directly on the terminals, and allowed the charger to test the leak down. Out of the bike, the battery leaks down within the charger's spec, i.e., no excessive leak down. Installed in the bike, the charger indicates excessive leak down. This is why I believe the ignition-off draw on this bike is very heavy compared to most other bikes.
When the bike is sitting for a few days, a tender or a charger is pretty much necessary to keep the battery up to snuff.
When the bike is sitting for a few days, a tender or a charger is pretty much necessary to keep the battery up to snuff.
Novice
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 23
Likes: 6
From: SE Virginia
Same hesitation in my 14 Ultra. Ironically I had the same hesitation in my 04 Fatboy too, a couple weeks before I hit the button and nothing happened. Battery failed. I'm not into running out and buying new batteries for nothing. I'm just disappointed there seems to be such a poor quality battery used on these bikes.
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 106
Likes: 5
From: Minneapolis (full time)/ Fayetteville, AR (part time)
Same hesitation in my 14 Ultra. Ironically I had the same hesitation in my 04 Fatboy too, a couple weeks before I hit the button and nothing happened. Battery failed. I'm not into running out and buying new batteries for nothing. I'm just disappointed there seems to be such a poor quality battery used on these bikes.
Scott
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Joe Kucinski
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 20,880
Likes: 33,837
Both of my scoots are hooked up to a tender as soon as I get home. You will get a much better battery life by doing this. If your hesitation seams to start getting a little longer than usual and the battery is 3-4 years old I would swap it out for a new one. Believe me, that will be cheaper than a wrecker call from the middle of no where.