I've had some questions from members, here is something I wrote up to help explain:
You maybe should consider these, if you have modified the bike, added larger speakers, cams, stiffer mtr mounts and such. The radio seems to help hold the vertical braces in place and if they move, it sort of turns the radio into an accordion. Think about it, the heat sink is on the right side of the radio, inside there are some components attached to it as well as the circuit board. If you flex them enough, they break and you see the results. These braces appear to lock in the vertical supports and protect the radio. Lower brace in place in photo.
Harley changed the vertical braces in mid 08 to make them more rigid. How many people have had the vertical brackets break? or does the CD skip while riding at different speeds due to the shake in the fairing? These appear to help. Tom 149 is putting them in his bike and we Will see how they help him.
BTW, Iron Cross does a great job repairing the radios and they do add a number of things to them to help keep them working properly.
I destroyed a radio before I understood the failure mode, since I replaced the radio and put these braces in place, I have over 5k miles on this radio (first radio didn't last very long, less than 1k)and it still works great. (my opinion) The CD rarely skips now. Smoother ride at highway speed due to less shake.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Brad