Turning a Sportster into a Touring Machine - Part Two: Vibration Reduction
The biggest complaint most people have about Sportsters is Highway vibration. Harley-Davidson attempted to mitigate this by rubber mounting the bike in 2004. But that was 20 years ago. Rubber hardens over time. In fact Google says rubber mounts are only designed to work for 7 years! 2004 is 20 years ago. These mounts have got to be saggy and hard thus not working so....
In order to improve the touring experience I'm going to replace the front and rear rubber motor mounts in order to reduce the vibration. And I'll do it with some basic tools and ability to follow instructions in a book.
Or at least that's the goal.
Will we succeed?
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Table of Content:
* Initial Disassembly - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=ePuPihR3P_C-cmyZ&t=256
* Remove Stripped Bolt - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=v2C-GNqCcmHJMSdY&t=646
* Front Left Mount - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=htsCTROEJekKILi3&t=763
* Front Right Mount - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=_IMeHlfqBSRJyTpN&t=856
* Front Reassembly - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=t0IcTfhp-wdNw-0U&t=1378
* Rear Disassembly - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=dMcIruQgZmcc3CbD&t=1531
* Rear Left Mount - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=3VDpL0EtGko_oWFa&t=1969
* Rear Right Mount - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=y5CXWefWz_fkDTum&t=2325
* Rear Reassembly - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=QpxbrSzJUxFmu2TK&t=2412
* Lesson Learned - https://youtu.be/iMAKeA9ue8M?si=KAT6kNKrcSJSL9N1&t=2714
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Parts Discussed:
* Tub O Towels: https://amzn.to/3VSzaxw
* Clymer Sporster Service Manual
- 2004-2013: https://amzn.to/3PTeKk5
- 2014-2017 (I believe to end of run): https://amzn.to/3TPLoUW
- 1986-2003: https://amzn.to/3Uds05O
* Motorcycle Scissor Jack: Mine came from H.F. but I think this is same exact one: https://amzn.to/3PU5Umc
* Craftsman Spiral Screw Extractor: https://amzn.to/3UaUw83
Other Parts on Bike:
* Mustang Saddle - https://amzn.to/3x4dZxZ (note these go on sale often. pretty sure I paid about $250 for mine.)
* Progressive Shocks - https://amzn.to/3x4dZxZ
* Progressive Cartridge Fork - https://amzn.to/3THt7tY (lots of variations, be sure to check your model, 31-2513 is ones I got)
* Sissy Bar - https://amzn.to/4aqGHrr (note I got same one in chrome. would do black now because I think better with rust.)
* Handlebar Vibration Dampner - https://amzn.to/4cj6Wln
* Kuryakyn Throttle Boss - https://amzn.to/43oNU95
* Kuryakyn End Cap - https://amzn.to/4ael1yI
* Kuryakyn Grips - https://amzn.to/3x4Mep6
* Dart Flyscreen Windshield - https://amzn.to/4csvwA0
Handlebars came from JP cycle