When I finally made the decision to go with the throw-over saddle bags from Tour Master I also decided to use the Harley-Davidson Saddlebag Supports, figuring that while a bit pricey ($100) they would be of good quality and fit for my 2008 Sportster XL1200 Custom. I purchased the supports from San Diego Harley, took a quick look at the instructions and thought it looked like quick work to do the install.
I set the Sportster's jiffy stand on a two-by-four to get the bike near level. The Harley kit covers multiple Sportster years and has a variety of hardware. I read through the instructions in detail to pull out the specific nuts and bolts required for the install. The first thing I noticed was that the rear mount for the support is assembled using a 2 3/4" bolt that runs from inside the fender and is finished with an acorn nut. Having recently completed the turn signal relocation project I knew that given the low height of the Custom there wasn't much room between the tire and fender.
Removing the original bolt, that runs from outside the fender to an inner nut, and then trying to fit the new, longer bolt it was obvious there was not way to get it through the fender and frame rail with the rear suspension attached. Getting the rear suspension detached is easy enough, I simply rolled over my floor jack, with large rubber pad, positioned it under the Sportster and raised the bike to full extension of the shocks. With the shocks extended I removed the bolts and carefully balancing the bike raised it to the point where I could fit the new bolts through the fender and frame. Having the bolts close by made this a fairly easy and low risk task. With the bolts in place I gently lowered the bike to the point where I could reattach one of the shocks.
At this point I slipped the saddlebag supports over the rear mounts to gets sense for how they would line up (on the side without the shock attached). The supports are overall "close" to fitting but they do not exactly line up with the frame and shock assemblies. The instructions are nebulous about the installation of a spacer for the rear mount but given the gap between the rear and forward mounting positions I put the spacer on the outside of the support.
I thought that the forward, shock mount would be very easy, simply align the support and run the new, longer bolt and cover. I then discovered the that new cover, which in all fairness is marked for 1994-1999 models did not have a large enough hole for the newer Sportster shock bolts. Back to the original cover; unfortunately the original cover has a deeper recess and when the bolt is tightened the saddlebag support will crush the edge of the cover. Even with the spacer on the outside of the cap the support did not fit properly with the cover. 
Ultimately I decided not to use the cover, I could only stare at the pieces for so long. I may get another spacer but for now I'm claiming success for the installation.
2 comments:
By looking at your last picture the hole left by the turn signal are not used for the support bar. So do you have any idea why they are required to be moved for installation of the support bars? In your opinion would it be possibel to leave them there and use a narrower bag?
I mounted mine without moving turn signals haven't notice any problems
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