Heeelp My Bike wont go LoL. ..
Hi The starter on my XL1200C cant turn the engine over?? when I hit the button the solonoid clunks but the starter seems unable to push the pistons past compression!! ( It spins over Ok if I take the Plugs out) Its a newish Harley Battery (I keep it hoocked up to battery tender when not in use) The problems got worse recently.. A while bak I cud give it a short boost charge then it would go but now I cant get the thing started.. I had thought it was down to the battery so I replaced it.. then I heard about suspect Earth strap so I replaced that.. Previous owner had a new starter clutch fitted?!? Any ideas please...

I had a buddy with a similar trouble...
check the battery connections, make sure that they are CLEAN, new batteries are only as good as the connections.

My thoughts are that your battery needs to be checked. Take it out and down to somewhere they can test it. Make sure that it is up to where it should be. My guess is that it is weak. Even a battery that is a year old can go bad. Let us know what you find out.

At the end of last year I had a similar problem. And as you might know, the manner in which a battery is removed from Sportsters--at least the newer ones--is downright bizarre. It's a pain, and I think this contributes to spotty maintenance.

When I started my bike, it sounded the same, it made a metallic clunk. It was the end of the season anyhow, so I just drove it down to the shop for winter storage. They suspected something like corrosion on the connections, but since the battery had a two year warranty, they decided to change out as much as they could and give all of the connections a thorough cleaning.

About two weeks later my mechanic told me that the oil cooler had been installed, the oil changed and a new battery installed. He likes to check connections when everything is apart anyway, but then, he gave the bike a complete tune-up. He stated that the bike fired right up. I guess if you fix everything you find the cause--or series of minor things that result in starting problems.

I do have a theory. A touring bike, when started, runs for a long time at highway speeds. Everything is hot, the battery is brought up to full charge. My bike is started and stopped at least once every 50 miles. I told the wrench that I wondered if "the battery and charging system" as a whole was ever brought to this same state of readiness. I have a tender where the bikes are parked, and I plug one in when the other is one the road.

That was my remedy, it worked, but I cannot prove or disprove a factual, singular cause.

Hermit,
make sure you keep us up to date, just in case anyone else has a similar problem...

Thanks for the input guys.. Yeah Ive cleaned and checked everything.. replaced the earth as it is known to corrode... its a nearly new Harley Battery the terminals and connections are all clean.. Ive got a cuple of spare batterys I think are Ok Im gona take em all to auto electrician and have em tested.. When I have time I also want to test the starter motor as my bro inlaw thinks part of the windings may have failed..

Bruce

Do the lights go on?
Does the horn work?
Does the battery have at least 12.8 volts on a tester?
If all the above work try tapping the starter with a hammer... don' t laugh...