I have the manual release and mine still turns a little hard. You should know if there not working, it will really crank hard. Hows your Batt?
Take loose both plug wires, one plug out and screw in a compression tester.... It should PUMP low pressure when you kick it over to start. (Less than 160 lbs?)
I Have a KING 09 and the original battery... I just replaced MY 1st battery for the same reason,,,,,,Sluggish Starting. THEN NO START.
Lucky it would not start at the
Start of my ride..... Easy push back into the garage was better than a distant ride out and NOT back.
IF you have the same 09 battery in your bike, Chances are (like Jeff asks) it is TIME for a new one.
I usually PREACH 2 to 3 years and then you are on
borrowed time.
Mine lasted longer... Can't believe it... I don't have that bike (KING) on a tender but my seldom ridden Sport is and it has a fully charged battery.
The King Doesn't sit long before a ride. Most of my rides are a couple hundred miles out and back, so it does stay charged. (two full days of rest for the King is unusual)


That is one reason my battery lasted so long.... SO,,,,,RIDE That Bike....
signed....BUBBIE