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General Topics/Tech TipsDiscussion on break in periods, rider comfort, seats and pad suggestions. Tech tips as they become available will be posted here.
My 2021 Ultra Limited has a dealer-installed adjustable backrest mount. I'm trying to take it off to trade for something else (I'm switching seats). I'm trying to determine if I need any other parts once it's off. It appears there are at least two studs that stay with the bike, but are only held in place with plastic parts. I'm assuming I need a nut on each of those.
Also, to get the remote lever removed, I need to remove the left mid-frame air deflector. I'm having trouble getting to the bolts - mainly due to the remote lever I need to remove. Any tricks here?
I have a service manual, but it doesn't seem to be a big help with this particular task.
Okay. It's done. When I worked on it last night, it was on the stand and in the garage. Even with my bright garage lighting I couldn't see well enough. Today, I rolled it outside, found the 2 7/16th bolts to remove the air deflector. From there, it was simple to get the rest of the parts out.
I'm still not positive about the two nuts that go on the main studs, but I'm gonna keep 'em on there. I assume whatever bike this bracket will go on next will have the bolts.
According to the instructions for the kit, the factory flange nuts that retain the stud plate are removed and reused to fasten the bracket. Here's a pic of the factory flange nuts securing the stud plate before the bracket is installed.
Just a bit of a follow-up here. I've put over 80,000 miles on two Limiteds with stock seats and added adjustable backrest, with no real issues. Recently some physical changes have made the stock seat very uncomfortable.
One issue with the adjustable backrest, is that the pivot point for swing it forward for my passenger to get on, is low. It stretches the seat, eventually leading to tears (after 2-3 years). I tried a demo Hammock seat and really didn't want to tear it. Also, the placement of the backrest didn't seem as good for that seat.
The non-adjustable backrest actually has more flexibility in front-to-back placement, depending on how you mount it. Also, its pivot point is above the seat, so it can be folded forward without stretching the seat.
I've now installed the non-adjustable backrest and ordered my own Hammock seat. I had to return the demo
Between this change, and the handlebar adjustment I mentioned in another thread, I'm hoping this bike can keep me comfortable a while longer.
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Removing Adjustable Backrest Mount
