Hi everyone... working on the Low Rider. I wanted to get more visibility on the road and also upgrade a few minor components. The mods outlined here include:

- Bareback hardware for the saddlebags (I don't expect to have them attached to the bike much)
- New 7" headlamp
- LED turn-signals for the front and rear.
- Flush-mount gas cap
- Flush-mount fuel gauge
- New pegs & grips

The first thing I did was upgrade the stock grips and pegs. I wanted something with good grip and a little chrome but not over-the-top. I went with a set of Avon Custom Contours. I like the grip and love that they are made in the USA. Went on without a hitch.

Here is a side-view of the new grips and pegs.



I then installed the LEDs for the front signals. I was originally going to relocate the signals to the forks using an Arlen Ness relocation kit using the pinch bolts, but that didn't work. The kit did NOT (in any way) fit my 2008 FXDL and I am in the process of returning it. I mean, it wasn't even close. Anyhow, I decided that I liked the LEDs up on the bars, especially with my new headlamp (next post). I got the Dynamic Ringz from Custom Dynamics. They were plug and play - super easy and seem to work really well. I was amazed at how BRIGHT the outer ring of white LEDs are! Check out a few photos.

 

Wow. It looks great. Those front signals really are bright as running lights. I had no idea.

 

The next step was to install a new headlamp. The small 5 3/4" lamp that comes stock on the FXDL drives me nuts. It looks so wimpy out in front... I was looking into different options, like a mini-fairing or a cowl of some kind - at the very least a visor or ring to dress up/bulk up the lamp. Then I stumbled upon a bunch of threads here that talked about adding a Fat Boy headlamp to a Dyna. It is a bolt on (and wire) scenario, with little modification. Seemed like a good idea, and the big 7" lamp looked awesome on the bike's I looked at.

I found a Fat Boy headlamp for like $70 on ebay... I wanted to get a HD lamp if possible, but I did look at the after-market options. Those were either cheap (import) or super expensive ($300+)... luckily I found this lamp and it was PERFECT!!!!! A little wiring work and it fired right up. Check out the before/after photos to see that stark differences.

OLD:





NEW:







OLD:



NEW:







With the lights on:

 

Wow! Looks good. Like the changes

 

OK... so I was waiting on the rear-signals to arrive so I decided to install the flush-mount gas cap. The one I bought was the Kuryakyn flush-mount from JP Cycles. So... it looks nice, was easy to install and should work fine (haven't ridden with it yet)... but I am concerned that it is not really "flush-mount"... two issues, really:

#1, it isn't "FLUSH" - it sits about 1/4" to 1/2" off the tank. I guess I wasn't expecting actually FLUSH, but it sticks up mor ethan I expected.

#2, it actually doesn't sit fully against the tank all the way around the cap. In other words, the there are gaps on two sides... have any of you run into the same experience? It appears that the curvature of the tank prohibits from actually sitting against the metal... it makes sense.. metal doesn't bend, I get it... but I didn't expect it.. I took some pictures so you can see. If I go any farther down it will start digging into the paint on the two higher sides.










I wonder if I was doing something wrong on the install?

It looks really nice, and from a foot away you won't see anything I don't expect.

 

I was going to install the left-side, matching gas gauge but wanted to make sure the right side was working correctly first. Plus, the left side involves some electrical work and likely lifting the tank slightly to get underneath for the wire harness. Funny, I read the reviews on the store websites and people are like, took me 15 minutes to install... LOL. That is a 45 minute project... I mean unless you work on bikes all the time it isn't 15 minutes... Just reading the (awful) directions and understanding what they wanted me to do took 10 minutes in itself. I'll post pictures of that install once I get to it.

 

Ok, last update for today... I received the rear signal LEDs so I went to install them... with more issues (always, for me). I bought the Custom Dynamics "Dynamic Clusters". These LEDs are drop-in replacements to the stock bulbs, but also feature the ability to run as running lights and act as additional brake lights. So, I was very interested in adding some additional lighting to the read of the bike with minimal effort.

LOL

The clusters came with two additional wires on each, to hook up to the running light "hot" and the brake light "hot" - simple. The problem is that I have the HD rear-turn signal relocation kit installed so I have to run the wires through the light housing (requiring drilling), through this SUPER skinny tube, behind the license plate and then into the brake light itself. The little tube that supports the bullet lights and allows the wires to sneak to the brake light (for power) is SUPER skinny (did I capitalize that again??). I think I have a way to get the existing wires and the two new wires into the tubes, so I may be working on that tonight. Here is where we stand after 1 hour last night.

 

Ok, so I had a chance to work on the rear lights tonight. As I mentioned, I had to run the very small running light/brake light wires through the signal light mount and into the brake light housing. Here is what I had to deal with:



Eventually I got the wires in and seated the LEDs into the bullet housing. I think they look cool, and they will always be "on" so I'm not worried about the clear lenses. I did have to drill small holes through the reflector and the rubber gasket in order to run the extra wires.



Here is a photo of the lights mounted, before I tested them.



Ok, here is a photo of the rear tail "running light" prior to the new LEDs:



And now here is what it looks like!



And that is NOT with the brake on - just running lights.

Here are a few more, the camera makes it look brighter than it really is:






Hard to catch, but here is with the right blinker on:




Next up is installing the load stabilizer.

 

So I got the load stabilizer installed and then moved on to the LED Informer fuel gauge. The gauge looks awesome... doesn't appear to be displaying the right amount of fuel, so I need to do a little problem solving.

I rode the bike for about an hour yesterday and the lights look awesome! I highly recommend the Custom Dynamics lineup.

 

I've got the Dynamic Ringz from Custom Dynamics. These lights are so bright one night I'm riding home, my low beam didn't seem as bright as usual. When I got home I checked it out and the low beam was out. The Ringz were bright enough to see the road.