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Question for retired police bike owners

2339 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  DLM Prez, 
hornetguy
Let me preface this by stating that I am pretty mechanically inclined.. I do most of my own wrenching, and have been in equipment maintenance for about 30 years or so. I believe that if you have the proper tools, and good instructions, you can do most anything that needs to be done on a machine.

I'm stuck.

I've been trying to figure out how to remove/replace the bolts that hold down the bracket that the air ride seat attaches to at the front. The oval shaped holes in the tubular frame do not line up with the bolts, being lower on the frame than the bolts. I've tried an offset box end wrench, a 1/2" socket on a universal joint in both 3/8 and 1/4 inch drive, and universal (flex) sockets in both 3/8 and 1/4 inch drive. The flex socket in 1/4 inch drive will fit up in there on the nut on the left side of the bike, but I cannot get it to fit on the right side. This side is hampered somewhat by the top of the rear cylinder head, but should still allow access.

Is there some magic trick, or tool, or incantation that will allow me to accomplish this task?

Mine is an 08 Road King, by the way....
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DLM Prez
I'm not sure that I am following what you are describing. Are you referring to the bracket that provides the pivot point under the nose of the seat? This bracket sits on top of the frame backbone and straddles the main wiring harness.

I installed a 2010 police seat on my 2012 Road King Classic. Even though it did not include any instructions, everything bolted up with no problems. I do not recall any conflicts with the rear rockerbox cover. I suppose there could be some minor differences from what I have due to the frame changes in 2009.

Perhaps a picture would help to understand your situation?
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Old Coot
My 06 must be different. I don't have that issue. Good luck.
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hornetguy
It's dark out right now... I'll take pics and post them tomorrow.
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THE ROAD
Knowing MOCO there's probably a mixture of metric & American size nuts and bolts through-out . Good Luck !
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hornetguy
I heard somewhere that these were supposed to be RivNuts. I think if that's the case, the PO replaced them with regular nuts and bolts.
RivNuts certainly make more sense, considering the lack of access. I may end up grinding the head off the bolt and catching it inside the frame (I HOPE :yikes) then installing new RivNuts..
I think Harley needs to change their little "motto".... where it's not just a bike, it's an adventure!
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DLM Prez
At the personal risk of blasphemy to all of the dear souls on this forum, have you done any research at retiredpolicebikes.com? They have a lot of specific knowledge about the police models and may know immediately what your circumstance is and how to deal with it. I know that you are anxious to get this resolved and that may be another option for you to pursue.
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