Priceless

At the time I installed the saddlebags, I could've written it like this -- in imitation of the famous "Mastercard" advertisements of a decade ago:

• Turn Signal Replacement kit:  $300
• Harley Davidson Hard Bags:  $700
• Harley Davidson installation Fee:  $300
• Having a place to carry milk home from the grocery store in style, while soccer mom's watch from their mini-vans in envy:  Priceless

I told the story of the saddlebag installation in an earlier blog entry.  I'm not a very good mechanic.  

I saved the installation fee by doing it myself, and we were off and running.  My wife put the saddlebags to practical use.  Not that the bike was an errand-running machine, but she did find it handy to bring home a box of doughnuts or a gallon of milk while out on a ride. 

Then this year, 3 years later, my wife's bike developed a quirk in the turn signals.  The left turn signal would blink rapidly - even though no burned out bulbs.  And a warning light appeared on the "dash".

I've been pretty busy at work, and haven't had time to turn a wrench.  We ended up sending my wife's bike to the Harley Dealership for an oil change in preparation for an up-coming trip.  And, in the process, could you please look at the turn signal situation.

So, again in the style of the famous "MasterCard" ad campaign:

• Replacement wire:  $7.00
• Replacement bolts:  $1.34
• Labor to replace damaged wiring harness:  $70.00
• Being able to pay someone else to fix your mistakes:  Priceless

Over the three years the wiring I had installed became frayed, and eventually began to short out on the rear fender.  The service desk at the Harley Dealership said matter of factly:  The turn signal relocation kit was installed incorrectly.

I said, "I have no doubt of that, says the dumbass who installed it."

He grinned, and with grace that allowed me to save face, said, "Well, we learn by doing, don't we."

He was right.  I don't regret it.  I'm proud for getting three years of service out of my wiring job, and not at all disappointed that it cost me $78.34 to fix my mistake.

Sometimes it's great to be able to write a check and have someone else clean up your mess. 

ST1300 Helmet Hook

I have owned the ST1300 since 2011 but have never found a suitable helmet lock for it.  Consequently I've just been stowing my helmet inside one of the saddlebags.  It works but it is inconvenient.  You can't stow other items in the bag along with the helmet. 

Being repeatedly stuffed inside the bag has prematurely aged my helmet too.

I'm due for another helmet, but I told myself I couldn't getbanother helmet until I solved the storage problem.

At Cycle Outfitters today, I was nosing around looking for helmet hooks.  I was thinking I'd have to buy something and customise it to work on the ST.  Surely nobody makes a helmet hook for the ST.

The salesman pointed me to the Kuryakyn license plate helmet hooks, which he said would work on my bike.

Great!  I bought it.

Turns out in reality it doesn't work "out of the box" on the ST1300.  The bracket, installed as described in the instructions, interferes with the bags.  I could reverse the bracket to gain some more space between the helmet lock and the hard bags, but noe I have a new problem:  the helmet hangs down and rests on the exhaust tip.  

That won't do!

I looked at the luggage rack on the bike, and the two 8 mm bolts which peeked out of their holes in the rear cowling, just below the luggage rack.

Perhaps I could tie into those bolts, and fashion a working solution.

A quick trip to the hardware store yielded the necessary materials, for under seven dollars.

2 8mm coupler nuts

2 hex head bolts, 8mm

1 U bolt

That final item was a stroke of inspiration.  I needed a crosspiece to mount between the two luggage rack bolts, and to allow me to mount the Kuryakyn helmet lock onto a 1/8" thick sturdy metal beam.  I searched for a while in the store, looking at various mending braces and contemplati the amount of cutting and shaping I would have to do.

I spied the U bolts, and noticed the cross-piece for this was the right dimensions, with the two larger holes pre-drilled.  That would leave two smaller holes for me to drill for mounting the lock itself.  Something I knew I could handle.

I discarded the U shaped bolt and retained the metal cross piece for my bracket.

This photo shows the luggage rack and the two bolt holes on the bottom of the rear cowling.

This photo shows the placement of the coupler nut on the end of the 8mm bolt.

Both coupler nuts are in place, providing a firm mounting platform for my custom made bracket.

Using a scrap of lumber I first fastened down the cross piece temporarily using wood screws.  This was in lieu of clamping the work down.

After this i marked the holes by lining up the helmet holder bracket to the crosspiece. Then I drilled out the  holes and using fasteners provided in the Kuryakyn kit, I bolted the helmet hook to the bracket.

The hex head black bolts hold the bracket fast to the coupler nuts.

Here is the finished project.

This photo shows details of the helmet hook, the custom bracket, and the coupler nuts.

It won't win any beauty contests, and it's not terribly secure.  A 13mm wrench and the whole bracket is removed in a minute's time.  

But it's more secure than hanging it on my footpeg, and leaves my saddlebags free for other items.

It works for me.