2006 Sportster cranks but won't start

[despower]

Hello All... Happy Holiday Weekend.

I have a 2006 Sportster that I can't seem to get going after winter storage. The Battery is fully charged, and the engine will turn over, but it is very laboured (slow?) and cranks only a few times before I hear a 'spinning' sound. It just doesn't catch and start. I just replaced the plugs to see if that was a problem - no difference really. Note that I just drained and replaced the oil and cleaned the raves before putting it away last fall. This is the first time I have ever had trouble starting it in the Spring/Summer after fall storage.

I know there could be a multitude of things to check, but I wonder if anyone could suggest a few places to start. I am presently recharging the battery - which is relatively new - just to make sure it isn't that.

Des

 

[despower]

Just pulled the plugs to see if the engine would crank freely... no problems there. Engine continues to turn over fine. Any suggestions as to what to try next?

 

[rusty nail]

fyi you posted this in the two stroke section....you may want to post in the four strokers

 

[despower]

fyi you posted this in the two stroke section....you may want to post in the four strokers

My Sportster is a two stroke. I accidentally posted in the 4tec forum first. My bad.

 

[rusty nail]

Oh. i am pretty sure the 2006 is a four stroke? No?

 

[rusty nail]

2004 sportster le had the 951 two stroke.

 

[rusty nail]

you say in your first message that you drained and replaced the oil. If it has an oil pan it is a four stroke. It is not necessary to drain the oil from a two stroke tank.

 

[despower]

you say in your first message that you drained and replaced the oil. If it has an oil pan it is a four stroke. It is not necessary to drain the oil from a two stroke tank.

Ah, yes I see the issue. I don't use the boat a lot and my engine has been a tad smokey. So last season I drained the two stroke oil tank, replaced it with fresh oil and replaced the inline filter. Perhaps draining the oil was unnecessary, as you say, but I was just being thorough.

 

[despower]

And to be clear, my boat is a 2006 Sportster LE.

 

[rusty nail]

ok....now i understand the boat. . back to your issue, sound like a battery problem. report back if/or if not that solves things. Good luck

 

[rusty nail]

when you had the plugs out and cranked the engine, did oil come rocketing out of the plug holes?

 

[despower]

No it did not. Should this be something I should check? The oil is clearly flowing past the inline filter though.

 

[rusty nail]

No. It is good that oil did not fly out. It means your crank seals are fine

 

[despower]

Well crap. I charged the battery again. No go. Decided to hook up the car battery for extra juice and voila. I guess I have a weak battery, and it's only two years old. Sorry for the trouble.

 

[rusty nail]

Good thing it was a cheap fix. I would not boost your boat. You run the risk of damaging the sensitive electronics . You may have a parasitic drain that is killing your battery. When my boat is out of the water I take off the positive lead and keep it on a tender. When it is parked in the water I use a solar panel tender so that I never have to worry about the bilge pump not working over night. Have a good summer

 

[despower]

Yes, I was warned about that. I was pretty careful. Nonetheless, the battery seems like it's toast so I'll need a new one. The boat shut down after only a few minutes, then wouldn't crank again. The battery is only two years old. Still a cheap and easy fix.