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Good morning folks-
Back for more help. I'm so bummed...
Paid a local shop to install 16" apes on the new 21. Cost me about $1400 installed, with wiring kit and parts. Got it back last week, and the radio wouldn't get reception.
Now, when I picked it up, I told him how much I hated the look, even though he ordered what I asked. I figured I'd ride it till I could afford a different set.
Well, after 3 days I realized that the 16s are just too high, and I lose feeling in my hands after about 10 minutes. So, I parked her in the garage, and started stripping farings.
Found out why the radio doesn't work. The plug is snapped off. Now what?? This is a brand new bike, no way Harley is gonna warranty it.
Shop wants the bike back to "fix" it. I have a feeling it's gonna get cobbled together instead of being replaced right. Should I give him the whole bike, or just take the radio out and send it off?
I'll try to attach photos of the damage.
My biggest fear, is that if I return the whole bike, the shop will JB Weld the plug, making it impossible to remove the cable in the future. Or, make some type of half a$$ed repair to "just get by".
I don't know that they will, but after seeing the lackluster quality of the bar install, I don't have a lot of confidence that it will be repaired correctly.
It most likely requires the radio removal, taking it completely apart, and removing and replacing the port itself. The wire is good, it's just the barrel on the outside. I've read a bunch of forums on the older style radio plugs getting broken off, and it is probably a weak point.
I don't believe it was done on purpose, mistakes happen.. And I might be over reacting, and they have a way to get it fixed correctly. I've searched for hours trying to find that part, with no luck. Mostly because I don't know the exact nomenclature of the part, or the part number, if it even exists. The bar install seems sloppy, just kinda all slapped inside the fairings. That's what is giving me heartburn on returning the whole bike.
Shop offered to discount a new set of bars since I hated the 16s so much, but after opening up the farings I don't really feel comfortable sending it back. I rarely let someone else work on my junk, but being it was a new bike, and I didn't have a code reader/scanner, I thought it might be best for the pros to do it.
Just feeling down about the whole darn thing. So, I ordered some new electrical components to install since the farings are already off. And a new set of 14s are in route. It looks like I'll be doing the swap again, my way.
Any advice or opinions on the radio plug would be fantastic, If you know a way to fix it, or have a referral of someone who could, I'd be in your debt.
Maybe I'm missing something but why did it have to be removed for bars installation ?
I don't believe it was removed. My guess is that when they had the front apart to get to the wiring extensions (brake, clutch, wire) for the longer bars, it most likely got hit on accident.
I can't prove they knew it happened, but I have my suspicions that they did. When I got it back, I told them immediately that the radio didn't work. We agreed to leave it alone till I ordered a lower set of bars, and they'd fix it then. I was going to leave it alone, but decided I really wanted my FM stations back, so I opened up the front and found it.
Take it back and WATCH as they fix....or at least ask to see the new part BEFORE they perform the fix. It probably takes the same amount of labor time to fix it correctly as it does to do a crappy fix.
Take it back and WATCH as they fix....or at least ask to see the new part BEFORE they perform the fix. It probably takes the same amount of labor time to fix it correctly as it does to do a crappy fix.
This exactly - the broke it, they fix it.. Not some cobbled together ghetto fix..
If you dont want them to do it, maybe take it to a car audio installer. Its hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like the connector for on the radio is ok. If its not youll need to have that repaired by somebody like Iron Cross Audio that specialized in repairs to HD radios.
Last edited by TriGeezer; Jan 20, 2023 at 11:10 AM.
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Broken AM/FM plug port
