It should be noted that this is about as easy of an install as it gets. Not really anything that will wow you, but at least you get to see some other photos of the Suspension Technologies F-Tech Series Shocks.

Tools Used:

• 3/4″ Socket
• Torque Wrench
• Loctite Medium Strength Threadlocker 243 (Blue)

Now, lets get rid of this ugly stock Harley-Davidson shock and replace it with one that actually does something good!

Step 1:

Using an appropriate motorcycle lift, raise the motorcycle until the rear wheel is slightly off the ground. Securely block the motorcycle, or use a center stand if so equipped, to prevent tipping when the existing shocks are removed. Failure to properly secure the motorcycle can cause serious personal injury or damage to the motorcycle.

Step 2:

Remove the saddlebags and, if so equipped, any aftermarket accessories, in order to gain access to the shock absorbers.

Step 3:

Remove the air lines by bleeding air from the system and remove the air tube from the air tube compression fitting. (Red plastic fitting seen below). Do this by pressing in on the top of the red fitting while at the same time pulling the black air tube away from the fitting.

Step 4:

Using a 3/4″ socket, remove the upper shock absorber mounting bolt, lock washer and flat washer. Retain all hardware for use with the new suspension.

Step 5:

Install the Suspension Technologies F-Tech Series Shocks with the shock shaft in the upright position. Improper installation can result in damage to the shock absorbers and can cause an unsafe riding condition. Ensure that there is sufficient clearance between the tire and fender. Use washers provided on inside and outside of each shock bushing. If your original shocks used a lock washer, use it as well during this installation. If the original mounting bolts are 2″ in length, discard them and use the 2-1/4″ bolts provided. Apply Loctite Medium Strength Threadlocker 243 (Blue) to the bolt threads.

The order of items on the bolt should be as follows…

- Bolt
- Lock washer
- Washer
- Shock
- Washer
- Factory spacer
- Bike

Step 6:

Install upper shock mounting assembly and torque bolt to 35-40 ft-lbs. Install lower shock mounting assembly and torque bolt to 35-40 ft-lbs.

Step 7:

Reinstall saddlebags and any accessories removed from step 2, ensuring there is enough clearance between accessories and shock absorbers. Lower your motorcycle from the lift a test ride.

Congratulations! You now have one of the best riding suspensions available for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

A note on setting preload on the Suspension Technologies F-Tech Series Shocks:

The shock absorbers come with a preload adjustment suitable for most riding conditions. It is strongly recommended that you ride the bike with the shocks at the initial setting before making any adjustments.

Once installed on the motorcycle, you can adjust the preload of the shocks with no special tools. Firmly grip the lower spring cup and rotate it counterclockwise (Looking from the top of the shock) to add preload. The opposite direction reduces preload. Each complete turn results in 60 lbs. of preload adjustment per shock. We recommend no more than one turn at a time in either direction. Please note: Excessive reduction can result in spring “clang” which should be avoided as it could result in damage to the shock.

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Tools Used:

• Phillips Head Screwdriver
• 1/2″ Box Wrench
• 3/16″ Hex Head
• 5/32″ Hex Head
• Bike Polish

Before Shot:
Here you can see the relatively stock set-up. We previously swapped out the factory brake light for a smoked laydown style with LED which wasn’t bad looking, but it wasn’t great either.

Step 1:
Let us start by removing the seat so we can access the main wiring harness for the fender lights.

Step 2:
Now that the seat has been removed, disconnect the main wiring harness to the fender lights.

Step 3:
Plug the wiring harness provided by Cycle Visions in-line with the main fender wiring harness.

Step 4:
Once both sides of the in-line wiring harness have been attached, plug the load equalizer (included) into the wiring harness. As a side note, stock turn signals are designed to blink twice as fast as normal when a bulb is burned out to alert the driver. Since the Cycle Visions Eliminator utilizes LED lights that require less power than traditional bulbs it’s possible that the lights may blink twice as fast (or not at all) because the bike thinks that their is a light burned out. Because of this, a load equalizer is used.

Step 5:
Now lets move on to the back of the bike and remove the rear tail light using a phillips head screwdriver.

Step 6:
Once the tail light is removed, disconnect the wiring harness.

Step 7:
Disconnect the wiring harness from each turn signal then remove the tail light assembly using a phillips head screwdriver.

Step 8:
Using a 1/2″ box wrench, reach up behind the fender and remove the two bolts that fasted the turn signal bar. FYI…this can be a pain in the ass if your hands are larger than a childs.

Step 9:
Take this time to clean up the rear fender. Might we recommend some Protect All Polish, Wax & Treatment. Sorry, we couldn’t resist the product placement but seriously, this stuff is great!

