I recently installed the Bagger Brace and have a few comments.

FIRST, before you get too far into the install, please remember that the BaggerBrace may need to be removed someday......With that in mind, you should to use anti-sieze on the 10 fasteners that bolt the dogbone to the frame cross member....Fail to do that and you will most likely suffer like I did.

The assembly is so very well made that those little allen head countersunk bolts cannot be removed once properly tightened without stripping several of the allen socket holes in the head of the bolts....The bolt's countersink angle matches that of the dogbone perfectly and the contact is so very good that once tightened, you might not get them off short of drilling them out....been there and done that....So apply anti-sieze not just to the threads, but also in the flared contact area of the bolts.

For you guys with damaged frame crossmembers, consider the other stabilizers that don't attach to the crossmember....They all really do work just a s well as the BaggerBrace.

My BaggerBrace has got to be the most accurately machined piece on my bike and it is a true work of tooling art well worth the money.....But, it also gets in the way of my J&S jack making it a little difficult to lift the bike level without shimming the front because it mounts in the frame crossmember.

All similar braces considered, I think each of you will notice an improvement after intall of any.....I certainly did.

 

Do these seem as necessary on the 09's?

 

Absolutely NOT required for '09 model touring bikes, nor is any made to fit the '09's.

Harley will never admit they screwed up with the earlier designs, but made certain to include it on the '09's.

 

Can you guys let me know how long the install took? I'm thinking about ordering one this week.

 

It really only takes about an hour or less. You can do it with bike on the jiffy stand till time to adjust the linkage when bike needs to be standing straight up so that engine/drivetrain is not flexed.

You will definately need to first clean the frame crossmember(top and bottom) and tranny pan tho.

You will also need a long 5/16" ball end allen wrench to reach the tranny pan bolt that is directly above the crossmember. You must stab the allen wrench up thru the hole in the crossmember to reach that pan bolt.

Keep in mind folks that if your drive train isn't already properly aligned, no additional brace no matter who makes it will correct this.....All any brace does is prevent the drivetrain from flexing when in operation.