battery relocation
#51
12-30-2019, 12:33 PM
i haven't had that bike for the better part of 7 years, and i have a 56 year old memory, but will still do the best i can for you.
when i did this bike back in 07-08'ish, i had to ebay everything and found most of it used. a bag here, a lid from somewhere else, but now a days, you can find a whole host of aftermarket bags and lids for under $250 cdn. i am in Winnipeg and buy stuff and ship it to the border to go pick up so i avoid UPS taking advantage of me. i have bought a/m streteched bags for my bike and when we were re-doing a buddy's bike. also bought the tour pack for his. we had no problems with the knock off versions. you do have to watch some of the latches though. just ordered saddlebag latches for another buddy's bike, ($60) haven't seen those yet so can't offer an opinion.
i did not put a battery on its side, it just slid down into the hole under the seat once i removed the non -operational cruise control stuff. i am by no means a welder but the bracket was simple to make. the battery was a sportster battery if i recall right. other than shuffle wires around and find a place to put them, i do not recall having to extend anything under the seat. from the look of my pictures that were posted, it looks like i sort of separated them and ran them on either side of the frame. the reese wiring harness was used to make the turn signals operate as a brake light also. just your normal trailer harness thing.
yes the 93 up bags fit. i had to make those bracket for both the left and right sides and re-drill the mounting holes, but really that was about it. no issues with the shocks or any rubbing as long as those brackets position the bag properly, vertical and parallel with the rear fender. i made fender fillers for it, since i was running led brake lights on that area, but it did not really push the bags wider. it fit quite nicely. i do still have the '93 right lower bag that hi had the battery knock out grafted into sitting in my shed.
i also had an a/m radio on that bike. don't really recall needing much to mount it other than what it came with, but i can't recall well on that one.
one final note, when i was building this, i had found a complete factory'07 street glide exhaust, (headers, muffler and heat shields) for under $100 delivered to the border. that pretty much bolted right up to the bike. pretty neat that something 18 years newer and 2 engine changes different, bolted right on.
hope this helps. if you want to talk more, send me a private message, and we can chat. i will keep an eye out for that.
when i did this bike back in 07-08'ish, i had to ebay everything and found most of it used. a bag here, a lid from somewhere else, but now a days, you can find a whole host of aftermarket bags and lids for under $250 cdn. i am in Winnipeg and buy stuff and ship it to the border to go pick up so i avoid UPS taking advantage of me. i have bought a/m streteched bags for my bike and when we were re-doing a buddy's bike. also bought the tour pack for his. we had no problems with the knock off versions. you do have to watch some of the latches though. just ordered saddlebag latches for another buddy's bike, ($60) haven't seen those yet so can't offer an opinion.
i did not put a battery on its side, it just slid down into the hole under the seat once i removed the non -operational cruise control stuff. i am by no means a welder but the bracket was simple to make. the battery was a sportster battery if i recall right. other than shuffle wires around and find a place to put them, i do not recall having to extend anything under the seat. from the look of my pictures that were posted, it looks like i sort of separated them and ran them on either side of the frame. the reese wiring harness was used to make the turn signals operate as a brake light also. just your normal trailer harness thing.
yes the 93 up bags fit. i had to make those bracket for both the left and right sides and re-drill the mounting holes, but really that was about it. no issues with the shocks or any rubbing as long as those brackets position the bag properly, vertical and parallel with the rear fender. i made fender fillers for it, since i was running led brake lights on that area, but it did not really push the bags wider. it fit quite nicely. i do still have the '93 right lower bag that hi had the battery knock out grafted into sitting in my shed.
i also had an a/m radio on that bike. don't really recall needing much to mount it other than what it came with, but i can't recall well on that one.
one final note, when i was building this, i had found a complete factory'07 street glide exhaust, (headers, muffler and heat shields) for under $100 delivered to the border. that pretty much bolted right up to the bike. pretty neat that something 18 years newer and 2 engine changes different, bolted right on.
hope this helps. if you want to talk more, send me a private message, and we can chat. i will keep an eye out for that.
#52
12-31-2019, 06:39 AM
Club Member
Howdy folks, new here. Not allowed to PM yet but was really after advice from you, broke c7. You built a really nice looking bike. I acquired an 87 and plan to do the battery relocation and bag swap as well. I already have some one touch bags, and the left one fits surprisingly well. What tank did you use? I would like to ditch the leather and plastic console and gas lid for chrome like you had. I’m having a tough time find parts to cross reference clear back to 87
We can drive you crazy with what can be done!
