Rubbermount_EVO Left Sidecover Won't Fit

[Bluto]

+1 on the HD AGM battery still being available, I just bought one from my dealer about 2 weeks ago and it is working great. The reason I bought it is because I had a Yuasa battery with lead terminals and spacers required like yours. The terminals would loosen up several times a year and in sometimes this would cause arcing and battery damage, that got real old. Others have had the same experience from what I've read. The HD battery does not require spacers plus the terminals have steel inserts for the bolts and are far more secure. I'm not anti Yuasa, their batteries have worked fine on several of my other bikes but never again on a Sportster...

[IXL2Relax]

I just updated this section of the Sportsterpedia:
http://sportsterpedia.com/doku.php/techtalk:ref:elec03b

It now has additional information to clarify the issue brought forward in this thread.


IXL _______ >>>> My Motorcycle Chronicles Are Here <<<<
For Sportster Tech Info:
Ride On The Sportsterpedia - A Toll-Free XLForum Information Highway!

[Andy56]

In 2014 HD turned the battery around. The cable ends are bent at 90° and do not hang straight down. They run back over the top of the battery. It is therefore possible to fit a battery like the Yuasa without the need for spacers.


I have a 2008 here and have experienced only the negative lead coming loose.

The battery has spacers fitted. The reason the negative comes or came loose is because I was connecting it first not in accordance to the manual. This causes the lead to sit at a slight angle and I suspect hit the back of the battery box.

When fitting the lead properly straight down and fitting the other end to the crankcase after fitting the positive lead it has been good now.

[Andy56]

Plenty of folk never use a torque wrench but if you are having problems with the leads coming loose at the battery just give it a go and see if you really are doing the bolts to torque, 60 - 70 in-lbs or 6.8 - 7.9 Nm.

This is from the 2017 FSM. In 2008 they were 70 - 80 in-lbs so have been revised down a bit.

I was surprised at how far off I was and it initially becomes a bit scary as I turned the torque wrench how much more they needed doing up.

[ParrotHead]

Originally Posted by cookiemech

There were a couple of spacers included in one of the bags of miscellaneous items that came with the bike, so I cleaned them up and used them. I carefully bent the ground cable terminal end so it could be mounted in the original way (cable vertically). Installed my new positive cable, so I didn't have to mess with that one. I connected my Battery Tender pigtail to the starter end of the cable (positive) and the other end to the ground stud at the back of the primary case, so I wouldn't be adding any wiring to the battery terminals. Zip-tied the ground cable to the battery post after tightening it, and as I installed the battery, it was obvious why this is important.

Bottom line is that after a lot of tedious fiddling, the battery is fully seated in its compartment and I was able to install the sidecover.

Without the photos and guidance in this thread, that sidecover would still be sitting on the bench. I've never seen a battery installed this way before, so the "right" way was not obvious to me.

Thanks!

Great news!!!

[cookiemech]

Today I took a ride to my local H-D dealer and sure enough, they had no trouble selling me a new 65958-04C battery, as well as the latest updated clips for the sidecover.

And the parts man looked at the part number I took from the MoCo website for the battery and said (after entering it into his computer) that it was something he couldn't even access. No idea why I couldn't get the battery from them.

I should be getting the new ground cable next week, so I'll install the "genuine" battery and everything should be bone stock, the way I like it.