Hi guys, I decided to lash out on a couple items for my ride this arvo. I love having a go working on my bike, so I thought I'd share some tips regarding fitting Tri Bar led tail lights to 06 onward Softails.
After removing the old tail light and plugs from the original plastic mount, you will have to unbolt the 4 hex screws that hold it to the rear fender. I found those screws to be rediculously tight. My smallest 3/8 drive ratchet was about 8" long, (can't remember exactly what size socket, too late at night now). If you have the rear wheel on the bike, you will find it slow going as the end of the ratchet hits the tyre before 1/4 turns of the thread each time. Fortunately these 4 screws are only about 3/8 long, even still it seems to take forever. If you are fortunate to have a shorter ratchet, approximately 4 inches long you will be laughing once those bolts have been loosened enough for the smaller ratchet.
Next problem I encountered was the old and new brackets are a tight fit between the inside of the fender, and strut bracket. To over come this I used a large (roughly 8 mm wide) flat screw driver to prize the gap open a little more, to allow the new light harness using your free hand to gently slide it into place each side. Once done, the bracket can be slid into position relatively easy.
Once you have reconnected all the plugs to the circuit board, fitted the LED light, the rest is pretty easy. I recommend marking, drilling, & attaching your number plate to the metal bracket supplied, before fitting it to the plastic light harness.
I love the new look of my bike from the back of it, and hopefully I can post a pic of it later tomorrow, and I hope to catch the rest of you SA fellas on a ride sometime soon.
Cheers.
Yeah, I guess it would be boring if all bikes were the same, plus I like tinkering and adding my own personal touch to mine. It might take its toll on the wallet, but I always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind to scratch that itch until it's done.
