I have an '07 Nightster, bikes been running great for the most part, well today I was getting ready for work, turned the bike on, it clicked three times then everything shut off, the bike itself never actually started up, you just heard it click then everything shut off, so now none of the lights will come on and it wont start, it doesn't try to start or anything like thats, its almost as if the battery was removed, turning the key does absolutely nothing..is this common? Someone asked me to check the sparkplugs but that wouldn't explain why any of the electrical wont come on. What about fuses? I could of swore I smelled something coming from the coil but maybe I'm just crazy, I dont know. Any advice?



Cant say I'm upset about this, with the bike having low miles and me being a mellow driver but, well, I'm not happy either hah.

 

Check your battery connections and the main frame ground.

 

I'll try checking the battery connections tonight but, I had just driven it last night and the bike was running fine. Plus for the lights to be working just fine prior to be actually trying to start up the bike, it makes me wonder if its something else.

 

Check connections? F-That! Your battery is dead. Charge it or jump it w/ your car

 

If it was just the battery being dead, and there hasn't been a problem (i.e. dead before, slow turning over), then there is either a charging problem or a loose connection so that the battery won't take a charge. Have had this with both my cars and my bikes. Simply tighten the connections. A loose connection will be something that suddenly creates a problem. A dead battery will often show itself by slow turning over at some point prior, unless the OP left the key on overnight.

 

Actually, that points perfectly to a loose connection. You would be amazed at how much juice it takes to turn the engine over. A loose connection will definitely cause that. Seen it many times with my own cars. Loose does not mean completely off, it just means that the connection is not as tight, or good, as it needs to be to send the full starting power. Slightly loose is all it takes.

 

Just had this happen to my 06 1200C saturday! I replaced the battery and everthing is fine now. I tried charging the battery and jumping it to no aveil. I was lucky that after a 2 1/2 hour ride, it stoped working in the driveway. Hope this helps.

 

Did you ever notice any other problems with the battery before? Like turning over slowly? When mine finally tanked, it had been having trouble turning the engine a few times beforehand. This especially apparent with a FI bike.

 

Yeah , a couple of times it hesitated when I pushed the start button, but I never saw a complete shut down coming.

 

It's the connections. If you're not even getting lights or anything on the odometer then you're getting absolutely no power, and it's unlikely your battery is THAT dead.

Also, I've turned my bike off, go in the store, went to start it up when I came out and it would do exactly as you said. It was the connection (negative battery term in my case).