I have a new to me 2001 Fatboy. I've had it for a few weeks, today while riding the bike it just shut off. No warning at all. Happened once while cruising and 3 additional times while accelerating. Bike doesn't appear to have any major issues.
i haven't really done any work to the bike since getting it. Just rode a few hundred miles total, had the carb float get stuck open once and all the gas came out. Other than that it's been pretty good. no codes at all.
Looses all power and just shuts off, I pull over and wait a few minutes. Play with the switches and eventually it'll come back on. Maybe 5 minutes later or so.


any ideas?
im not very good mechanically with bikes but want to try and fix this myself if possible rather than going to a mechanic.




thanks!

 

How much gas was/is in the tank? I ask because the ethanol tends to eat through the fuel line in the tank causing pin holes. When the fuel dips below a certain level it konks out. It's a fairly simple job to take on, shouldn't cost an arm and a leg if you have an indy shop do it for you

 

If the float stuck, I would start there before going other places. You say you are not very mechanical pretty much rules out a carb rebuild. Not a good place to learn. You need to get a good service manual.
Why someone got rid of it probably. Rebuild the carb and clean out the tank and petcock filter. It should have a vacuum cutoff on the petcock, so I assumed it flooded while running, so that is a pretty serious stick and could be killing it. Check your engine oil for gas contamination.

 

It was full, down to empty. Put half a tank in the bike and hasn't leaked a drop since. It came from the drain / breather? tube that hangs down.

the part I find odd is kts loosing 100% of the power to the bike, no ignition, no lights, nothing, as if the battery was disconnected.

on a side note, I could and will rebuild the carb. I did it on my sportster last year with no problems.

 

Honestly it just sound lie your battery cables are not properly tightened. This causes a short and trips the circuit protection shutting off everything. Just check the bolts and tighten up.

 

Both suggestions above are good places to start. The ignition switch also can go bad and cause similar problems. I was on a 5 hour trip one day and my bike cut out on me several times at highway speed. It would start up again and ride for awhile and suddenly do it again. You might be able to start bike and wiggle the ignition switch and see if it cuts off. I bought an aftermarket switch for around $35 and changed it In the hotel parking lot. Easy swap if that is your problem.

 

Approach using the KISS method, definitely check battery cables first, any idea how old the battery is?

 

I'll have to look into that. Thanks.

 

I'll try the simple approach. Battery was manufactured 6/17 and installed in 7/17 by the previous owner.

 

except i cleaned my contacts and put on separate female connectors. $1.50 fix.