Hey all,

2000 sportster 1200XL owner here. The other day i went to start my bike, all lights turned on but when i hit the start button everything died. Bump started the bike and it ran fine for about 8 miles in which the tach started jumping and the bike started misfiring when the tach jumped. A day or so later the bike will not start again, battery is at 12.8 volts, but as soon as i turn the ignition on it drops to about 8. If i bump start the bike it drops to 3 and all the lights so crazy, but will recharge back to 12.8v if i let it sit. Anyone had any similar experiences with this? Ignition coil? Ive checked all fuses and wiggled the battery while checking the voltage and still at 12.8v. At points i can turn the ignition on and everything comes on fine, but as soon as i flip the switch to start the bike the battery drops to about 8v.

 

You need a new battery.
M

 

Or loose battery terminals.

 

Thanks for the replys, im going to take the battery in for a load test today.

 

That year range also had issues with the battery cables, make sure that the crimps are nice and tight.
M

 

Ill check those as well. Just kind of weird how sudden it all happened which made me think it first it was a loose connection. But even with a tender on the battery is fully charged and as soon as the ignition is switched to on it drops to 8-10v. Those 2 seem like the most likely culprit. I tested the stator maybe 2 weeks ago as well and it was charging the battery pretty well, not sure if they usually fail out right or if its a steady decline in performance. New voltage regulator a month ago. Hopefully I just got unlucky with a battery.

 

Did your issue get fixed? I'm having a similar problem with my 04 electra glide cvo. I haven't tried bump starting it but my battery is showing fine.

 

Hey! yeah finally running normal. I tried my buddies battery and it fired right up and runs fine now. My old battery looked fine and i was getting 12.8 on my multimeter but i guess under load it just craps out (relatively new battery too).