just bought a nice bike... now it won't start :(
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Joined: Aug 2013
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From: England
just bought a nice bike... now it won't start :(
i'm new to this forum so apologies if i've posted this in the wrong section
i bought my first harley on saturday and i love it. it's a 2004 1200 custom and it's in lovely condition. i rode it around for about an hour on saturday, and i took it for a quick 20 minute spin on sunday. no problems... fast forward to today. the sun is shining (quite rare in england!) so i decided to take it for a spin. unfortunately, when i tried to start it up all i got was a tick tick tick tick as i turned the key in the ignition
i know the carb models need a bit of fuel running in order to start, so i pulled out the choke and turned on the throttle, but still no joy. i tried switching the petcock to reserve and back to on which didn't make a difference. i don't know how much fuel is actually in the tank, but there's at least some sloshing about so it's not completely empty
obviously i had to reluctantly wheel the bike back in to the garage and take the car
the first thing i'm gonna do is fill up a jerry can on my way home from work and top up the fuel. the next job was to charge the battery
do you think this is likely to fix it? or am i barking up the wrong tree?
thanks guys in advance
i bought my first harley on saturday and i love it. it's a 2004 1200 custom and it's in lovely condition. i rode it around for about an hour on saturday, and i took it for a quick 20 minute spin on sunday. no problems... fast forward to today. the sun is shining (quite rare in england!) so i decided to take it for a spin. unfortunately, when i tried to start it up all i got was a tick tick tick tick as i turned the key in the ignition
i know the carb models need a bit of fuel running in order to start, so i pulled out the choke and turned on the throttle, but still no joy. i tried switching the petcock to reserve and back to on which didn't make a difference. i don't know how much fuel is actually in the tank, but there's at least some sloshing about so it's not completely empty
obviously i had to reluctantly wheel the bike back in to the garage and take the car
the first thing i'm gonna do is fill up a jerry can on my way home from work and top up the fuel. the next job was to charge the battery
do you think this is likely to fix it? or am i barking up the wrong tree?
thanks guys in advance
Last edited by rotherdrummer; May 14, 2014 at 07:54 AM. Reason: typo
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Maryland near DC
sounds to me like you need to have the battery checked out..if it has the origiinal battery it is prolly time.. also check to make sure the battery terminals are tight and the battery neg. to ground/ frame is tight at the end it meets the frame...is there any chance you left the key on when you parked it???
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From: England
thanks mrfikser
there's no chance i left the key in the ignition because i took it in the house with me, but i'm glad to here it could potentially be a battery issue because i've just bought an optimate 3+
the only problem is, my bike already has an optimate cable coming off the battery but my new optimate doesn't fit it, so i guess i'm gonna have to swap out the fly lead
there's no chance i left the key in the ignition because i took it in the house with me, but i'm glad to here it could potentially be a battery issue because i've just bought an optimate 3+
the only problem is, my bike already has an optimate cable coming off the battery but my new optimate doesn't fit it, so i guess i'm gonna have to swap out the fly lead
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From: England
cheers Redlegvzv - i hope so
i think my bike has an optimate 3 fly lead coming off the battery, but unfortunately i've purchased an optimate 3+ which appears to use a different connection, so unfortunately i can't just plug it in without some messing about
i think my bike has an optimate 3 fly lead coming off the battery, but unfortunately i've purchased an optimate 3+ which appears to use a different connection, so unfortunately i can't just plug it in without some messing about
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 207
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From: Germany
tick, tick, tick means the battery has, for whatever reason, not enough amps to turn over the starter/engine. The click I think comes from the starter relay.
First choice: Recharge the batt, then try. As mentioned before, make sure battery plus and neg terminals are tight, also check the neg to ground side.
If the batt is still low, you got to have it load-tested, I guess. They lose capacity over the years - the bike is ten years old, but we don't know the age of the batt.
First choice: Recharge the batt, then try. As mentioned before, make sure battery plus and neg terminals are tight, also check the neg to ground side.
If the batt is still low, you got to have it load-tested, I guess. They lose capacity over the years - the bike is ten years old, but we don't know the age of the batt.
Last edited by Eisentreiber; May 14, 2014 at 09:26 AM.
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From: England
ok thanks
i've got a multimeter at home so i can check the voltage on the battery, but i think i'll stick it on the optimate first and give it another go. if it still fails i'll check the voltage and if necessary buy a new battery
thanks guys
i've got a multimeter at home so i can check the voltage on the battery, but i think i'll stick it on the optimate first and give it another go. if it still fails i'll check the voltage and if necessary buy a new battery
thanks guys
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Joined: May 2014
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From: Huntington Beach, CA
IMSOHO life is too short for tired batteries. Old batteries have this annoying tendency to let you down just at the wrong time, in full conformance with Murphy's Law. This is one of the few parts of the bike that even I know how to change out. I do have the Harley trickle charger for my bike and I use it. But if and when I determine that my battery is no longer up to par I am going to replace it.
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