I was in a dealership in Germany and they had a Street Bob on a lift with the side covers off. I said that it looks to be a royal pain in the *** to get the battery out, but the tech told me you simply undo the terminals from the top and the battery will slide right out.
I presume there's some kind of strap there to stop it doing so on it's own....
It also appears the side covers simply unscrew as well.
One of the videos had a demonstrator that said that at least some of the models required the dipstick to be removed to get enough clearance to get the battery out.
Thanks for everyone's input. It sounds like it's not as difficult as it looks. Definitely not a deal breaker. I go through batteries pretty quickly here in Florida. I am lucky to get 2 years out of one in my '03 Fatty.
It's held in on the right hand side by a plastic caddy behind the right cover and although not as easy to remove as on previous models, it's not complicated, just different.
The 2018 online manual is on the HD service information portal.
I'd like to see the manual before buying, but the website requires a VIN number to view it. Apparently they don't want to frighten any prospective buyers off.
I would think sliding it out would be easier than lifting it out. On my '07 Softail it was a pain in the *** pulling up the battery until I made a strap for it.