I put this on the facebook forum but thought a note on here might be good too in case some don't do facebook.
Decided that I'm never happy with stock headlights, on any bike other than my last one (CTX1300) which had LED lights throughout as standard. So looked around, asked on the facebook forum, and after reading the replies decided I should be able to get a decent LED headlight for around £50.00.
Did a search and found one on Amazon which looked good and fitted the bill.
It came after only two days and I fitted it in about half an hour. Could have been quicker fitting but don't forget it's me doing it!!!
Problems, not really, just a bit fiddly and I don't do fiddly very well!
Getting to the thin bolt at the bottom of the headlight holding collar was not easy with the windshield on. Luckily it's the Quick Release so took a few seconds to get off.
Bolt removed, can't believe I didn't drop and lose the small nut that comes off the end of the bolt but I'd watched a video first and knew I needed to hold my hand underneath to stop it rotating and falling off.
Difficult to get the ring off because of the chrome 'hanging over cover thingy' above the headlight. Twisting the collar around, so the gap is at the top, enabled me to wiggle it free.
Fitting the replacement headlight itself was so easy. The connector will not push all the way in, leaving about 1/8th inch shiny connector pins showing but I'd read that is normal with the replacement. Small bulb 'sidelight' connectors are not required with the LED headlight so just taped those up to prevent them flopping around and possibly shorting.
Replaced the collar, reverse of what I did above, spent some time fiddling with the little nut and bolt as not easy to get lined up but realised there is a channel in the shaped chrome collar for the nut to sort of fit into.
Biggest problem - When I put the connector on I thought I'd better check that it was working before putting it all together. Held the LED Headlight in my hand, reached over and switched on and that was me blinded for a couple of minutes and then a big white spot in my vision for another 10-15 minutes. DOH! What an idiot, I really should have known better!
New LED Headlight arrives Getting the ring off was a slight problem but spun it around so the gap was at the top. It would not come free because of the chrome shoulder above it. These two connectors are not needed on the new headlight so just taped them up. I marked the left and right connects with the wire colour that came off them. Old and New Stock headlight - very focused forward, no side lighting at all. Which is why I got the little spots that I fitted. LED Headlight gives a much broader beam and a whiter light. This is on dipped. I really was impressed with the improvement for only £50.00 This is on main beam, not too obvious against the close by garage door but tried it later with the door open and it projects a long way. The LED lit areas, lit only by the flash of my phone camera. Very efficient and looks pretty cool too.
I put something similar on my sporty last year, I found during hot weather it would overheat and shut down, so I took it off and went back to the stock headlight.
reminding me that Sportster shocks SUCK. Definitely itching to improve that. Kinda hurt my back when I hit a rough patch merging onto a short patch of highway.
Hi Packgrog, thanks for the comment, really happy with the new headlight too.
Just noticed about your hard shocks, I hope you don't think I'm trying to be smart but the Sportster has the easiest rear suspension adjustment in the world. One **** to turn to soften or harden the rear shocks. I presume you have tried that? If you did then ignore me, just making sure you are aware of it.
I find the suspension really good on the Sportster.
Thanks man, thats one that has not called me a traitor, yet, LOL. I still want to build a scrambler, so when I run across a steal of a rigid mount, I WILL post it on here. I will still lurk on occasion as well. This is a good bunch of guys.
Traitor? Nah. You've gotta ride what serves you best. You did a lot of interesting things to your Sporty to try to make it work, but it seems that it just never quite did the job right. Best reason to switch.
Besides, who am I to criticize? I was never after a Harley. I won mine. It wound up probably being better for me in the long run than the cheap little Honda VLX I'd had my eyes on, but I'm not some blind devotee to some specific product. Use what suits you best! But yeah, stick around and share info.
Originally Posted by David Rose
Just noticed about your hard shocks, I hope you don't think I'm trying to be smart but the Sportster has the easiest rear suspension adjustment in the world. One **** to turn to soften or harden the rear shocks. I presume you have tried that? If you did then ignore me, just making sure you are aware of it.
I find the suspension really good on the Sportster.
I'm aware of the option, but wary of messing with it. It's currently on the middle setting, and only bothers me when I hit bumps at higher speed (ie: 50+). If I dial it up, I feel it will be even more jarring. If I dial it down, I worry about bottoming out rather than simply launched. At 200lbs I'm not exactly a light rider, but I still don't have the guts to try putting my wife on the back, and I have a 2003 "Hugger" model, so I don't exactly have much travel in them. *shrug* We'll see. Maybe I'll try messing with it eventually. Seems like I'm probably at the ideal spot right now.
Traitor? Nah. You've gotta ride what serves you best. You did a lot of interesting things to your Sporty to try to make it work, but it seems that it just never quite did the job right. Best reason to switch.
Besides, who am I to criticize? I was never after a Harley. I won mine. It wound up probably being better for me in the long run than the cheap little Honda VLX I'd had my eyes on, but I'm not some blind devotee to some specific product. Use what suits you best! But yeah, stick around and share info.
I'm aware of the option, but wary of messing with it. It's currently on the middle setting, and only bothers me when I hit bumps at higher speed (ie: 50+). If I dial it up, I feel it will be even more jarring. If I dial it down, I worry about bottoming out rather than simply launched. At 200lbs I'm not exactly a light rider, but I still don't have the guts to try putting my wife on the back, and I have a 2003 "Hugger" model, so I don't exactly have much travel in them. *shrug* We'll see. Maybe I'll try messing with it eventually. Seems like I'm probably at the ideal spot right now.
