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[RickC]

I brought home a box of parts from the dealership on Saturday morning. Plenty to keep me busy dabbling with the bike on and off all week.

After I installed the four-point mounting brackest, I tried to put the two-up tour-pak bracket on (sans tour-pak) to make sure everything fit.

I slid the bracket onto the spacers on the front mounts and, after adjusting the width of the bracket at the rear mount point, tried to "click it in" on the rear mount points.

Imagine my surprise when both of the nylon bushings on the rear mount points cracked and went flying!

I replaced the rear mount point bushings with the ones on the recently-removed two-point system and then gingerly set the tour-pak bracket down on the mount points to see if I could see what happened.

It appears that the tour-pak bracket is two long between the openings where it mounts onto the two mount points -- by about 3/16" - 1/4"!!!

No, the four-point system is not on the bike backwards. It won't mount that way. Yes, this is the right tour-pak bracket (53276-09). There is no way to adjust the spacing between the mount points as the center posts are welded into the bracket. There is no way to adjust the space between the openings on the tour-pak bracket as it is a solid piece of chromed steel.

Anybody else had a problem?

[GregKhougaz]

Hi Rick, 
 
          I'm no expert but did install the same parts on my SERG.  My tour pak bracket was very tough to get on at first.  I think it was the bushings on the front of the bracket that needed to wear in.  Now it seems fine though the rear clips need to be lined up very carefully.  The system on my 04 worked smoothly so this did not make me happy.  How's it doing now? 

GK

[RickC]

          I'm no expert but did install the same parts on my SERG.  My tour pak bracket was very tough to get on at first.  I think it was the bushings on the front of the bracket that needed to wear in.  Now it seems fine though the rear clips need to be lined up very carefully.  The system on my 04 worked smoothly so this did not make me happy.  How's it doing now? 

Greg,

I'm afraid to try to push the bracket on again. I don't want to destroy another set of nylon bushings! At the moment, I can't get it on the bike. I may go out this afternoon and fiddle with it a bit, but my plan is to take the whole mess (bike and all) down to the dealership one afternoon this week. That won't be today, but maybe tomorrow.

I agree that the rear clips have to be lined up carefully. The clips seem to be much more "touchy" and fragile that the the ones on my '07. Hmmmm. Still have the '07 bracket. It's on the Tour-Pak that came off the '07 and is going on this bike! Maybe I'll take the clips off of it and put on this rack to see if they work any better.

Hmmmm...

[Screamin]

Mine went on just fine. Made sure to push on the front really hard to get it to seat but no problem really.

 

[RickC]

Mine went on just fine. Made sure to push on the front really hard to get it to seat but no problem really.

I'm pretty sure I did that. I've tried it 4-5 different times at this point and still can't get it to seat without risking damage to the nylon bushings on the rear mount points.

I'm gonna try again in a little bit...

[blw]

Rick, I had problems putting the tour pack on my 09  SERG. The tour pack bracket was about  3/8'' to wide and when I would try and push it in place it would break the bushings. Took it back to dealer and measured it beside another one and the second one was 3/8'' narrower---it fits ok, but is still tight.     BLW

[hdbrad03]

I also broke my docking points. So I purchased 4 docking points from Gilbo's Billet Hawg Solutions. http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&ext=1&groupid=372193&ck=

 
     Brad

[RickC]

I also broke my docking points. So I purchased 4 docking points from Gilbo's Billet Hawg Solutions. http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&ext=1&groupid=372193&ck=

Brad,

Had those on my '07. I'm ordering from him today...

[Beemer]

Rick,

Have you measured from center of the rear docking point to the center of the front docking point?  It should be 5 13/16 and if you measure QD rack it should be pretty close...mine was really hard to go on and off at first but a little filing...sanding to smooth out the molding seam on the plastic rear mount spacer with a small amount of WD 40 made it much easier.

[RickC]

Rick,

Have you measured from center of the rear docking point to the center of the front docking point?  It should be 5 13/16 and if you measure QD rack it should be pretty close...mine was really hard to go on and off at first but a little filing...sanding to smooth out the molding seam on the plastic rear mount spacer with a small amount of WD 40 made it much easier.

Sanding? Filing? On H-D Parts that I paid this kinda $$ for? Come on! These are supposd to fit together.

In the instructions for the Two-Up Tour-Pak Bracket, it points out that you might have to bend the sides of the bracket at the back in or out to line up with the mount points. I had to bend mine in a bit. Fair enough. They told me about it in writing right in the instructions.

