Cole's notes:

Bought A 2003 sporty in Feb. Started it up and sat on it at least weekly waiting for riding season. In April I took it out, started and rode great, got about 300 I'm and then it just started dying. Engine was flooded, couldn't start it, killed the battery trying to start it, gas in the oil tank. So much fun.

What I did: changed spark plugs (3 times) changed oil twice, first time let sit and drained next day to help rid contaminates. Changed filter. Mechanic had over torqued air intake and busted the housing when replacing throttle cables so I had to replace air intake. Replaced with v&h vo2 naked. I also changed the ignition coil, bike started (after being left on charger) went for a ride and it would lurch and chug when throttle wasn't engaged. I cleaned the carb, learned a lot about carb, rebuilt the carb to make sure parts were going, even though they looked pretty good. Charged the battery went for a ride when it started up... Bike died a few blocks from home. I push it back.

I've been told, could be the battery or could be the ignition module. I have been replacing things one at a time in hopes of solving the problem. I was going to bring the battery to be tested and when I went to remove the positive wire, the c entire terminal broke off... Sad face. So a new battery is a must. But I also noticed this... See picture. The lead that the screws is in is what I ripped open when trying to loosen it. Facepalm. Possibly an issue..?

 

Both (positive and ground) main leads are fairly easy to change and not too expensive. The ground is much easier to change than the positive (depending how it's wired). I would recommend changing both wires as the likelihood of corrosion within the cables. If you can't find one a dealership, some battery shops make custom leads...or make one yourself. I've ordered the parts, and made my own leads before. As I said, not too hard and not too expensive. I'd even hazard to guess that a good number of your bike problems could be linked to these lead/terminal problems.

 

Thank you for your reply. The mechanic said there didn't seem to be any corrosion and they should be fine cleaned and taped. Unfortunately, a fresh battery didn't fix my issue and my poor sporty is back to not catching when I try to turn it over and it smells like it's flooding. So as much as I wanted to learn how to fix it up myself, I feel like I've done quite a bit, I'm bringing her to a local Harley mechanic Monday. Who will replace the ignition module. I'm hoping that is the fix, I'm already missing out on some riding. Fingers crossed!

He will also replace the battery leads. I mean, everything else is being replaced piece by piece, why not prevent that from being a future me problem!