Hi all,
I am after some help if anyone here is kind as to help the mentaly impared. heheh
I have spent about 4 hours trying to fit a genuine HD side mount plate kit to my 48. It does not seam to fit. For anyone who has done it where does the bracket go.. between frame and guard.. or inside of guard... Did you have problems with the bolts being to short to hold it all on? Did you have any other problems and where did you find the info to fix them?
Also, I bought some HD SE spark plug leads. Anyone find the the ends to be the wrong type to fit the bike and that that the rear lead was way to short????
Also, if you want to point out any probelms with my terminology I would be more then happy... I am far from a mechanic as proven by my last four hours.
Thanks in advance.
Hey Harley_Dude, I have fitted one of these to my Iron. Things I suggest are:
1. get the back of the bike up on a lift, to get the rear wheel at full sag. You need the clearance under the rear guard to work in there. My Iron still had the 13.5 inch rear shock when I fitted the side mount bracket, which gave me enough room to work.
2. Take the seat off first. You need to get to the wiring connection for the number plate light, and it gets it out of the way.
3. Unbolt and disconnect the wiring for the plastic number plate and light piece that hangs off the rear guard. It is held on by the bolts at the rear of the frame rails on either side, and by the bracket that supports the rear guard from underneath.
4. Remove the left side blinker. Do this by undoing the bolt head you can see on the inside of the rear guard. This is a bit tricky, as there is a locking nut on the outside of this bolt, underneath the rear frame rail cover. Just keep turning the bolt until the blinker falls off. Wrap it in rags first to stop any scratches.
5. remove the left rear frame rail cover piece. You have to loosen, but not remove, the upper shock bolt on the left side. You will need a torx for this.
6. Now the tricky part. The steel rear guard is riveted to the plastic side piece of the rear guard. the side mount bracket replaces the whole plastic side piece. Using a good set of side cutters, cut the inside nobs off the two rivets. Take the time to cut these off flush, and then make sure they can be pushed out towards the outside of the bike from under the guard.
7. I think there is one more bolt through the rear frame rail that you have to remove now as well (it was a year ago when I did this!).
8. The plastic side piece should come off now.
9. replace the plastic side piece of the rear guard with the bracket for the side mount. I did not bother trying to replace the rivets. With three bolts involved, I reckon its fine to just rely on the bolts to hold it all back together.
10. Run the wiring for the side mount through the new side mount bracket and connect it up.
11. reassemble the rear in opposite to above - front bolt, blinker bolt, frame rail cover, shock bolt, rear bolts.
12. You will need to find two nuts to hold the rearmost bolts through the frame rails, as the original plastic rear guard number plate mount has captive nuts (it must be married...). They are half inch thread, 9/16 spanner size from memory.
To your question, the order goes tyre, plastic side piece, metal guard, rear frame rail, rear frame rail cover, working from the tyre to the outside of the bike. No idea about spark plug leads mate, sorry.
Hope this helps - it was a year ago, but happy to answer any questions. TC
Angel,
This is the sam bracket that comes stadard with the bike in US apparently. So it should not be that hard. Who knows thou.
I still dont know what is up with the spug plug leads!
Oh.. and my apes have finally left the US... I dont think I will do that fit myself though. ahaha. Photos to come!
TC,
First. You are worth your wieght in gold mate. Thanks for that reply, it is going to help me out heaps.
I was not removing that plastic bracket. I think that is where I was going wrong and not letting the bolts fit.
Does that order leave a gap between the fender and that plastic wiring bracket? Because of the lic plate bracket?
Harley_Dude, here are some pics I took today:
First, looking from behind up underneath the rear guard. It is a bit blurry, but this one shows best the relative positions of the plastic side piece and the steel guard
The second is a side shot from below with the number plate part of the bracket folded towards the rear of the bike
Hope they help. TC
