2016 Sportster Iron 883 Battery Cover Fix
 

This is my first post, so please excuse me if this has been posted before. I did a quick search and didn't see anyone address this issue with the 2016 Iron 883.

I bought my wife our first Harley yesterday, a Sportster Iron 883, and the same day the battery cover popped off. The dealership "fixed it" today, but it popped off again.

I did some Googling and found many helpful posts about drilling through the clips and using zip ties to lock the clips in place. Unfortunately, all of the pictures and videos I saw were of a completely different type of clip than is equipped on our 2016.

The 2016 clips don't offer nearly as much drillable surface area, so I don't believe the zip tie is an option anymore. I decided to iterate on this idea with, what I hope to be, effective results.

I used a 1/16" drill bit from the top and angled slightly toward me, to drill a very small hole on the outside edge of each of the clips. This has to be done with the battery cover attached and pressed in as much as possible (I used my knee) to make sure that the holes will line up with enough "meat" from the plastic clips as possible left on the outside. You'll need to be very careful not to drill into the battery towards the front of the bike, or the other plastic box near the back.

Attachment 622067

The 1/16" hole was the perfect size for some small, rubber coated, paper clips my wife had lying around. I straightened one end of each clip and pressed it into each hole as far as I could. After verifying the clip went all the way through, I bent the remaining part of the clip around the inside of the battery cover retaining clips. This keeps something around to help with pulling the paper clips out later, and will hopefully help to keep them in place.

Attachment 622068

For aesthetic reasons, I was a little concerned about using white rubber covered paper clips, but you can't seem them under the seat. I pulled pretty hard on the clips and, while they moved a bit, they wouldn't come off. It would take some pretty serious force to sheer those clips.

I'm pretty disappointed about having to do this. It seems like Harley could integrate some simple pin lock like this or the zip tie fix on their own. Obviously they changed the design on the clip, but from videos I've seen of the old clips, I think the new ones are even easier to pull off.

Is there a better solution for these new clips? Does anyone know for sure what year the clips changed? Is there anything else I should be checking on before my wife goes out riding more?

At this point, I'm just thanking God that the battery cover never completely left the bike. That could have done some serious damage to someone or something at highway speed.

On older models, there was a slot at the front of the cover, and a slot on the bike you could use a cable tie to lock it in place. Doesn't look like the slot is there on that one.

Look at about 16:25 for more info on what I'm talking about.