I kind of like the idea of the putting the newer roadking classic leather hardbags on my bike. it's a 1990 fltc. the right side would be the problem I believe. that is where the battery and oil tank is located. that side of the bag is molded to accomidate the battery I don't think oil tank is a problem, but battery has to go. I have a good bit of space under the seat that possible a battery could fit. have anyone done this or try this, to thier ride? put newer bags on an older touring bike. I like to have some thoughts if this is possible. thanks

 

It will be interesting to see the replies to this. I believe Harley altered the frame at some time to get the battery in the middle, in 'that' space. Might require a different shape battery. It's a great idea, but you should see what I have in there these days! There certainly ain't room for anything now!

 

Yep... the battery went inside the frame under the seat in 1993, allowing a full size right saddlebag on the Evo dressers. The frame was changed again in 1997 to accommodate an even bigger battery.

I've read articles on the net about guys who have changed their pre-93 frames to move the battery under the seat. I don't know what the frame changes might be technically... I presume some welding might be required... but you can get aftermarket battery boxes that will work for that mod. The seat and seat mounts may have changed in 1993 as well.

Graham - what's under the seat on your '91 FLHS that might be in the way of moving the battery under there?

 

When I first got my bike it had the regular battery in the battery box next to saddle bag as well as a dry cell in the same side saddle bag, I have since changed the stator and put a new battery and just last week took the extra battery out of the saddle bag, but enough rambling I was going to say you could probably put a dry cell in what ever direction you can make it fit under the seat.

 

I got a lil pissy about the price of bike batteries up here. They want $170 for a gel type & over a hun for an acid type so I bought a lawn tractor battery & put it in my right side saddle bag. Extended my cables & for $50 I have a full 2 year warranty & all the cold crank amps I will ever need. Now when I turn on all the lights, The battery gauge still reads happy!

 

I'm pretty sure my factory battery won't fit under the seat. I would have to use a smaller one. a battery box shouldn't be to hard to make and maybe one off a lawnmower would fit, if I could find one close enough to the size. but will the bags fit if I did all of this? many question to be answer. I was hoping someone would have allready done this, and then could share his experence. maybe I'll be the first.

 

Well, like I said, I've read articles on the net about guys who have done this. Can't remember what my search terms were, or how I even got to the articles, but some creative Googling will probably get you some good info... good luck!

 

Okay, I am a year behind but if some of you are like me and have ideas that take years to implement, then maybe this is still timely info. I have an '89 FLHTCU. i put '93 up saddle bags on it, and moved the battery under the seat. I yanked the cruise control stuff out as it did not work anyway and I am perfectly happy with throttle lock. I use a sealed sportster battery, made a bracket and put it under the seat. no frame modifications really at all except a bit of welding to hold the bracket. Been that way for a couple years now and no big deal. The 93 up bags are a lot nicer. the first year I had the battery indent grafted from the 89 bag to the 93 bag so it would fit around the battery. the second year I moved the battery and had the full bag so I lose no room.

 

When you choose your battery & it's location, Make sure that it's power rating for amps is suitable for your bike as well!
Good luck!
Hatch.

 

thanks. that is just what I was looking for. I also think that the newer bags are nicer. did you have any problems rerouting the battery cables? also, did the new bags mount to the original hardware, or did you have to modified them to fit?