I recently took my bike to the mechanic because my battery burned up while riding and now bike would not start while on a multi state trip many miles from home. The machnic put in a new battery but could not get the bike to start so he towed it to a bigger HD dealership in Billings. The machnic as well as myself relayed the issues I was having to the shop in Billings.

Beartooth HD tested the new battery ( tested good of course) reconnected the starter and disarmed my security system to get the bike started.. I was on the road again.
Within hours the bike would not start again. We were in the middle of Yellowstone National Park so we popped the clutch and got it started to get it out of the park and to service again. Within minutes the lights came on and the engine died again. I burned up the new battery now also and was stranded again.
Had the bike towed hundreds of miles home to Co. My dealership saw immediately it was the charging system. The bike only started after the first service because of the new battery but then because it was not recharging or over charging it burned up this battery too.
The dealership in Billings, MT says this is impossibal. They say the stater issue must be a new issue after they started the bike. He says it would not of run at all if the stater was the problem all along. Many friends who are very machnical say they are wrong . The bike started because the new battery was strong and then it ran until it burned up because the charging system was either not recharging or overcharging. That Beartooth HD did nothing to fix the real problem just put a little band aid on.
PLEASE IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PROBLEM OR ANY EXPERTISE WITH THIS ISSUE OR AN OPINION PLEASE PLEASE REPLY.
I am disputing the issue with Beartooth HD but he is just treating me like just another dumb blond female.
I'm 66 years old I've been alone (widdowed) riding a long time. No I'm not a machnic but I do have common sense and something doesn't smell right here . I try to trust HD but am very tired of being so discriminated against by some HD mechanics and HD managment or Even shop franchise owners.

 

well, they should have checked it so now you know there are mechanics and then there are mechanics. they are correct in that if the charge system wasn't working, it would start and run on a charged battery till it got below the running point, that in it self should not destroy the battery. now if the regulator was cooking it, then it might be so.

now for something you might not want to hear. it is possible that the stater did have an issue and did not show up. i had one that was screwing up and every time i tested it, it past till it failed totally. the issue was burned connection where the stator wire meets the harness wire inside the primary. most test via a voltage but if i did a current draw, probably would have found it earlier. when the connection started going high resistance it would allow voltage to be seen but current was being converted to heat. the issue then becomes the engine demand exceeds output and draws reserve from the battery. in all actuality, the electrical system runs off the regulator after the battery reaches full charge.

if you paid via credit card, get your bank involved, there are time lines for charge back (90 days).

 

Your friends and local delearship are correct.
If your charging system was not working and a new battery was placed on the bike, it would start and work for a short period of time until the new battery could no longer supply sufficient voltage to power the relevant systems on the bike to keep it running.
Just to confirm, you mean the stator?

It is fairly straight forward and good basic practice for any shop that has a bike requiring a battery to do a simply charging check to confirm all is good before releasing the bike.

The new battery you had installed will in all likelyhood just need recharging once the bike charging problem is resolved.

Although the scenario you've described does point to there having been some kind of charging system malfunction from the very start of your problems, complete proof of when it occured might be difficult even if common sense suggests it was before it got to the original HD shop you mention.

However, the bike not starting because the stator is damaged is simply not true. You could in fact remove the complete charging system and the bike would start and run for a period of time.

 

Thank you guys for your answers. The Harley dealer in Bear Tooth talked and argued with me like I was an idiot. I just hate that.

 

Please explain what you mean by "Battery burned up".

 

I suspect that your battery overcharged and overheated, in essence killing it. The rectifier controls the voltage regulation to the battery, while the stator is simply working together with the rotor to produce voltage. If your battery is overcharging, then I'd say you have a rectifier problem. Sometimes a rectifier issue can burn the stator also, but there is an electrical test to confirm if there's damage to the stator.