Ok guys.. I'm at my wits end with my 03 SH. Since the day I got it the bike has never seemed to start correctly. I can't leave the lights on without it running for 30 seconds and it won't start any longer. I've had it checked by the dealer twice. Started has been replaced (dealer says it was drawing too much current) and the 2nd time they couldn't find anything wrong although they could re-create the problem.

Ok. sometimes my bike starts, sometimes it doesn't?? If it doesn't start on the first try it's pretty much done and I have to push it off. Right now my bike won't start and still read 12.5V on the battery. I've tested for a drain and found nothing.

What could be the problem? I wouldn't guess starter since it's brand new. I can have the battery tested myself but would it read that high and not crank.

Also, sometimes when it doesn't crank, the clock resets and the tripometer will also reset. I've checked the fuses and everything looks good. What else can I try?

Once.. it's running I can ride for hours and everything is fine which makes me thing the charging system is working

 

One thing I'd suggest is to try another dealer and STAY AWAY from that other one.

Can you swap out the battery from another bike? I mean it doesn't have to fit, just attach the terminals. Bad batteries can do really strange things. I believe >12.6V at rest is normal, below that means it needs a charge although we're splitting hairs here.

 

Sounds to me like when you engage the starter, the bike is grounding out positive to ground, or the starter has a bad ground. Check wiring and ground connections. The wiring connections are in a bad place behind the front wheel and it can get pretty crusty in there.