Saddlebags add style to Honda motorcycles as well add usefulness.
The Japanese auto manufacturer, Honda, is closely associated with making quality cars, minivans and SUVs, but their motorcycle offerings have been thrilling customers for decades. Customers have the option to include saddlebags when they custom order their new Shadow or Valkyrie from a dealer. Saddlebags allow the rider to carry personal belongings with them when they hit the road. Saddlebags can also be added as an aftermarket option and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers in relatively little time.
Instructions
1. Pull up on your seat on the motorcycle to loosen it and remove it. Disconnect both battery cables and remove the battery. This gives you access to the connective wires that lead to the taillights. Remove the wires from their connection. Use an Allen wrench to remove the holding bolts on the cycle's rear fender. Once it's loose enough, slide it down and off the bike.
2. Take off the right and left signal lights, but note which assembly belongs to which light. This will save you some frustration when you reassemble the lights later. Snip a few inches of wiring from each end of each signal wire and thread an inch of heat shrink tubing over the snipped ends. Snip two separate 2-foot lengths of wiring from the spool and heat up your soldering iron.
3. Solder the ends of each 2 foot wire in place, with one end connected to the connector and the other to the turn signal. Use some heat shrink tubing over the connection and melt into place with a heat gun. Remove the license plate, install the turn signal spacers, reattach the plate and reassemble the signal light assemblies. You've created the space necessary to accommodate the saddlebags appropriately.
4. Take off the reflectors with an adjustable wrench. Place the mounting spool included with the saddlebag installation kit in place of the reflectors. Place the washers from the kit over the holes in the spool and secure the spool to the bike using the holding bolts and supplied nuts. Lay the saddlebags onto the bike, lining up the holes on the bags with the spools and securing them with the restraining lock pins.
Tags: heat shrink, heat shrink tubing, holding bolts, place with, shrink tubing, shrink tubing over
