Just completed my Winter Rebuild, and now have a starting issue:

When I go to start the bike there is a severe lag on the starter with the initial compression stroke. I have to hold the stater for what seems an eternity before it will even turn the motor over. After the initial stroke, it spins freely and will start with no problems.

Here is what i have done:

Complete engine rebuild, new crank, new pistons, jugs, SE heads and an EV27 cam. S&S Shorty E carb.
New Hi-torq starter and solenoid.

Battery is a stock HD gel battery, new in June 2007

Even after having the battery sitting on a trickle charger overnight, I have the same problem.

I have tried putting a spacer between the solenoid shaft and the primary starter shaft, and all that does is to prevent the starter from engaging on the drive ring (spacer came with the starter as a possible fix for this issue)

What have I missed?

Thanks in advance.......

 

I'm guessing you need a bigger battery to turn that new starter over. Had the same problem, got a big boar battery.

 

Check bat voltage while starting the bike. If it drops below ~8 -10 volts, you got a bat problem. Maybe it only need a charge, maybe not.

 

Will check the battery voltage. The volt meter on the dash buries itself below 8, but I know that is not the place to check. Will check the battery terminals tonight.

 

A harley agm battery should have more than enough juice to spin that engine over, I have one that starts my S&S 96 incher with a spike starter and 10-1 pistons. That being said, have the battery checked also just in case, when the agm batterys get drained too low they dont seem to come back. Check all the cables, especially the ground that runs from the bottom of the primary to the frame. I installed an extra ground from the stater relay directly to the battery, which helped on my '90 ultra. As mentioned above, have the battery checked also, when the agm batterys get drained too low they dont seem to come back.

 

well, I checked the battery tonight. Fully charged, 13+ volts (was on the trickle charger) Hit the starter, dropped to 5 volts. Hesitated and once it started cranking, went up to 8.

Seems like a new battery is in my history


Thanks for the input.

 

Glad you found the problem. I second the Harley AGM battery. I got four years out of my last one.