I bought a used 2008 Harley Davidson Crossbones, with the FOB security system, back in August from a local dealership in Louisiana. I was home on leave from Iraq. I rode it everyday during the two weeks that I was home. Before I left I parked my Bike in a local storage facility.
When I got home from Iraq just before Christmas the first thing I did was go get my bike. It wouldn't start. I figured since it was sitting up for several months without being started the the battery had drained from the changes in temperature. No big deal right. I bought a new battery and it cranked right up. I rode for a few of the warmer days then put it back into storage. I returned a week later to hail it to my new house several hours away and BOOM. New battery is dead. Well I pushed it onto the trailer. As I started for home I noticed the that blinkers were flashing left, right, left, right, left for a set of three blinks then it would stop for several seconds and then again. I got home and put the old battery on a charger just to see how bad it was. It charged right up and when I switched out the batteries the bike cranked right up. So I charged the new battery and switched them out. The same result started right up. I road it for a few hours and parked it. I step into my garage today and the battery is dead again...This is my first Harley and I love my bike but I want the thing to run not just look good. Any Ideas and suggestions would be much helpful.

 

Might have somthing to do with your security system. They do drain the battery but it would take weeks to drain it. Are you sure its just not starting because of the security system being disabled you can enter a code in the odomiter its four digits and should be written in your owners manual to disable it. If the code wasnt changed there is a generic code in the book with insructions as well.

 

change the battery in your fob.my buddies bike was similar and it turned out to be the fob.if its the fob the bike will roll over but not start and the blinkers get weird

 

Or your key fob might need a new battery.

 

When i bought my street bob it had the security system on it!! I hated it did the same thing yours was doing! Any time you trailered the bike the light would flash on and off.. Store it away for any period of time and the battery would go dead. Look on your consle you can see that red key sighn flashing ..Yeah its a constant battery drain. My Next bike i bought i made sure it did not have security! My advise to you would be get the harley battery tender and keep it on it!! Unless your storage area dosent have electricity then your screwed!

 

I read several things about the FOB battery needing to be changed and I was going to give that a try this afternoon after work. I appreciate all the information. Everything I have read seems to point to the FOB battery and the security system draining the battery.

 

Have you tried just disconnecting your battery (when bike dosen't start) and then hooking it back up? If you do that and it starts, then it's the fob.

Also if your bike is being trailered without FOB on the bike, lights will flash as you discribed. Good luck!

 

disconnect the battery if its going to sit for a long period .sure the security system wont work but if the battery is dead it wont work anyway.as i said earlier change key fob battery and it should work fine..

 

Read your manual...
The reason the blinkers flashed is because your bike thinks it is being stolen (lucky you dont have the optional siren) you have to put it in transport mode so the blinkers dont flash.
When your bike is in storage either leave it on a battery tender or disconnect the ground because the security system will run the battery down... Your old battery is probably just fine, unless it got frozen...
The batteries in the FOBS could be dead they can last 2-5 years depending on battery type and conditions...
You can also program a 5 diget code into the bike using your turn signals, so if you loose you fobs or the baterry in the fob dies you can punch in the code to get it going...