Harleys starter issues. technical explanation why so many fail
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 192
Likes: 5
Have 8 HD's. Ride them all over North America. Never had a starter go.
Much of the article is BS. Not a single HD TC is "high performance". Stock they are all low compression and mild cams. Never experienced "dieseling" ever.
...
I will suggest that the article had more opinion in it than any technical fact. Calling a motor "high performance" is connotative and not fact or technical. Giving a compression ratio, cam lift and duration is denotative and not opinion but technical fact.
The only good thing is the suggestion to add a compression release.
If you have starter replacement problems look at all the electrical connections. I have found the positive cable to the starter very loose from the factory and of course it is hidden under the rubber boot. The ground cable has also been a problem for proper torque.
Much of the article is BS. Not a single HD TC is "high performance". Stock they are all low compression and mild cams. Never experienced "dieseling" ever.
...
I will suggest that the article had more opinion in it than any technical fact. Calling a motor "high performance" is connotative and not fact or technical. Giving a compression ratio, cam lift and duration is denotative and not opinion but technical fact.
The only good thing is the suggestion to add a compression release.
If you have starter replacement problems look at all the electrical connections. I have found the positive cable to the starter very loose from the factory and of course it is hidden under the rubber boot. The ground cable has also been a problem for proper torque.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,128
Likes: 27
From: florida swamp
I have to put a new starter every two years on my Ultra. When it starts to fail
it is hard to start the bike when hot. I found this article in the link below. It
seems the guys knows his stuff. What do you think?
http://www.americanrider.com/output.cfm?id=1022005
it is hard to start the bike when hot. I found this article in the link below. It
seems the guys knows his stuff. What do you think?
http://www.americanrider.com/output.cfm?id=1022005
I thought my starter was going bad last year but it turned out to be my battery ( it was only a couple years old). The high florida heat kills them quicker. The battery in my suv only lasts about 3 years. It sits out in the sun at work. My 06 RK has the original starter and it works fine.
Last edited by carpetride; Sep 6, 2012 at 01:30 PM.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 13,402
Likes: 941
From: Illinois
Re read the article and still find that he refers to "twin cam compression chambers" as the problem. I do not see any clear concise reference through out the article that he is specifically discussing modified twin cam motors as the problem with starter motor failure.
The clear reference is to simply twin cam HD motors have high starter failures and that is false.
The clear reference is to simply twin cam HD motors have high starter failures and that is false.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,459
Likes: 2,892
From: Oklahoma
Can't help but wonder how many "failed starters" are really just the starter clutch being hammered to death by the weak compensators bottoming out generating a tremendous shock load on every start.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 979
Likes: 351
From: Wisconsin
IMO, the OEM starter that came with my Low Rider was just simply too weak, it could barely spin the motor enough to get it started. After a few months of screwing around, I put in an aftermarket starter and starting problems went away (although I had other issues with that brand starter for other reasons) but I won't go with another OEM starter again.