Daughter bought a cherry '07 Sportster XL1200L with under 3400 miles and tons of Screamin Eagle bling on it. It ran like a Swiss watch till yesterday. Yesterday I added a set of engine guards to protect the bling. Completed the job and started the engine. It was making an odd clicking noise it never made before so I shut it off, checked it over and found nothing out of the ordinary. Oil's full and clean, gas tank's full. kill switch in run position, fuel pump working. Hit start again and it turned over several times but wouldn't start. Tried it again and the engine made a loud "clunk" and would not turn over or even budge. Now that is all it will do. The "clunk" even sounds as if it's coming through the pipes, but the engine does not turn. Here's what I've checked and don't suspect to be the culprit: It has a brand new and fully charged AGM battery, the cable connections are clean and tight, All electrics work as they should, except when the start button is pressed of course. I pulled both plugs and that made no difference; still "clunked" when the starter button was pressed. I put it in gear and rocked the engine that way but I don't think the engine moved and the tire did skid some.

This is not the "clatter" of a weak battery or a bad starter solenoid or starter relay. The switches seem to be like new and this problem has never happened before in the 7 months she's has the bike. The only difference between it running fine and now is the 4 bolts I removed and replaced to fit the engine guards; two below the bottom triple tree where the horn mounts, and two below the engine in the front corners of the frame. I don't know for sure, but it doesn't seem as if there's anything at those locations that could be causing this problem and the bolts that were used are the same bolts that were in it before the guards went on. The clicking sound I heard when it first started did seem to come from the area where the starter lives. Could the starter clutch seize up and prevent the engine from turning over? Suggestions welcomed, this one's a puzzler. I'm new to working on Harleys, but not new to working on motorcycles including big V twins and baggers.

 

Pull the battery and have it load tested.

Clean all battery cable connections.

You might remove the end of the starter solenoid and check the condition of the plunger and the contacts.

When you reinstall the battery, make sure you install it by the process laid out in the service manual.

 

Sounds like the motor ate something it didn't like.

 

A friend just mentioned having missed a thin negative battery cable on his bike when he replaced his battery. I only remember there being one on ours. I'll be pulling the battery shortly to see if there's one hiding behind the battery box that I missed...

 

It ran fine after the battery was installed but now it doesnt and you think that a missed wire is somehow now the cause? Am i following you or did I get the chain of events mixed up...my reading compression is lacking sometimes lol. Im not a sportster expert but ive read about a plate in the clutch thst can self destuct in sportsters...not sure if your year is one of the affected years...one of the many great sportster guys on here that can help answer that.

 

Yeah, it seemed odd to me too, but at this point I'm grasping at straws. I pulled the battery again, double checked the charge, and searched everywhere over, under around and through the battery box for an extra negative cable. There wasn't one. So I reinstalled the battery, making sure the connections are clean and tight. No help. One good thing from today, though: I put it in a higher gear and the engine turns over freely and obviously has compression. I also tried using a jump box with my battery, and it made no difference. This Sportster is a 2007 XL1200L (Low) with 3407 miles on the clock. Everywhere I look it still looks brand new.

 

Did you say, with the transmission in a high gear, and the clutch 9ut, you are able to push it? If yes, then I’d aim at the starter. But, just for yucks, I’d have the battery load tested. Sometimes a battery can just up and die.

 

Yes, the engine turns over in high gear and you can hear its compression. This AGM battery is less that 40 days old, and it's fully charged. But for grins, I connected a fully charged jump box and it made no difference. I'm focusing on the starter now even though this is a very low mileage bike. Daughter just bought it a few months ago and hasn't ridden it much at all. Always been garaged with us, but we have no idea where the PO parked it.

 

So the motor is not locked up. If you got a voltmeter, measure the voltage at the both sides of the solenoid when you press the start button.

 

So it turns over in a higher gear but it doesnt turn over in neutral?