I had a problem starting my 2021 Iron 1200 yesterday. I had been riding for about half an hour. The temperature was somewhere in the 90s. I got off the highway and had to wait at four very long lights before I got to my destination. When I got there I was there for no more than 10 minutes. When I went out to my bike, I put the key in ignition, turned off the killswitch, and pressed the starter. One crank of the starter and one crank of the engine and no turnover. Made sure I was in neutral and even kept the clutch in and still no start. I don't think it was the battery. I have killed the battery by leaving it in ignition and walking away for over an hour and had to get a jump start on two occasions, but I didn't leave it on this time. The starter would crank and in the other situations where the battery was dead the starter wouldn't crank. So I don't think it was the battery. If I cranked the throttle the starter would crank as well. I checked the gas cap as I had filled the tank before I set out and it was a little loose. I tightened it until it clicked but still no start. I waited about five minutes and decided to park it in a safe space while I called for roadside assistnace. For S&G's I decided to try the starter again and it finally started. Got going and took the highway home just to make sure it got enough cooling. When I got home and killed the engine I tried starting it again to see if I could repeat the issue again and it started fine.

I have two suspicions: One is the loose gas cap, but if that was the issue why was I able to start it after filling and why did I not stall out in all my riding to my destination? I even had one stop before the final leg where I stopped for a slice of pizza. Could it be low battery? If so, why did it start fine after my mid-ride stop? Could it have been overheating? Does the Sportster have an internal temperature switch that prevents starting if the bike is over a certain temperature?

Would love some ideas or an answer as I hope to prevent this in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Don't eliminate the battery as a problem because you think it's good. Get it load tested to be sure on way or the other. If you ran it down before it may not have taken a full charge and possibly is damaged. Better yet, take it to the dealer since it's under warranty.