Last edited by grbrown; 12-31-2019 at 06:41 AM.
#53
12-31-2019, 10:50 AM
Seasoned HDF Member
Howdy folks, new here. Not allowed to PM yet but was really after advice from you, broke c7. You built a really nice looking bike. I acquired an 87 and plan to do the battery relocation and bag swap as well. I already have some one touch bags, and the left one fits surprisingly well. What tank did you use? I would like to ditch the leather and plastic console and gas lid for chrome like you had. I’m having a tough time find parts to cross reference clear back to 87
Did just go through the battery relocate / new bags conversion.
Not a whole lot to it, really. I bought a tiny lithium battery and fabricated an aluminum box to mount it under the seat. The bags (I went with cheapo aftermarket "one touch" style) fit without a lot of drama. Just needed to fabricate new brackets for the mounting bolts and cut off most of the old battery tray. I shimmed the grab rail bracket and the tour pack to ensure clearance from the bag lids.
Some pics:
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grbrown (12-31-2019)
#54
01-01-2020, 11:38 PM
Thanks for the info. Saddlebags is really putting the cart before the horse on this project, as I’m tearing her all the way down to the frame for some fresh paint and doing a resto-mod sort of project. But still imagining the finished cake helps keep ya cracking those eggs LOL. I have a pair of newer M8 bikes I ride regularly but really wanted something to call “mine” if ya know what I mean.
I hadn’t thought about trans swap with the oil pan...I have a trans that needs gone thru anyway and probably not too hard to find those parts from a salvage bike. Is the the inner primary the same? I would need the engine oil filter adaptor as well I imagine.
can you enlighten me what year tank you have and how it fit? We’ve got a couple swap meets coming so I would like to know what to look out for
also I notice most doing this saddlebag swap elect to trim the side cover with the batttery relief rather than substitute. How close are 93- up side covers? I know this 87 they bolt on, and later 90’a are press in style...anything that fits this bike fairly well?
I hadn’t thought about trans swap with the oil pan...I have a trans that needs gone thru anyway and probably not too hard to find those parts from a salvage bike. Is the the inner primary the same? I would need the engine oil filter adaptor as well I imagine.
can you enlighten me what year tank you have and how it fit? We’ve got a couple swap meets coming so I would like to know what to look out for
also I notice most doing this saddlebag swap elect to trim the side cover with the batttery relief rather than substitute. How close are 93- up side covers? I know this 87 they bolt on, and later 90’a are press in style...anything that fits this bike fairly well?
#55
01-02-2020, 05:47 AM
Club Member
There's an interesting contrast between 0maha's bag installation and mine. I forgot about the grab-handle, which my brother 'tweaked' using a torch, to provide clearance for my later style Evo style Police bags. I also changed my old rear fender, which was in a sorry state, for a later model which is a slightly different shape. Police bags were cheaper to buy than the 'normal' ones, also don't look as if mine have ever previously been on a bike, as they were 'as new' and I had to buy the various rubber components to install them. I used the stock rear mounting brackets and made new front ones, as the bags toe-out at the front. While my stock bags lean out when installed, my new ones are more level, when viewed from the rear - I assume the groves along the base of each bag, where they sit on the mounting frames, are set slightly further out on later models. I trimmed my stock side cover - can't help with the later style or trans, however others may chip in on that subject.
My 6 gallon tank is a 2009. It differs from our Evo tanks in several ways and was easier to fit as I have an S&S engine and carb. If you are interested I'll see if I can find my earlier words on fitting it. Like many things we get involved with it can be done, but requires some tinkering!
My 6 gallon tank is a 2009. It differs from our Evo tanks in several ways and was easier to fit as I have an S&S engine and carb. If you are interested I'll see if I can find my earlier words on fitting it. Like many things we get involved with it can be done, but requires some tinkering!
#56
01-02-2020, 06:48 AM
Stellar HDF Member
#57
01-02-2020, 01:01 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
But I will say this. As I was going through this, the idea of shaving down the stock battery box, as well as the stock side cover, seemed really "hacky" to me. Was pretty sure I wouldn't like it.
But now that it's done, it really does look fine. From the outside, it looks factory. The box is completely hidden, and the side cover looks original. By far the hardest part was shaving down the side cover, and that was only hard in the sense that there wasn't any way to get a good template, so I had to whittle it down a little bit at a time, test fit, repeat, etc.