But, sanding and filing the bushings? That's not mentioned in the installation instructions anywhere. Hmmm...

I'm gonna go out and measure the parts and try again. I'll report back in a little while...

[RickC]

Have you measured from center of the rear docking point to the center of the front docking point?  It should be 5 13/16 and if you measure QD rack it should be pretty close...mine was really hard to go on and off at first but a little filing...sanding to smooth out the molding seam on the plastic rear mount spacer with a small amount of WD 40 made it much easier.

Hmmm... my 2009 four-point mounting system measures 5-13/16" center to center, so that dimension seems correct.

Still, when I slide the bracket onto the front mounting points, the shoulder of the opening on the bracket for the rear mount point seems to be about 1/8" too big. It looks like once the rear mount point clears the should in the bracket opening, it will fit fine. It's just getting past the shoulder that seems to be the problem.

If I file the bracket, I'll compromise the chrome finish. If I file/sand the nylon bushing, that will be almost all the way through, defeating the purpose of the nylon bushing. Either way, I'm not happy with the result. I'll see if WD-40 makes any difference after I finish my conference call.

I also broke my docking points. So I purchased 4 docking points from Gilbo's Billet Hawg Solutions. http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&ext=1&groupid=372193&ck=

Brad, do you have your Full Metal Jackets from Gilbo's yet? If you have mounted them, can you tell me if you had to file them to get the bracket to go on smoothly? If so, does the braket rattle at all once it's locked down?

[Dan_Lockwood]

Hmmm... my 2009 four-point mounting system measures 5-13/16" center to center, so that dimension seems correct.

Still, when I slide the bracket onto the front mounting points, the shoulder of the opening on the bracket for the rear mount point seems to be about 1/8" too big. It looks like once the rear mount point clears the should in the bracket opening, it will fit fine. It's just getting past the shoulder that seems to be the problem.

If I file the bracket, I'll compromise the chrome finish. If I file/sand the nylon bushing, that will be almost all the way through, defeating the purpose of the nylon bushing. Either way, I'm not happy with the result. I'll see if WD-40 makes any difference after I finish my conference call.

Brad, do you have your Full Metal Jackets from Gilbo's yet? If you have mounted them, can you tell me if you had to file them to get the bracket to go on smoothly? If so, does the bracket rattle at all once it's locked down?

Rick, just an idea to try, have you tried the rear brackets of the tour pak on the rear dock without the front "U" in the bushings?  This would at least tell you if the rear will fit regardless for the center to center distance of the docking bushings.

Have you tried to loosen up the bolts holding the front bushings in place? They may be squeezed too tightly and causing a restriction of the "U" sliding in all the way.  I can't remember if there is a steel sleeve in the middle of the bushing to keep it from being over tightened.

I'm sure the "other" bushings will solve the issues, but you're right, for this kind of money they should fit without any unnecessary filing or sanding or replacing broken parts because of binding.

Good luck with your project.

    

[Beemer]

Rick, I'm talking about VERY LITTLE filing...just where I had the seam of raised plastic hampering smooth operation of the cam-lock mechanism on the left rear point...just a few thousandths really.  I'm betting you'll have better luck after lubing up the docking points.  Vaseline or petrolatum grease will work even better if you have any.  I'm thinking you're not completely seated in the forward points too.  Another thought...you didn't over tighten the rear points making them swell, did you?  That'd be pretty difficult but it's possible...if you're a big lummox

[RickC]

Rick, I'm talking about VERY LITTLE filing...just where I had the seam of raised plastic hampering smooth operation of the cam-lock mechanism on the left rear point...just a few thousandths really.  I'm betting you'll have better luck after lubing up the docking points.  Vaseline or petrolatum grease will work even better if you have any.  I'm thinking you're not completely seated in the forward points too.  Another thought...you didn't over tighten the rear points making them swell, did you?  That'd be pretty difficult but it's possible...if you're a big lummox

This looks like more than a few thousandths to me. It looks more like 1/8", which is about the thickness of the nylon bushings.

I'll try some kind of lubricant. Think I have some petroleum jelly around here. Almost certain with kids in the house, LOL!

As for over tightening, the installation instructions called for 10.5 lbs of torque and I double-checked the settings on the torque wrench. I can't imagine how that would be the case.

[Beemer]

Another thing to check is to pull off those forward plastic anti-chaffing C-bushings on the rack and see if there is some ca-ca or other foreign matter in there interfering with the seating of the rack   Other than that, I'm all out of suggestions brother