Hi, I just bought a chrome engine kit for my wife's 2004 XL-1200R. I don't have a service manual......yet..... it's on order. The kit didn't come with any instructions.

Is there anything weird that I'm going to run into, or is it a pretty straightforward install?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

It's pretty straight forward. Don't over tighten bolts, use the correct torque specifications. If the bolts don't have loc-tite on them, apply it. Use your manual. If you want, cancel your service manual order and I'll send you mine for $30. If you need chrome rocker box covers send me a PM. I've got brand new covers, never opened (HD) and the chrome bolt kit for those. All HD.

If things don't line up correctly, don't force it.

 

Don't use loctite on engine cover bolts, it's unneeded and can give you issues later on. if anything put a dab of teflon pipe past on the bolts. Other than that the chrome kit is fairly straigh forward, especially if you've taken your rockers off in the past. First, double check you have any and all gaskets and oil seals that you'll need. For the cam cover, do it while you have the rocker covers off, that way you won't have pressure on the cams which will make removing the cam cover much easier. Also take your time and make sure you clean your gasket surfaces well so you don't end up with leaks after you put everything back together. And if you don't wrench much, get yourself a torque wrench and follow torque specs. Take your time and don't rush things and everything should go pretty smooth.

 

I don't understand why you say it is unneeded on the engine covers. I tightened my primary to spec, didn't use loc tite on those bolts and one fell out. You notice ALL bolt kits from HD come with loc-tite on the bolts. Better to be safe than sorry IMO

 

+1 - Use BLUE Loctite not RED

 

The reason for a dab of teflon paste over locktite...........is an old mechanics trick.......it offers some of the benefits of a mild loctite to gum up the threads, but at the sametime provides corrosion resistance between the steel and aluminum, and also provides more accurate torque readings while threading in, even if the bolt is removed later and old paste is left in the hole. By all means you can use the blue loctite, but downside is if you remove the bolt in the future, it'll leave crusty crap in the threadings which can give you false torque readings next time it's installed. Also as a side note, most harley bolts don't come with loctite on them...........and the ones that do have anything on them are a polymer thread compound(paint dot) which purpose is to gum up the threads, not lock them....basically to keep them from vibrating out.


Anyhow, i did the chrome kit on my bike back in June, totally worth the extra bucks for the real deal over the tins. You're gonna love them.