Update on the black rocker box lowers vs alloy mystery.
As above, they are indeed shipping alloy rocker box lowers on the HDs built in Thailand and the disclaimer on the website says ‘bikes may vary per region’ so my options are basically keep the pitted alloy ones or pay a load for the black ones.
I know it’s only a minor cosmetic thing and I’m indifferent on the actual look. Would’ve preferred a part that doesn’t corrode in 3 months though.
I'm in the US and had original painted rocker lowers.
The original Black lowers seemed to get a cloudy, dull finish which if you try to use polish on them can get on the adjoining wrinkle finishes and can be hard to clean.
I wanted to change the all Blacked out look, not wanting to hide the engine, so found chrome lowers on eBay. The chrome ones are probably easier to maintain than the polished ones.
I'm in the US and had original painted rocker lowers.
The original Black lowers seemed to get a cloudy, dull finish which if you try to use polish on them can get on the adjoining wrinkle finishes and can be hard to clean.
I wanted to change the all Blacked out look, not wanting to hide the engine, so found chrome lowers on eBay. The chrome ones are probably easier to maintain than the polished ones.
S100 does surprisingly well at rejuvenating the appearance of the engine.
I'm in the US and had original painted rocker lowers.
The original Black lowers seemed to get a cloudy, dull finish which if you try to use polish on them can get on the adjoining wrinkle finishes and can be hard to clean.
I wanted to change the all Blacked out look, not wanting to hide the engine, so found chrome lowers on eBay. The chrome ones are probably easier to maintain than the polished ones.
I think you’re right and the chrome holds up far better than the bright alloy finish. I’ve had a couple of Evo’s with chrome cases, one of which regularly got caught in the rain and the chrome looked better after 25 years than this bright alloy does after 6 months.
It would also be easier to swap the lowers and keep the chrome pushrod covers and lifter blocks than black them all out which as you say would be a shame to hide it all.
I'm going to do this. I ordered it yesterday. I also found a bike on Facebook with it done. It is a Low Rider, and he mounted it too far down the tank imho, but it gives you and idea of the final look.
I can't really point you to one spot, you really need to do a search of the 2018+ Softail Models thread, use the term "Blackline", search posts.
It's not just bolt on and somebody actually had a list of parts needed.
You need to cut down the 2 mounting tabs on the tank, make a new little bracket to adapt from the 2 tabs to the single mount hole on the Blackline dash under the Harley emblem, and trim the Blackline dash a little down near the seat to match the shape of the tank.
The parts you need are...
1 of these... 71340-11
2 of these... 71576-08A
1 of these... 72775-11
If you do it properly the hole at the bottom will line right up and you won't need any sort of bracket down there. The one in your picture is not done that way and you can tell by how far down the Harley emblem is in relation to the fuel cap.
04-02-2021 | 08:04 AM
