I have a 2001 SE Road Glide that is causing me some grief. Took it out yesterday for a quick 15 mi each way cruise to town. On the return while underway doing a steady 50 mph, it died. No warning, no sputtering, just died. It was as if I hit the kill switch. I pulled over, turned off the ignition and run switches, had a quick look around and saw nothing out of the ordinary,so turned everything back on and it fired right up. So I pulled away slowly. and while picking up a little speed but still in first gear, it died again. So, for the second time I tried to start it and it again fired immediately, and again shut off while attempting to get underway. I have read lots of post from people having similar, but not the same, problems. The fact that my bike dies underway, at speed, and then fires immediately has me scratching my head. And the fact that after towing it home in my trailer, it runs completely normal again, even after getting on it hard make me wonder where to look first. Any ideas anyone?

 

Early touring models did have issues with the main circuit breaker failing after getting hot but the problem usually did not present until higher mileage was rolled up. The MCB loses it's effectiveness over time and will not hold to the breaker rating when it warms up. It also takes a few minutes for the MCB to cool down before a re-start, so while this might not be the issue, it could be worth checking.

It could be a fuel delivery issue, EFI or carb?

 

I have thought about the CB but like you mentioned, the fact that it starts immediately makes me think not. My bike is first gen EFI....I was initially thinking about pinholes in the internal fuel lines, specifically the one from the pickup screen to the filter. I thought maybe a hole that was low in the line became exposed as the fuel level dropped, (this happened with about 1/4 full tank) then it started sucking a little air, providing enough fuel to idle but no more. But the fact that when I got it home it ran like a champ pretty much sends me back to the drawing board.

 

Main breaker as djl suggested. The wire lugs at the beaker also corrode causing heat. I replaced mine with a 40 amp maxi fuse. The other culprit is the crank sensor.

 

Thanks - I will ignore the fact that my bike restarts with 0 cooldown time, and have a look at the breaker. I like the idea of replacing it with a fuse.....

 

Isolate whether it is electrical or fuel related...

'could be anything from a bad electrical connection to a fuel filter??

PS I like your Bike!

 

Thats the challenge here, trying to isolate exactly what is happening - fuel or spark - it feels like an electrical issue. I had a look at the main control breaker and it looks OK ie good connections, no corrosion etc. It was upgraded to a 50 amp breaker by a dealer when I imported it to Canada in 07......
Thanks FlaHeatWave - in 01 they offered two color choices - mine is the black/charcoal/silver edition......and I might add that you have a pretty impressive collection !

 

Next time it quits, take a plug wire off, stick a screwdriver in it, hold the shank near the tip of the spark plug, hit the starter and see if you have spark ??
Just make sure that the screwdriver has a well insulated handle!!!

If it fires right back up It's probably not a coil,,, Usually when coils go bad / get hot, they have to cool before spark comes back..

Re-reading your OP,,, Considering the vintage of your Bike,,, I've seen the Coating inside of the Gas Tank come off in pieces, large enough to restrict the fuel inlet, then float off of it,,, then get sucked back on the inlet???

On any FI HD it's a good idea to go over all electrical connections, make sure they are clean and apply di-electric grease

Good info here on the Circuit Breaker, iirc there was a recall / TSB...

 

OK so I'm starting with the MCB. I removed it, inspected all the connections, cleaned them with contact cleaner and compressed air, greased them with some di-electric, and replaced the breaker with a maxi fuse. Fingers crossed for a successful road trial tomorrow.......I will post results .......

 

I have the exact same bike. I can tell you where my issue was - the harness that runs from the front of the bike that contains the crank sensor, oil pressure sensor, etc rubbed through wires below the engine case. If you look under there, the harness runs through some retainers, and my harness was damaged by these retainers. I also had a rear brake line rub through in the same area.