Anyway, my $0.02 is to give some massage to what you've already got. You might be surprised at how tidy it turns out. And if you end up hating it, you're only out a small amount of time and a bit of wear on a cutoff wheel.
#58
01-02-2020, 06:12 PM
Grand HDF Member
Last edited by Mountainkowboy; 01-02-2020 at 06:14 PM.
#59
01-12-2022, 03:16 PM
Stage IV
i haven't had that bike for the better part of 7 years, and i have a 56 year old memory, but will still do the best i can for you.
when i did this bike back in 07-08'ish, i had to ebay everything and found most of it used. a bag here, a lid from somewhere else, but now a days, you can find a whole host of aftermarket bags and lids for under $250 cdn. i am in Winnipeg and buy stuff and ship it to the border to go pick up so i avoid UPS taking advantage of me. i have bought a/m streteched bags for my bike and when we were re-doing a buddy's bike. also bought the tour pack for his. we had no problems with the knock off versions. you do have to watch some of the latches though. just ordered saddlebag latches for another buddy's bike, ($60) haven't seen those yet so can't offer an opinion.
i did not put a battery on its side, it just slid down into the hole under the seat once i removed the non -operational cruise control stuff. i am by no means a welder but the bracket was simple to make. the battery was a sportster battery if i recall right. other than shuffle wires around and find a place to put them, i do not recall having to extend anything under the seat. from the look of my pictures that were posted, it looks like i sort of separated them and ran them on either side of the frame. the reese wiring harness was used to make the turn signals operate as a brake light also. just your normal trailer harness thing.
yes the 93 up bags fit. i had to make those bracket for both the left and right sides and re-drill the mounting holes, but really that was about it. no issues with the shocks or any rubbing as long as those brackets position the bag properly, vertical and parallel with the rear fender. i made fender fillers for it, since i was running led brake lights on that area, but it did not really push the bags wider. it fit quite nicely. i do still have the '93 right lower bag that hi had the battery knock out grafted into sitting in my shed.
i also had an a/m radio on that bike. don't really recall needing much to mount it other than what it came with, but i can't recall well on that one.
one final note, when i was building this, i had found a complete factory'07 street glide exhaust, (headers, muffler and heat shields) for under $100 delivered to the border. that pretty much bolted right up to the bike. pretty neat that something 18 years newer and 2 engine changes different, bolted right on.
hope this helps. if you want to talk more, send me a private message, and we can chat. i will keep an eye out for that.
when i did this bike back in 07-08'ish, i had to ebay everything and found most of it used. a bag here, a lid from somewhere else, but now a days, you can find a whole host of aftermarket bags and lids for under $250 cdn. i am in Winnipeg and buy stuff and ship it to the border to go pick up so i avoid UPS taking advantage of me. i have bought a/m streteched bags for my bike and when we were re-doing a buddy's bike. also bought the tour pack for his. we had no problems with the knock off versions. you do have to watch some of the latches though. just ordered saddlebag latches for another buddy's bike, ($60) haven't seen those yet so can't offer an opinion.
i did not put a battery on its side, it just slid down into the hole under the seat once i removed the non -operational cruise control stuff. i am by no means a welder but the bracket was simple to make. the battery was a sportster battery if i recall right. other than shuffle wires around and find a place to put them, i do not recall having to extend anything under the seat. from the look of my pictures that were posted, it looks like i sort of separated them and ran them on either side of the frame. the reese wiring harness was used to make the turn signals operate as a brake light also. just your normal trailer harness thing.
yes the 93 up bags fit. i had to make those bracket for both the left and right sides and re-drill the mounting holes, but really that was about it. no issues with the shocks or any rubbing as long as those brackets position the bag properly, vertical and parallel with the rear fender. i made fender fillers for it, since i was running led brake lights on that area, but it did not really push the bags wider. it fit quite nicely. i do still have the '93 right lower bag that hi had the battery knock out grafted into sitting in my shed.
i also had an a/m radio on that bike. don't really recall needing much to mount it other than what it came with, but i can't recall well on that one.
one final note, when i was building this, i had found a complete factory'07 street glide exhaust, (headers, muffler and heat shields) for under $100 delivered to the border. that pretty much bolted right up to the bike. pretty neat that something 18 years newer and 2 engine changes different, bolted right on.
hope this helps. if you want to talk more, send me a private message, and we can chat. i will keep an eye out for that.
#60
01-12-2022, 07:02 PM
@broke c7 hey man i am new and cant figure out how to pm, but i am very interested in the bag you have with the battery knock out in it, do you still have it? TIA