SURFOR Chop - Well, now I'm even more confused..I did the changeout today without any problem at all..I found where the old one was plugged in (beneath the oil filter) and unplugged it..I took the bolt out of the actual unit..it came out peacefully..then I reversed the procedure with the new one..no problem whatsoever - well, except for one thing...after installing the new CKP, it didn't fix the problem..still won't start..so instead of playing the guessing game, she's already on a trailer and I'm off to the Harley shop tomorrow..my next guess would've been the coil, but I need my bike fixed asap..so I'm going to let the experts figure it out and fix it..hopefully for not too much dinero...

 

A common failure is the starter relay.

 

I can understand the reasoning of SURFOR Chop, about packing a $50 part in the tool kit for a pretty rare occurrence, BUT (and everybody's got a big but(t)) when I think back on some of the godforsaken/remote/sunbaked/desolate highways I've ridden on trips to/thru the Southwest, I can easily justify packin' a spare. As I type this, I remember a friend telling how he was stranded along a sweltering highway hell-hole by a failed CKP. Might just fall under the category of "cheap insurance".

 

Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth here. This bike has always been hard starting even before all the engine mods. I have gone through 3 starter clutch/gears replacing one in the parking lot of a motel. I tried all sorts of remedies from compression releases to rewiring the starter relay so that the lighting circuit is turned off when the starter is activated. Still cranked a long time and backfired all too often finally not starting at all last week (awesome backfire though). This hard starting, I believe, caused all the starter failures. And I think it was caused by a weak crank sensor (advice if you disagree).
I picked up a Crank Position Sensor code (41) from the module and decided to replace it. I think the Crank Position Sensor was bad but not fatal from the very beginning because just after the rear cam bearing disintegrated at 2000 miles, the cam position sensor got destroyed as well. When I checked codes at that time I got both 41 and 42 (crank and cam). But I only changed the cam sensor thinking the crank sensor code was because of a recent backfire.
Very happy to report that it now starts immediately. Hope this it!
Sorry for the long post!

 

Glad to read you figured it out and now it starts like it is supposed to.