Needed to replace the battery on my 04 Sporty. It was my fault the battery failed because it was run down last fall and I never did charge it or put a battery tender on it. After that it just wouldn't take a charge. Bought a new battery from the local HD dealership about 2 weeks ago. Put a trickle charge on it until today when I was going to install it. Put the battery in and it turned over about two times and the starter started clicking. Removed the battery again and put it on a 2 amp charger for about 3 hours. This time it turned over about 4 tomes then the starter solenoid started to click. I checked voltage on the battery and it was about 12.5 volts which I think is low for a fully charged battery. I know the chances of getting a bad battery is pretty slim but I am not sure what else to check I believe the battery is failing with a load. Any ideas?

sound low to me i beleve they should be reading at least 13.5 volts.

Make sure all your connections are tight (both ends of the positive and ground). Then put a multimeter on the battery and watch it when hitting the starter. If the voltage drops significantly, you have a bad cell or two in the battery. Take it back to the dealer and have them replace it. If it maintains voltage, then your problem is elsewhere.

12.8 is considered fully charged. While the battery can be brought to 13.3, it will not hold that charge for long without support from a charger. 12.5 should still allow the battery to be usable. I would suspect connections or cables. It almost sounds like something is taking a massive draw on the first start.

Make sure all your connections are tight (both ends of the positive and ground). Then put a multimeter on the battery and watch it when hitting the starter. If the voltage drops significantly, you have a bad cell or two in the battery. Take it back to the dealer and have them replace it. If it maintains voltage, then your problem is elsewhere.

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If the voltage drops significantly ..
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If it drops below 10 volts while crcnking for no more than 10 seconds the battery is toast.

As suggested, fully charge the battery before doing this test. Do NOT use a charger of more than 2 amps. Best is to stay between .75 and 1.5 amps.

Do not guess at how long it must be on the charger in order to be fully charged. Either use an automatic battery charger [like Battery Minder or Battery Tender] or use a hydrometer to test the battery, or do both.

Bike should start within a few cranks. If you have a connection problem as already suggested then there may be another problem as well. Check you spark plugs for color etc.

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If the voltage drops significantly ..
>>

If it drops below 10 volts while crcnking for no more than 10 seconds the battery is toast.

As suggested, fully charge the battery before doing this test. Do NOT use a charger of more than 2 amps. Best is to stay between .75 and 1.5 amps.

Do not guess at how long it must be on the charger in order to be fully charged. Either use an automatic battery charger [like Battery Minder or Battery Tender] or use a hydrometer to test the battery, or do both.

Bike should start within a few cranks. If you have a connection problem as already suggested then there may be another problem as well. Check you spark plugs for color etc.
Yep. Except for one thing. Harley started using sealed batteries in the mid-nineties. A hydrometer won't help. A multimeter, preferably digital, is the way to go. I would charge the battery to at least 13.5, then try it out. If it drops below 12.8 within 24 hours, (even after a few starts), it's faulty. The real difference between a tired (or faulty) battery, as opposed to new one, is that a battery that's got some years on it, or has been allowed to overly discharge, can usually still be brought to a state of full charge. But, unlike a new (non faulty) battery, it simply will not hold the full charge for long. I've seen old batteries drop as much as .7 volts just sitting 24 hours. It wouldn't be readily noticed by anyone that rode daily, but let the bike sit a couple of days, and it's clicker time. (I wonder how often stators and regulators are blamed, when it's really just a bad battery?)

I had that problem and it was my spark plugs. Have you checked them?

The battery on my '03 Ultra only lasted about 2 months before it was toast.
Faulty batteries are sold all the time. I'd exchange the battery. (Before it's too late)

Put your volt meter on the battery and look for a significant voltage drop when you activate the starter. If the voltage doesn't drop a Lot, hook up the volt meter to the starter. [ + lead] If you now have a big drop, your problem is the Pos batt cable. If you don't show a big drop, hook up the
neg [black] meter lead to the starter frame and recheck. If you now have a big drop, the problem is in the ground circuit. It's possible it's a bad new battery, but the odds are against it. A battery cable can look good and have high resistance. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Well I cleaned all the terminals and cables. Battery read about 13 volts when I took it off the trickle charger. Hooked it up and the starter spun about 4 times. I had a VOM hooked up to the battery and when I hit the starter the volts dropped to about 4. Looks to me like it is the battery. Thanks for all the help. I will let you know what it does with the new battery.

These batteries do not take kindly to overcharging.Check the voltage output of your charger.My yuasa charger fried my battery it was charging at over 15 volts.

Sounds like a bad battery, but I always start off a new riding season with new plugs every year.

Good news and bad news. Took the battery back. The dealer checked and said it was bad. Gave me a new one. This one does the same thing. Bike is at the dealer now.