Frustrating Day

What a frustrating day! I just returned home yesterday after an extended stay out of the country. I took a short ride into town to get some things for a wife project, then went to work on my project, the turn signal relocation, saddlebag supports and docking hardware for quick release sissybar mounts.

The three kits came from three different vendors, the docking hardware was from Harley, and the relocation kit and supports came from J&P. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with 3 pictures, and a lot of parts that did not seem to match. One of the Harley parts needs some modifications to work. I managed to figure out one side after a while, and it turned out not really all that difficult.

I went to do the other side, when the frustration hit home. For the front of the saddlebag supports, an extension is put on the shock mount. When tightening this up, I put too much force into it, and I guess I do not know my own strength, and snapped the shock mount. Now I need to get a new mount and get the end out of the extension.

So much for riding this weekend! Oh well, live and learn!

I got a tank & dash from J&P...No instructions, missing caps that were advertised.....called customer service about 10 times. nothing. Still no instructions or caps. That was in February. I wont order from them again.

I have no complaints on the order from J&P, I ordered the stuff early last week and it was here on Friday. The only problem was with the part in the Harley kit. My complaint would be that I am trying to put on three different kits that do not work together as well as it could because parts of these which should be in the Harley kit were not, and the saddlebag supports that would work with the Harley kit is only sold by Harley with their saddlebags, which are too expensive.. I am just frustrated at my own foolishness at breaking the shock mount. Now I cannot ride till I get that fixed.

This may actually be a blessing in disguise. The side I had complete looked quite ugly, IMHO. With the extension on the shock mount and then the saddlebag support, the whole thing stuck out 2.5 inches past the shock, and did not look good. Trying to figure out how to fix the broken one over a couple of beer, knowing getting a replacement would take a few weeks, I think I have a fix. The part that goes through the frame is a 3/4" assembly that is milled down to a 1/2" shaft. If I drill and tap the through part out with a 1/2" hole, I can use a shoulder bolt for the shock and saddlebag mount, make it a lot more flush, and easier to maintain in the future.

Yes, the wonderful world of fabrication. I also need to keep the coffee intake down to prevent the over force!