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Anyone ever have to loosen up the struts on their Heritage or Deluxe? I need to loosen them up to get a nut behind the last hole to attach my Heritage Rear Fender Rail. Is there any danger with anything falling out or getting missaligned. Does the bike have to be on a lift to do this?
On my 2005 SE Fat Boy there were some metal straps inside the fender. One end of the strap had a nut plate barrel the other end had a dummy barrel. Each end has to fit inside the holes in the fender. If you have that setup, make sure that the dummy barrel is inside a fender hole when you are done or that end will drop down and rub against your tire.
I squeezed a finger between the tire and the fender so I could hold the strap in place, while I removed the bolts and replaced them with studs for my bags. On the left side the tire is closer to the fender. I still managed to squeeze my finger between. I tried using my lift so the tire would drop down some and give me a bit more room, but it didn't help much. My SE Fat Boy comes lowered in the rear, so you should probably have more room than I did.
Using a lift if you have one would give you a more stable platform, with less chance of knocking your bike over.
The wires for the brake light and rear turn signals are routed along the inside of the fender in that area, so make sure they stay in place. I found it easiest to eyeball how everything was located, by looking up inside the fender from the very back of the bike.
Tom
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