Let the winter project list begin.
A few days back I installed a pigtail for a battery tender. Quick and easy and I have it quickly tuckable on the throttle side, behind the side cover.
ToDo list today includes:
New grips, LED bar ends to supplement (not replace) existing front signals, and a throttle lock. Should be easy except for the LED bar ends which will require removal of the handle bars and a small hole drilled/sealed to get the wires out. This will mark the first time I've had to fishtape wire on a motorcycle.
So long stock grips. I hardly knew ye.
A blow dryer, a long narrow flat head screwdriver (it's actually the one from my carb adjustment tool so it's even motorcycle intended), and a little elbow grease and they're off.
These Driven grips are a seriously tight fit, and they're flexible due to the pvc not being reinforced by any plastic. So cramming them on the bars took quite a lot of turning, huffing and puffing, and a ton of hairspray to work as a lube that won't continue to be a lube.
This is where I noticed the problem of the gap on the bars and after
forum members came to my rescue I was moving right along.
What I hadn't mentioned before is that the LED end is just sort of floating there. It doesn't lock into place at all, and the 5 line badly translated to English instructions don't make it clear how that's supposed to work out. I know I can snug it up by pulling the cables tight, but I'd like something besides two small gauge low voltage wires holding the bar end on.
So the simple grip swap turns into a bit more of a thing... I loosened the bolts to the control housing so I could shuffle it further down the bar. Huffed and puffed as I worked the extremely tight fitting grip down to the end, and that shift's the whole assembly and grip down to the very end of the bar.
Looks good. As a bonus it puts my mirror stems outside another inch or so, which will hopefully help out with getting a great view of my shoulders, but being unable to see the car pulling up behind me.
I actually pulled it about an 1/8th" over the bars, so I can slide the LED turn signal into the grip to help hold it in place. A grip holding onto the bar end is the exact opposite of how this is supposed to work, but I don't really have another option that I can think of. Good thing those grips are so damn snug I guess.
Rinse/Repeat for the throttle side, but with the added step of using a tube cutter and taking the inch off the throttle tube so it wasn't just sticking out.
----
That was a lot more work than anticipated but hey, one thing down. Onto the throttle lock. I debated with myself for about 30 minutes on if I should install it straight to the throttle tube instead of over the grip, but ultimately decided that even if I could custom cut an extra thick spacer it would mean I uneven mirrors and controls. With the clutch side shifted down an inch, and the thickness of the throttle lock negating the need to shift the throttle side down at all. Also, the removal of the throttle lock would mean a huge bit of exposed throttle tube, and a quick bolt-on like this should be able to be removed quickly if desired. So I decided to cut the throttle tube, and install the grip like normal. Then install the throttle lock right over the top of the grip as intended.
New grips done. LED bar ends.... going to need to wait until tomorrow, I had not expected just the grips to be such a hassle.
While messing around with all this today my mail man stopped by. He saw the reindeer strapped to the Softail and asked if I had been in the local toys for tots run this December. I said yes and that was why it was strapped to the bike, and it turned out he rode it too. Chatted about bikes for a bit and then he left me this package:
Rusty ol crash bars from e-bay. Got a pretty great deal on them and look forward to soaking and scrubbing all that rust away before powdercoating.
unk:
![Bovemanx Motorcycle Phone Mount Holder, [150mph Wind Anti-Shake][7.2inch Big Phone Friendly] Bike Phone Holder, Motorcycle Handlebar Cell Phone Clamp, Compatible with iPhone 16 Pro Max Smartphones](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51F+1sontPL._SL500_.jpg)
