This is my first Harley , brought a 2016 softail slim S as a leftover in 2017. Brand new and put 10K miles on it in about 2 years. live in NY and ride 80% of the year , not as a commuter mainly after work and weekends. During the winter it is stored in a garage and plugged into a battery tender. I do ride in the winter and I have found that if I stay in a hotel over night and the temp is at or just below freezing overnight...the bike will not start in the morning. Is this normal? Or do I have to start troubleshooting?

I have brought a scoche jumppack 300 to carry in my saddle bag to prevent me from getting stranded

Most recently I was at the snow hill climb. I rode the bike 2 straight hours to the event. parked stayed for about 8 hours. temp was about 30degrees....didnt start .....

Temp above freezing no battery tender all season....never a problem starting

Any suggestions?

 

Original battery? A 2016 was most likely delivered in Aug of 2015 so you have about a 4 year old battery.

 

Get a 500 CCA battery.

 

Very true

 

OK will definitely look into this for the replacement!

Thank you

 

My 17 limited does the same
I'm no expert but my last two bike had this problem. My 02 heritage would start after 12 hrs parked at work in below freezing temperatures
My guess is cheaper batteries. My battery is 1 yr old and has a hard time starting after sitting 12 hrs in temps below 35

 

I'm assuming by hard start you mean, slow crank over, starter is just barely making the engine turn over? If it doesn't turn over on the first or second try you don't have enough juice left to crank it again? If that's the case check the battery. For me the 5 year mark on a battery is the limit in my trucks and in my bike but depending on how they're made and how they've been stored before you got it you might get less time. The fact that you've been carrying a jump pack (I'm assuming that it worked when you needed it too?) would lead me to believe the cold is dropping the battery enough to cause an issue.

 

1. Batteries don't provide as much cranking power when the temperature drops.

2. What oil are you running in your bike? standard oils for Harley's is 20-50, which is pretty thick for cold temperatures. It makes the engine harder to crank over with the thick oil in it. If you are running the heavy duty oil that's a straight 50 weight which is way to think for winter use.

Combine thick oil with a battery that isn't performing at it's peak due to cold weather and you get no starting.

 

Yes hard starting meant...slow crank over....until the click click click

 

That makes sense! Thank you