Not sure if it has been mentioned. If you ever have an issue were you cant get a nut started and hold 2 wrenches and the bolt from the other side. Grab you a piece of electrical tape. Put it on the nut with enough over the edges and stick the nut in the wrench. All you have to worry about now is the wrench and bolt. Simple may sound stupid or simple but it works. Thats all i can contribute.

 

Antother handy item to keep close is a wax ring used to seal a toilet to the drain flange. It's really sticky stuff and will hold a nut in a socket or wrench, even holds a screw on a screwdriver.

 

Found some suitable spikes on ebay. It's hard to find anything decent with a 10-32 thread. The bolts were too short so I cut some longer bolts and made my own. The spikes are machined aluminum. Total cost $15.00.

 

This sounds like a good idea. I've used museum wax many times for the same purpose; but the wax seal sounds a lot cheaper.

 

Street Glide LED tri-bar tail light.

Went out ridin this weekend and was told my rear end was not well lit. So I did some shopping and picked up the Duel LED running/brake light that mounts right on top of the light bar. Also decided to swap out the lower LED tri-bar to the running/brake light as well. Upon swapping out the lower one I noticed it was nothing more then 4 LEDs encased in a white plastic molding. So I simply popped off the lens cover and glued some aluminum foil (shiny side up!) on the inside of the casing. Closed it up and reattached. Much brighter now just as a running light. When braking it lights up enough that anyone near by will think they just entered a red light district! Quick simple fix to get more illumination from those lower tri-bars....

 

When you say "popped off" .... you mean no glue?

 

When you take the tri-bar off.. Take off the road grime/dust cover (clipped on over top and bottom), remove input and output wiring, remove two screws (Torx #20) on top, clips set in slots on bottom. You will then notice the lense cover is just clipped on at both ends. It's on there tight so be careful not to snap the plastic clips when removing. When done the lense will clip right back into place. Then reverse above actions to re-install.

I just did this last night, so haven't had time to get the pics set up yet. I'll try to set it up this evening and make a new post on it...

 

An old auto mechanic once showed me how to hold a nut at the edge of a deep socket. He used parchment paper over the nut and inserted it into the socket. I tried it with a regular paper bag piece. Holds it snug and when done the paper falls off.

 

it's pretty easy to remove the lens cover. use an exacto knife and carefully pry the lens off. You can install some LED's inside and connect them to the circuit board in the rear of the light housing. i found a spare tri-bar light for $40 at a local swap meet. i'll repost pics here again on how i modified my tri-bar as a run/brake light. i got some resistors and LED's and built my own. i can walk you step by step. i'm going to scan my schematics and post it for anyone with the desire and patience.

Cep

 

step 1- cut a hole in the box, just kidding, carefully remove the lens with a hair dryer, small screw driver, or just use some patience. it has tabs on the side but the only thing you will see are the "tri-bars" so don't worry too much on what you won't be able to see anyway.

step 2 - remove the factory 4 LED bar from the housing. You can either cut the wires (and have just a hot wire and ground) or go to the next step.

step 3- carefully remove the rear cover. after doing so, unplug the wires for the lights (if you didn't cut them). use a soldering iron and disconnect the connector from the circuit board (you're going to use them when soldering wires to the board).

step 4-now your going to solder 3 wires to the board for run/brake light. - look at the picture and you will see that i have soldered 2 wires to the connector and 1 wire to the pin shown. this will convert your light while using the factory wires and no external wires will be needed.
* note after testing the light i accidentally swapped the blue and red wire. so solder the red to where the blue is and and vise versa.

step 5- cut the small tabs that held the LED lamp and place the lights of your choice (place them facing downward in the housing for a better view).

- here's an idea, go to a truck stop and check out their lights. you'll find a 4 inch dual intensity LED and place it in the housing and solder the wires to the pins shown in the picture. the white wire is ground, red is run and black will be the brake (i've used them before).

step 6- connect the wires to the light to ensure the light works. now close everything back up, re-install the lens and rear cover, install the light back on your bike. your done

I wasn't happy with the first light bar i made (pictured). I soldered another board and after checking it to my satisfaction i sealed it with silicone and installed it. i have more pics if needed.

I hope it helps you out, if not drop me a pm or email if assistance is needed.