I have a friend that i was out with yesterday and he was telling me after he had his twin cam engine bumped up to a 95 it has a hard time starting in the morning. He is blaming the shop that did the work for not installing compression release's in the heads. They sold him a lithuim battery and it not not help at all.

The thing is after the hard start in the morning it will start fine all day long even heat soaked after shutting it off. Maybe his starter is getting weak ? i would think a hot engine would be harder to crank over than a cold one.
Anyone have any suggestions ? I was thinking maybe to start checking the charging system or maybe he has something pulling the battery down over night.

 

What compression was his engine built at? When I bumped my old 88 to a 95, I was no where near needing compression releases.

 

My "Stage II" 95" started with an EBay bought starter ($127.00) for the last 7 years with no problem. Is yours a Stage II (9.5/1 compression,) or something different?

 

When you say it is hard starting cold, does that mean it cranks over slowly? Or it cranks over a long time before starting?

Paul

 

Cranks slowly and labored, like the battery is down. I thought this was how the lithium battery were and you needed to turn the key on to let them warm a bit before cranking the engine. But this bike did this with a regular AGM battery too. I think he said the compression was 9.5 :1. I don't know why it would start great all day long after the first start of the day though ?
Maybe the starter is getting tired.

 

Yeah, you need to test the amperage draw and voltage drop when cranking to see if it is within specs.. And I'd load test the battery separately even though you said it is new.

Paul

 

If change the battery didn't make any difference, check your cables. I'd replace with flexible 4 gauge that are both crimpled and soldered.

You can check voltages at both the battery and starter. Shouldn't drop below 9.5 volts. New should be more like 10-10.5

Could be the starter, unless there is a ton of miles, what kills them is water. Solenoid can also get gummed up.

 

You know i do not ask him about what cams were installed along with his build. I wonder if the cams could be causing high cranking pressures ? Maybe not enough overlap.
Checking the battery cables is a good idea also, although it did not do this with the 88 inch engine. I will see him again this weekend and maybe i will bring my load tester along. Anything different with testing a lithium battery ?