Motorcycle Repair: 85 fxr electrical, torque starter, battery cables

Question
Hello there, i have a 1985 FXR lower rider (harley of course) ... the other day i went to start the bike and i had a buzzing sound coming from the starter area, after a few tries in attemp to start, the bike shut down (a loud click) for a moment, then the click turned back on... so when i opened my seat to check out the battery the +positive terminal had melted, and the both cables (- +) were hot... First thing i thought was check for a short somewhere, now befor i continue id say about 9 months ago i put in a cigarette lighter straight to the battery because i do funeral escorting one in awhile, and i have a box flashing lights that hook up to the cig. lighter... now i never put anything in the cig. lighter to keep the moisture or water (anything else that can get in there) out, so over time i guess it eventually caused a short somewhere and melted the battery post, and the wires to the cig. lighter... so i just got a new battery and put it in, inspected the other wires around the battery area and they looked fine, and so when i started it, it still gave me that buzzing (wanting to kick over) sound, and after a few seconds i felt the battery cables an they got warm real fast... and i also should mention that i have a high torque starter due to high compression (it used to be a police bike and they shaved the heads to bump the compression)... not sure if that will help any, but what do you think, did i burn the starter or solenoid?

Thank you for your time!

Answer
You have a short which is causing the wires to over heat and the clickin you hear is the breaker kicking out and then when it cools, kicks back in. I would check both ends of the positive cables to make sure they are tight and then retry. If it is still doing it, then you are going to have to look for a shorted wire in the starting system, since that is when it happens.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike