Took a long ride up to check out Laconia Bike week from Boston today. On the way home (about 30 mins away from home), all the lights and the tach/speedo started going nuts and then the engine cut off. I pulled over on the side of the road and the bike would not turn over. Turning the key i would get nothing, no lights, no headlight, nothing.

Turns out, I broke down in front of a house of a guy who has a sporty too and he came out and helped me. Super nice guy but we both couldnt figure out why it wouldnt start. He hooked up a meter to the battery, it is full (something i confirmed later on my meter and tender at home). We tried a jump with a car battery (car was turned off). When we hooked up the cables, the lights on the bike turned on normally and the bike started to turn over but wouldnt fully start.
Got the bike home, tried again.. no luck. Turning the key with a fully charged battery does nothing (no lights) and no noise when trying to start. Tested the battery, fully charged. Fuses look good as well.

So i'm lost at what this could be.. A stator? bad voltage regulator? Any suggestions of what to check would be very helpful! I have a 2005 Sportster 1200R

 

Did you clean, check your battery cables?

 

Took everything apart and it turns out it was the neg cable. Completely corroded off the ground post. Got a new cable and connected it (which was a bitch btw) and bike fired right back up.