Minnesota Jeff - Custom Motorcycle Parts & Accessories. CNC Machined Precision Products!

Frustrated by your factory wired passing lamps which only operate on low beam?

John "FLSTFRIDER" shows us below how easily you can convert your part time lights to full time lights, by simply bridging a load line from the auxiliary switch source side to the passing lamp source side, eliminating control by the headlight. Now they are either always on or off, according to the switch position.

Passing lamps are adjusted by dropping the turn signal bases down from the mount, then using a slotted 9/16 deep well socket (see pic below, need the slot so the wire can pass through) to loosen the passing lamp post nut. With the nut slightly loose, the lamp can be rotated up or down on its ball shaped base. The turn signals are wired into the passing lamp housings, through a hollow passing lamp post, so the slotted socket allows you to loosen the post nut without having to completely unwire and remove the turn signals, since the wiring can pass through the slot in the socket.

You'll also need a ball end Allen wrench to access the turn signal base screws from the topside of the bracket.

Cruise Control Cable Lash Initialization For Harley Touring Models

1.) With the Ignition off, push the right cruise switch to RESUME and hold it there.

2.) Push the left cruise on/off button to ON.

3.) Turn on the ignition switch and crank the engine. The GREEN ENGAGED light will illuminate for three seconds and go out. When it goes out, release the RESUME switch.

4.) With the bike still running, push the right cruise switch to RESUME again and hold it while the unit pulls in the slack in the cable. When the engine revs up a bit and the green light goes out again, release the RESUME button and turn the ignition switch off.

There are many choices of handlebars out there for the mighty Road King. You can get them high, low, flat, radically pulled back, and fat as a pig. The varieties seem endless, but sometimes you just want a little more height and pullback to your favorite set without spending months trying to find the right replacement set.

I love the hand position of stock Road King bars, but I need more height and pullback for long distance comfort, and after purchasing and trying out several different types of bars, I discovered that all I really wanted was risers under my stockers. I even tried a set of Road King High Bars, but they did not add enough height, and the extra pullback changes the hand position.

If you own a Road King, then you already know that the problem with adding risers to this bike lies with the use of a solid OEM riser cover that becomes an integral part of the Nacelle assembly. This can be dealt with by changing to an aftermarket riser cover, or modifying your OEM cover.

Note: By the time I had tried out so many bars, I had added extended cables, wiring and brake hose to my bike, but I have seen a Road King with the same risers that I use, with stock cabling, so adding risers is do-able without the need for extended cables hoses and wires.

OPTION 1: The Expensive Way
Made By Carlini, Distributed by Custom Chrome, and offered through J&P Cycles, Dennis Kirk, and your local dealers, the billet cut Road King Nacelle Kit allows the addition of risers with no alterations to your OEM equipment... ...at prices starting from $259.00 !!

OPTION 2: The "Moccasin" Way If you own a Dremmel Tool, and a little patience, you can modify your OEM cover to accept risers.
The OEM Nacelle Cap is marked by first taping the surface with masking tape. Then, with an assitant holding it next to bolted on risers, the locations are marked using a ruler to transfer the lines from the risers to the tape. Mark with the cap held to the side, and also to the front. Holes are then drilled to remove a good portion of the metal. This saves a lot of time in the next step.

Using a Tungsten Carbide cutting bit in a Dremmel tool, the metal is removed out to the marked lines on the tape. Work slow and easy.

Test fitting the risers into the holes showed that I needed more clearance, so after initial cutting, the lines were extended freehand to allow more room for the risers to move slightly. (Risers are rubber mounted and will move slightly once installed)

By the time you get to your lines, you will be pretty good at cutting clean smooth lines with the Dremmel. Remove the tape and clean up any uneven edges.

Using some 600 grit sand paper, polish the edges of your cuts, then seal them with a few coats of clear touch up paint.

You should do a complete installation of risers and handlebars before finishing the edges, as you may find that you need a little more cutting here and there after full installation.

To fill the side holes, I purchased a set of Harley turn signal visors, part no. 67737_88T.

These visors have a mounting tab welded to the inside, and have no lip or flange along the straight edges (which will be exposed).

Cover the entire visor with masking tape, and mark its exposed area by holding it inside the cover and tracing the opening. I had to trim about half an inch off one end to make it fit where I wanted it.

Grind away the mounting tab, then using a vice or sheet metal pliers, flatten the visor out to match the inside surface of the cap, leaving the exposed areas untouched.

Hold the visor in place with a soft clamp, and drill through the assembly for a single rivet. It is mounted with the straight edge down, leaving a half inch gap at the bottom for nacelle clearance. You can polish the rivet head with your Dremmel if you want.

Apply silicone adhesive to all mating surfaces, then fasten the visor with a single rivet.

Bending and flattening the visor causes breaks and cracks in the chrome surface, so as an added measure, I coated the entire inside surface of the visor with silicone adhesive, to prevent rust or corrosion.

The exposed surface of the visor is not bent or flattened, so there is no damage to the chrome there.

Now, not only can you easily make minor adjustments to your bars, but you can change bars to suit your tastes without the hassle of headlight removal.

This project was done using a set of 4" pullback risers and stock late model Road King bars.

2006 Update!!!

Looks like the engineers at the Motor Company must have read my page!
Harley now offers a "Street Slammer" nacel cap that comes with riser holes already molded in. Ain't that nice?? :-)
Gotta say, the price ain't bad either, at $29.00 (as of 8/06)

Harley Part Number 55854-07