The Problem: Your Sportster is dead.
Whether you neglected your bike all winter like I did, or you just fell on bad luck, your motorcycle's battery will eventually go bad. It's inevitable.
Don't Panic - This post and its accompanying video will walk you through how to fix this issue. I'm certainly no mechanic (as seen here), and you won't necessarily need one to get over this problem.
Ratchet with a 10mm Socket
10mm Wrench
Allen Wrench (I used a hexagonal bit with a multi-purpose tool)
New Battery (Size ETX14L)
Floating Charger Kit
Zip Tie (optional)
*These parts are not difficult to find. In fact, it's not necessary to memorize the size of the replacement battery you need. Any good auto parts store can be expected to know with little research what your Sportster needs. However, Wright's Motorcycle Parts & Accessories in Salt Lake City has a great reputation for being helpful and accommodating.
Part 1: Removal
If you're new to motorcycle maintenance, you're quickly going to find that you have almost no room with which to work. With that in mind, I advise you to start by removing the seat from the Sportster.
Take your allen wrench or hex bit and remove the bolt that attaches the seat to the frame.
Once removed, you can push the seat toward the handlebars and then pull it up off the frame.
Once the seat is off, you're free to remove the battery cover. It's on the left side of the bike - the side with no pipes.
Pull the battery cover off from the top to find that it is removed all too easily. Once removed you'll find the last couple of items blocking access to the battery. Removing them is simple.
The second to last thing in your way is the fuse box. Simply push the box toward the rear (you'll hear and feel a click out of place) then pull it toward yourself to remove it.
Now that the fuse box is dangling free and no longer obstructing your progress, you'll see the bar that safely holds the battery in one place. Take your socket wrench and 10mm socket to the nut at the bottom of that latch to remove it. Once the nut is gone, remove the strap from the belt loop at the top of the battery to finally have access.
*IMPORTANT*
Remove the nodes from the battery in the correct order, being careful not to let your metal tools ground it out. The resulting sparks and/or shock could damage your battery, not to mention startle you into dropping that very heavy object onto your person.
Pull the battery out as far as you can, take your 10mm wrench and remove the negative bolt (that's the one attached to the black cord that's farther from you).
Now you're free to remove the positive (red) node.
Part 2: Installation
The box to your floating charger has a few different pieces inside. For this step, grab the cord that has one split end and one adapter end. The split end has a small metal circle on each split, one designated with a red indicator so you know it's the positive side. Pull those ends apart for more slack to work with on this step.
Install the battery/floating charger in the reverse order of the way you uninstalled it
Starting with the red (positive) end this time, re-insert the bolt through both the cable attached to the motorcycle as well as through the floating charger circle. That's the easy part.
Now do the exact same for the black (negative) end. While this part is not difficult to understand, I found it incredibly tricky to pull off. Again, there's both little to no space to work inside a motorcycle as well as no extra slack in the bike's fuse cable. I wish I could offer you a trick, but unfortunately you're just going to have to find a way to get it attached that works for you. Watch the accompanying video at the top of this post to find out how I eventually figured it out.
Before you proceed, take note that the adapter end of your floating charger needs to remain on the outside of your cover. I'll give more detail in the conclusion, but essentially that's the part you're going to plug into the wall.
Reattach the securing strap and nut
Place fuse box back, slide toward handlebar to click in place
Put the battery cover back on
-This is where the optional zip tie comes into place. Once the cover is on, use it to secure it to your bike. Without it, this battery cover will easily be shaken off when you ride. This nearly happened to me and I don't recommend it. Traveling 70 mph on the highway is not the appropriate time to have your left hand hold this cover in place.
Place seat back on bike, reattach with its respective bolt
Part 3: Conclusion
The box that your floating charger came in has more pieces in it. But for this post, I'll only need to point out one more.
You'll notice a cable that has one end that plugs into the wall, a battery pack (sometimes the battery pack simply plugs into the wall itself), and another end that appears to fit onto the floating charger that's attached to your battery. After plugging that cable into the outlet, simply attach the other end to the ponytial attached to your battery.
By following this tutorial, this is what you've essentially done:
Your replacement battery now has full life and shouldn't give you any problems. As time marches on, however, the battery stability will be affected whether you like it or not. By enabling your bike to literally be plugged in you've given yourself months, maybe even a year or two, before needing to get a new battery.
If you keep plugging it in when not in use your battery's energy will remain topped off until it gets too old and ineffective to start, which will be some time away.
Do you have any questions or comments about this tutorial? Do you know something that I don't about this type of work?
Email me at: 2wheelsoverthewasatch@gmail.com
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