I have an 04 fatboy and have noticed while trying to start her up it sometimes takes several attempts to get started. Today while out riding, I was taking off from a stop and the bike cut off on me as I was rolling on the throttle and easing out on the clutch. Later on as I was returning home the same thing happened only this time I got a puff of smoke out the exhaust as I was trying to get the bike started. I tried about 4 -5 times to get it started but couldn't. It was turning over but just wouldn't start. I let the bike sit for about 30 minutes and tried again and it fired up with no problems. I rode home but as I was pulling in the bike stalled again as I was stopping. I pulled both plugs, they looked fine and the gap is okay. Also checked the resisitance on the wires. No problems there either. I plan to look at the IAC tomorrow, but was wondering if a weak battery could cause these symptoms? I plan to have it load tested tomorrow just to be sure my battery is okay. Is it possible this is a symptom of a maladjusted throttle or idle cable? Funny thing is I just had the dealer perform a 5k service about 10 days ago. The bike has always run fine since the day I got it except there have been a few times I had some difficulty getting started. Never once has the bike cut off on me until today. Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated.

 

There's the problem. It never fails that it comes out working differently than it went in. That's exactly why I do my own work except for certain circumstances.

Did they detail all the work they did on your work slip from the shop? I would definately be taking it back and hope they can improve the issue. With mine, it seems like they have a dart board up there sometimes and wherever the dart lands is the problem.

 

Of course not. The invoice just lists labor and parts. Parts are the synthetic oil and several gaskets / o-rings.

 

Problem solved, it was a faulty engine temperature sensor. Thanks to this post https://www.hdforums.com/m_220858/tm.htm
Tech said the sensor was faulty but also found high resistance on a ground from the ECM. The ground connections at the ground bar under the seat were removed, cleaned and retightend. Bike is running as before with no problems. Just like the forums said, there were no engine codes to help isolate this problem.