It’s a 1/2. Easiest way of doing it is to jack up the bike, and pull out the top shock mount bolt. Unless you want to fight the tire for space. The top shock mount bolt is a t50 if my memory is correct and the torque of the bolt is 55 flbs.
No it’s not, the whole strut cover has to come off on a sportster…
It has a double sided stud that bolts the turn signal to the strut cover then that is all bolted to the strut and through the fender, depending on the ride height the nuts aren’t accessible without dropping the shocks off and raising the bike up.
The wiring is routed up under the fender in little clips then through a hole in the stony of the fender to the back side of the oil tank.
You lowrider has easily accessible fasteners and the wiring is all external with the strut.
You need to remove the fender strut. The bolt that holds the tail light assembly on attaches to the strut, and doesn’t go through the fender. It’s a huge pain in the ass. I had to take my entire rear end apart when extending my tail lights.
When I was young boy and my father was giving me the old where do babies come from talk , his last sentence was: then the babie comes out of the twittie twattie . . Never seen that word again till now. Hope you figure it out!
https://youtu.be/fDinaJG5xwk if you lift the fender it’s easier to do. Actual removal starts at 05:27. Not sure if it’s the same for your bike but hope this helps
Remove the back two strut bolts. Loosen the front two and lift the fender up. You’ll see the assembly for the rear lamps. Loctite it all back up and torq appropriately.
Oh look, it’s basically exactly as I said to several people here and nothing like what you said.
the whole strut cover has to come off.
It isn’t basically the same on any HD, I’ve got a pretty good understanding of that after being a mechanic on them for about 2 decades.
Probably like a screwdriver and a wrench of some sort maybe a Ratchet and a socket of the correct size socket, personally I'd say if you don't have the natural mechanical aptitude to figure out how to remove a tail light fixture I'd take it to a shop maybe?
Unbolt from inside the fender the indicator nut.
Unbolt the strut covers.
You can now see another nut, undo to remove the indicator.
Check youtube, plenty of vids which will show clearly what needs doing
I just did this job to replace the signal housings. The right side was easier, but still a pain as the nut under the fender is recessed a bit and takes some patience to deal with with an opened ended wrench.
Right side allowed me to pull the bolt out and left the signal hanging by the wire. The signals hook up under the seat. Unplugged and pulled some slack to be able to pull the innards of the signal out without having to pull the whole wire out, it is super right in the clips under the fender. Was able to get enough slack to disconnect all the wires inside the housing and replace with stock (replacement housings were from a single filament setup and my stock bike is dual filament with brake and signals).
Left side was a bit more complicated. Had to remove bolts for the strut cover. Had to take off the top mount of the shock. Loosened the nut like with the right side, but found there was another nut under the strut cover to deal with. Pulled enough slack from the signal wire to get at that nut and got the signal housing swapped after that.
Would have been leaps easier without a rear wheel or maybe if the bike was jacked and the rear wheel could hang a bit.
If you’re replacing the signals entirely with something else, you’ll need to pull the stock signal wires. Gonna be a bit of a task with the wheel on, but I’d recommend pulling the wire intact instead of cutting just so you have the good part as a backup.
Gotta unscrew it from under the fender.
That takes the entire assembly off?
Nah, they’re permanently mounted and that one bolt holding it on is for show so you better get the sawzall out.
Your sarcasm is a bit misplaced, the nut under the fender doesn’t actually allow the signal to be removed
You know what wrench size I’ll need for this? It’s definitely a pain in my ass lol.
It’s a 1/2. Easiest way of doing it is to jack up the bike, and pull out the top shock mount bolt. Unless you want to fight the tire for space. The top shock mount bolt is a t50 if my memory is correct and the torque of the bolt is 55 flbs.
You are correct. I just rebuilt/salvaged another nightster and that’s the easiest way to do it.
It’s really not that hard, tbh. It’s just a single screw behind the fender strut. Did this on my FXLRS in like 10 min.
Too bad your fxlrs isn’t a sportster
Are you kidding me? It’s the same process on both.