I am also a 200lber and recently put air shocks from a touring model on my 2003 Sportster. I lowered it with lowering blocks as well to keep the lower height. Best upgrade I have done. I spent $85 on some used H-D shocks and pump on ebay. You just have to make sure to get the shorter ones. It is super easy to adjust the air pressure for 2 up riding and best of all I don't get kicked in the nuts when I hit a pothole on the freeway anymore.
Last edited by OCSpringer; 04-30-2020 at 08:27 AM.
David has a Superlow that has a single sided adjustable shock. The shock on the other side is for rebound and isn't adjusted. It has many turns to tune it for rider weight going from about 180lbs and up.
2003 883 Hugger. I have not yet measured the shocks, but I'm guessing 11"? My understanding is that the Hugger was the precursor to the Low rather than the SuperLow. I have not been able to find specs for the stock shock length. My rear shocks seem to have a total of 5 adjustment options, and last I checked they were on the middle setting (3).
This seems to be the best shot I have of one of the rear shocks.
I know that some people have gotten air shock pull-offs and thrown them on Sporties for some noticeable improvement (handirifle for example). I've considered it as a stopgap, but again, I need to know the stock shock length so I don't screw up how the bike rides. I've considered a full suspension upgrade while going with longer shocks (since even at stock height my wife couldn't hope to manage the weight, she thought a V-Star 250 was heavy, I may as well raise it a little), but that's cost-prohibitive while we're saving for a full bathroom remodel. So I MAY go the air shock route before long. Especially now that I finally have some torque wrenches, cheap though they may be.
2003 883 Hugger. I have not yet measured the shocks, but I'm guessing 11"? My understanding is that the Hugger was the precursor to the Low rather than the SuperLow. I have not been able to find specs for the stock shock length. My rear shocks seem to have a total of 5 adjustment options, and last I checked they were on the middle setting (3).
This seems to be the best shot I have of one of the rear shocks.
I know that some people have gotten air shock pull-offs and thrown them on Sporties for some noticeable improvement (handirifle for example). I've considered it as a stopgap, but again, I need to know the stock shock length so I don't screw up how the bike rides. I've considered a full suspension upgrade while going with longer shocks (since even at stock height my wife couldn't hope to manage the weight, she thought a V-Star 250 was heavy, I may as well raise it a little), but that's cost-prohibitive while we're saving for a full bathroom remodel. So I MAY go the air shock route before long. Especially now that I finally have some torque wrenches, cheap though they may be.
11.5" is the shortest which is what I have (PN 54662-09). Here is a list of air shock PN w/ lengths I found on another forum a while back for reference.
54532-85 13" 54536-02A 13" 54540-93 13" 54565-09 FLH FLHT FLHR FLHTI 13" (G5E3-00) 54565-97 (A) FLH 13" 54565-97 (B) 13" 54565-97 (C) 13" 54631-02B Road king FLHRS or FLHX or FLTRX 12" shock pair "low profile" 54632-98 bagger 12" or 12.5 54635-09 12" 54661-02A Road King FLHR Street Glide 12" single shock "lowered" 54662-09 street glide 11.5"
And if you go the air shock route ditch the air lines and just buy some shrader valve fittings. Much easier, cleaner looking and cheaper. I will say though the shocks are bigger in diameter and are beefier looking. Some may not be a fan of that look.
Last edited by OCSpringer; 04-30-2020 at 11:03 AM.
.... So I MAY go the air shock route before long. ....
In addition to what OCSpringer said, the air shocks are wider and you'll likely need to space them out. I needed 2 washers between the shock and frame to get decent clearance. To keep the shocks in good alignment vertically I used the same amount at all 4 mounting bolts. There is plenty of thread on stock bolts to use the originals. If you look at youtubes and read a few posts about changing shock fluid, there are several examples of make it yourself tools to pump the old shock oil out (it won't run out just holding the shock upside down). Much easier way is just put a shock on upside down, open the schrader valve and push the back end down a few times (you don't have to jack the bike for any of this), it'll pump the oil out real quick. Also spray it all over if you don't put a tube on it to direct the oil into a container. This is optional, but getting the nasty looking dark oil out of a used shock, and also making sure it has the right amount in it now, isn't a bad idea. I also used 5 weight shock oil for a hopefully little softer ride. Big twins call for something like 11 oz, but I used 9 oz, sufficient for a sportster; I'd read that it actually worked better with the lesser amount. Whatever, it is a big improvement in ride over stock, and seems to handle as well. I bottomed out once crossing a rough cattle guard two up. With gear, I top 250 lbs, passenger about 150. I'd bottomed out the stock shocks a couple times, too.
Found someone in the area selling some from a 2015 Street Glide, apparently only 1500 miles on them, for $50. Look near new from the photos as well. Going to get them this weekend. Still need some kind of lift to install them, but whatever. Tinkering time this weekend will be for mods I already have.
Also, I can finally take off more of those stupid-*** chrome pieces. Lose more weight AND improve handling? Bonus.
For those that run these, do you generally run them upside-down, or do you just do that temporarily to try to drain oil?
04-30-2020, 06:36 AM
