20 Most Recent 2003 Harley Davidson XLH Sportster 883 Hugger Questions & Answers

If this is the original H-D battery in your bike, you've gotten good service out of the battery. Time for a new one. The general rule of thumb on motorcycle battery life is two years although I have seen them last as long as five when kept on a charger designed for this.
The reason for the short life is heat, vibration and overcharging.

Due to it's small size, it is not advisable to charge a motorcyle battery using a standard car charger. If they are charged too quickly, they will overheat. With the standard car charger, even with the charger set on the 2 amp position, the initial charging rate can still exceed 20 amps. You need a charger that is limited to 1.5 amp output. The new "smart chargers" are the way to go these days. The most popular of these smart chargers is the "Battery Tender" but they are also made by Yuasa, and others. They are specifically designed to maintain the battery even after it reaches full charge. A standard car battery charger will overcharge and boil the battery dry once it fully charged. Using the "battery tender", I have gotten five years of service out of batteries in the past.

speed sensor locale on a 2003 sprotster(whoops) sportster is pretty much the same as where it is on the 2004 storpsert - the same question about the location was asked a few lines earlier...scroll up!