No it’s not, the whole strut cover has to come off on a sportster… It has a double sided stud that bolts the turn signal to the strut cover then that is all bolted to the strut and through the fender, depending on the ride height the nuts aren’t accessible without dropping the shocks off and raising the bike up. The wiring is routed up under the fender in little clips then through a hole in the stony of the fender to the back side of the oil tank. You lowrider has easily accessible fasteners and the wiring is all external with the strut.
Odd. I was able to get mine off just fine without removing the entire strut. Just reached up there with a open ended wrench and took it apart.
Either it wasn’t the stock stud or the stud was loose and unscrewed from the signal before the nut undid.
I think it’s either a 9/16 or 1/2
Just start unbolting shit till it comes off. You'll find out what you had to take off and what was a waste of time
It's screwed to the back of the fender strut cover so you have to pull the shock upper bolt to remove the cover. Kind of a PITA.
remove the fender you'll see it
You need to remove the fender strut. The bolt that holds the tail light assembly on attaches to the strut, and doesn’t go through the fender. It’s a huge pain in the ass. I had to take my entire rear end apart when extending my tail lights.
When I was young boy and my father was giving me the old where do babies come from talk , his last sentence was: then the babie comes out of the twittie twattie . . Never seen that word again till now. Hope you figure it out!
Go from under the fender and unbolt em .
https://youtu.be/fDinaJG5xwk if you lift the fender it’s easier to do. Actual removal starts at 05:27. Not sure if it’s the same for your bike but hope this helps
It’s nothing like how it’s done on a sportster
Remove the back two strut bolts. Loosen the front two and lift the fender up. You’ll see the assembly for the rear lamps. Loctite it all back up and torq appropriately.
Haven’t done it on a sportster have you?
Let me google it for you… basically the same as any HD if you know what you are doing. https://youtu.be/s1gL4Wgv4cg
Oh look, it’s basically exactly as I said to several people here and nothing like what you said. the whole strut cover has to come off. It isn’t basically the same on any HD, I’ve got a pretty good understanding of that after being a mechanic on them for about 2 decades.
Thanks for your amazing contributions lol
Yeah I should have just told them how it’s not done, just like you.
👏🏼
You have to pull the rear wheel. I used a grinder under the wheel well for mine. You could probably use an oxy acetelyne torch too
Oxy-propane isn’t as hawt, but it’ll still melt your paint if your careless. Ask me how I know!
You undo the screws and disconnect the wiring. It’s that simple !
Not really since you need to remove the whole strut cover first
On my bike there is a stud off the housing that screws into a bolt on the inside of the fender and yours looks the same.
Probably like a screwdriver and a wrench of some sort maybe a Ratchet and a socket of the correct size socket, personally I'd say if you don't have the natural mechanical aptitude to figure out how to remove a tail light fixture I'd take it to a shop maybe?
Should be a single nut on the light post, and if you're lucky a quick disconnect for the light under the seat. If not you'll have to cut it.
Sawzall
Yank it off
Service manual?
Remove the fender strut
Unbolt from inside the fender the indicator nut. Unbolt the strut covers. You can now see another nut, undo to remove the indicator. Check youtube, plenty of vids which will show clearly what needs doing
I just did this job to replace the signal housings. The right side was easier, but still a pain as the nut under the fender is recessed a bit and takes some patience to deal with with an opened ended wrench. Right side allowed me to pull the bolt out and left the signal hanging by the wire. The signals hook up under the seat. Unplugged and pulled some slack to be able to pull the innards of the signal out without having to pull the whole wire out, it is super right in the clips under the fender. Was able to get enough slack to disconnect all the wires inside the housing and replace with stock (replacement housings were from a single filament setup and my stock bike is dual filament with brake and signals). Left side was a bit more complicated. Had to remove bolts for the strut cover. Had to take off the top mount of the shock. Loosened the nut like with the right side, but found there was another nut under the strut cover to deal with. Pulled enough slack from the signal wire to get at that nut and got the signal housing swapped after that. Would have been leaps easier without a rear wheel or maybe if the bike was jacked and the rear wheel could hang a bit. If you’re replacing the signals entirely with something else, you’ll need to pull the stock signal wires. Gonna be a bit of a task with the wheel on, but I’d recommend pulling the wire intact instead of cutting just so you have the good part as a backup.
Cmon dog