This is my first post here lets see how it goes. Bought my SG, 4-4-13. Traded in my Yami Roadstar................not getting the feeling that it was a good trade. When I first picked it up, it quit on me on the way home. Had to have it towed home, dealer came and got it the next morning and replaced everything in the fuel tank. They don't know to this day what exactly was wrong just wasn't getting the correct fuel pressure. It then started having this intermittent starting problem. Turn the ignition switch, wait for it to go through it's diagnostics, hit the button and nothing but a small clicking sound. Harley was nice enough to give me my 1000 mile service free for my initial problem. Told them about the starting issue, they could not find anything and of course it wouldn't do it for them. That was around the first of this month. It has done the non starting problem 3 times since. Always after work after it sat for 10 hrs covered up. The last two time I found that holding the button down and rotating the switch ever so slightly it makes contact and fires up. To me this says the problem is in the switch. Talked to Harley yesterday, unless it will do this for them they won't/can't do anything to help. They want me to leave it with them for a period of time, maybe one of there techs riding it home or so to see if it will do it for them. Don't care for the idea of having somebody riding it. I don't give a damn who they are. Besides I doubt they could get it to do it. I asked them does it need to fail me and leave me stranded somewhere in order for them to fix it. Their reply was, "well we hope it doesn't do that". Leaving this Monday for a 1000 mile rode trip into the White Mountains of AZ. and not feeling very confident. I do like this bike, handles much better than my Roadstar but............Roadstar never left me stranded.

 

If you won't leave it with them because someone else is going to ride it and may find out what the problem is an fix it, then ride it on your trip and good luck to you.

 

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....RCUIT-BREAKERS

For $50, I'd change it before the trip.

 

I'm gambling that it won't give me any problems on my trip since it's never done it when on a ride.
I do believe I'll look in to it when I get back.
Everybody have a safe 4th.

 

I can see your problem. I can see the dealers', too. What if they replace the switch and it doesn't resolve the issue? Do they keep putting parts in until it's fixed? Who pays for those parts (and labor)? The dealer? The MoCo?

Intermittent problems are generally the most difficult to resolve. It sucks. But that's the way it is, can't just take it in and get it reliably fixed when you are guessing at the cause.

As for their tech driving the bike home, what's the point of that? Is the tech going to trouble-shoot it if/when it happens to him? What if it resolves itself before he finds a 'smoking gun'? How many days/weeks does he drive your bike home? (how frequently does the problem occur for you, how often in how many miles?)

If it were me, I'd try to make a deal. I'd offer to pay to have the switch replaced. If it turns out you have no further issues with it after a reasonable amount of time (long enough it should have happened again), give them the 'old' switch back and ask them to file a warranty claim, refund the service cost to you, and get their money out of the service via the warranty...

Alan

 

Alan, I like your idea.
scj, thanks for the web site.

 

sounds like the switch but depending on how much you are wiggling the switch you may be turning the relay on and off till it catches also , and a sometimes problem is the biggest pia there is , then you don't know if you fixed it or it just quit acting up like a loose wire or something , good luck and ride on , you could find out how to jump your starter with a piece of wire before you go on your trip , but make sure the bike is in neutral , then you know you won't have any problems , LOL

 

Hello Bone57
Was the bike new if not try to contact the owner and see if it had problems for them, may be its why they part exchanged the bike. New or not new I could not use a bike that had starting problems. I would ask them to keep the bike for a bit and the problem would show. There is a problem and it will not go away so best to get it sorted. Try another post to the tech guys they will be able to go through what it could be. Keep us posted and good luck.

 

Intermittent problems are hard to find and sometime you just have to replace the parts in the circuit you suspect and see what happens. Doing nothing won't get it fixed. Sounds like he has it narrowed down so if the dealer doesn't want to try a few new parts I would buy them and install them myself. Then I would find another dealer.

 

tbone108, bike is brand new.
1st 96 ultra, no more than 2°