Bikers call fiberglass saddlebags "baggers."
People with one motorcycle usually mount saddlebags on their bikes. Bags do not look stylish on bobbers and bar hoppers, but they are a practical place to put your rain suit, spare helmet and a few tools. They also hold your leather jacket when a cold morning becomes a hot afternoon. The motor company makes hard bags for Fatboys that fit the bikes perfectly. Numerous aftermarket outlets also sell fiberglass bags for Fatboys. They are less expensive than Harley's saddlebags, but they do not always fit as well. Most hard bags, including Harley's, require you to relocate your rear turn signals as part of the installation.
Instructions
1. Reach inside your rear fender and find the nuts on your rear fender rail bolts. Use a flashlight if needed to locate the nuts.
2. Measure the distance from an inch above your exhaust pipes to the fender rail bolts on the right side of your bike with a steel tape. The distance should equal the distance from the bottom of your saddlebag to the pre-drilled holes on the inside of your bag.
3. Use a rear turn signal relocation kit to move your turn signals from the back of the fender rails to the ends of a bar or stalk that mounts just over your tail light. The kit should include all necessary parts, hardware and wires.
4. Begin relocating the taillights by elevating the Fatboy on a motorcycle jack. The wheel must hang down so you can access the inside of the fender.
5. Unscrew the rear seat stud with an Allen wrench. Remove the seat. Disconnect the black battery cable from the negative battery terminal.
6. Remove the plastic plug from the tail lamp access hole inside the rear fender.
7. Remove the turn signal wires and connectors from the inside of the tail lamp housing, then remove the turn signal wires from the clips inside the fender. Separate the four-way turn signal socket housings from the rear lighting harness pin housings.
8. Unplug the gray four-way tail lamp connector from the mating connector in the tail lamp housing. Mark for reference with masking tape and a pen, and remove the wires from both socket housings.
9. Remove the screw at the front of the fender mounting bracket and the screw and washer at the rear of the fender mounting bracket. Remove the turn signal lamp, fender rail and mounting bracket from the Fatboy.
10. Cut one piece of heat shrink tubing into two equal sections with scissors. Slide one piece of the tubing over the turn signal wires, all the way up to the lamp housing on each side of the motorcycle. Use a heat gun to shrink the tubing.
11. Install the turn signal lamp wires through the small hole in the recess cover. Position the cover into the recess in the turn signal housing.
12. Loosely attach the hex nut and lock washer onto the turn signal relocation bracket. Loosely attach the turn signal lamp and recess cover onto the threaded end of the turn signal relocation bracket.
13. Align the relocation bracket with the rear of the fender support. Fit the round pad into the mating hole in the support.
14. Install the rear fender rail with the hardware specified in your saddlebags' mounting instructions. Install the turn signal relocation bracket to the rear fender and fender rail.
15. Aim each turn signal lens straight back. Wrench tighten the hex nut and lock washer. Complete all steps for both sides of the motorcycle.
16. Install the turn signal wires and terminals into each cavity of the turn signal socket housings.
17.Route the turn signal wires under the turn signal relocation bracket and under the rear fender edge on each side of the vehicle. Connect the turn signal socket housings to
the pin housings on the rear lighting harness.
18. Plug the gray four-way tail lamp connector on the rear lighting harness into the mating connector in the tail lamp housing under the fender. Gently push the turn signal wires and connectors into the cavity inside the tail lamp housing, and install the plastic plug
into the tail lamp access hole in the rear fender.
19. Route the turn signal wire under the signal relocation bracket and secure to the bracket with a cable tie.
20. Bolt the saddlebags to the rear fender by holding a box wrench on each fender rail nut inside the fender and turning the head of the fender rail bolt with a socket wrench. Use strong thread locker on the bolts.
Tags: turn signal, rear fender, tail lamp, fender rail, relocation bracket, signal relocation, signal wires