Step 10:
Attach the Cycle Visions Eliminator baseplate to the fender using the supplied mounting hardware. Start with the phillips head screw, then the 3/16″ hex head from behind the fender. To make this process easier, we recommend cutting down a spare hex wrench to fit between the tire and bolt.

Step 11:
Once the baseplate is securely fastened, plug the wiring harness from the license plate frame into the factory fender wiring harness.

Step 12:
Once the harness is plugged in, attach the frame from the back of the baseplate using the supplied 5/32″ allen head screws. Once again, to make this process easier we recommend cutting down a spare hex wrench to fit between the fender and baseplate.

Completed!
As you can see, the Cycle Visions Eliminator gave our Road Glide a cleaner, more streamlined look. In addition, the Eliminator is equipped with a built-in pulsing module that quickly pulses all LEDs on the unit three times before fully illuminating when the brake is applied…a great safety feature. While riding, the Eliminator remains illuminated red then when the turn signals are used, the left or right LEDs switch from red running lights to flashing amber signals.

One thing to note that is not documented in this installation is that the Eliminator comes with a Cycle Visions Eliminator License Bracket (CV4812) which eliminates the rear license plate bar on FLH models. Since we use this bar for a luggage rack, we opted to not include this but you do have the choice to remove it and clean up the rear fender area even more if you wish.

Enjoy and ride safe!

To celebrate our 1st birthday, each Friday in May we will be randomly selecting an Iron Aces customer to receive 1 of 4 great birthday presents as our “Thank You” for choosing Iron Aces Speed Shop for your past purchases. It’s the least we can do for helping us achieve this special milestone. Visit our Birthday Celebration microsite to learn more.

Although there have been many long nights and weekends, we wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. We have gotten to know so many great riders from across the United States (and the world) and the vendors we have partnered with have been nothing short of spectacular to work with. Very few get the opportunity to make their passion their livelihood and we at Iron Aces Speed Shop are truly blessed.

Thanks again for choosing Iron Aces Speed Shop and ride safe!

Chris & Lindsey Trausch

Special shout out to “hd-dude” from CVOHarley.com. These instructions are merely a follow-up to the research he had already done. Also, the photos were taken after our own install. You will notice that the cable is already mounted in all of the photos.

**Please proceed with caution, these are undocumented instructions obtained from multiple sources and is a hack to your stereo. You can permanently damage your stereo if you are not careful. Iron Aces Speed Shop will not be held responsible for any damage caused by this modification. Proceed at your own risk.

You will need the following items…

• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack extension cable ($0.73 cents from Monoprice!)
• Rubber Grommet – Size depends on cable you buy
• Zip Tie
• Zip Tie Anchor

Tools Used:

• Soldering Iron
• Multimeter (Not necessary, but helpful)
• T8 Torx Bit
• T25 Torx Bit
• Small Flathead Screwdriver
• Exacto Knife
• Drill & Bit

Step 1:
Remove radio from mounting cradle. (To make it easier to slide the radio out of the mounting cradle, rub a little bit of dishwasher soap on both sides of the water seal. This will allow the radio to slide out much easier without possibly damaging the seal.)

Step 2:
If equipped, also remove the CB and XM module.

Step 3:
Flip seal over faceplate to access the plastic tabs.

Step 4:
Using a small screwdriver, remove faceplate from radio by gently prying the six plastic tabs around faceplate. One on each side, two on the top and two on the bottom.

Step 5:
Make sure the orange rubber seal (the one that seals the front AUX input jack) remains within the faceplate.

Step 6:
Remove top plate by unscrewing the two T8 Torx screws located on the front rim and remove the two T25 Torx screws on the back of the radio.

Step 7:
Pick a location on the back of the radio to drill a hole to run your AUX audio cable through.  Use the appropriate size drill pit for the size of audio extension cable you purchased.

I picked the location you see here, because I will never use the additional Harley modules. If you plan to upgrade your stereo, you may want to drill a hole in the main chassis.

Step 8:
Place the correct grommet in the hole and run the AUX audio cable through it.

Step 9:
Route the cable to the left of the radio to exit near the front AUX input.

Step 10:
Now solder the appropriate leads to the inboard connections. Different cables will possibly have different color leads. Test leads with a multimeter to determine the appropriate lead.

Step 11:
Anchor the cable inside the radio with a single zip tie and anchor.

Step 12:
In order for the radio to stop at the AUX input position without anything plugged into the front port, you will need to cut the tracer on the circuit board. Using a sharp Exacto knife, cut into the board across the tracer.  Before you put the radio back together, put the faceplate back on and plug the stereo back into the radio harness to test that you can select the AUX position without anything plugged in to the front AUX jack. If you can’t, then you have not cut the tracer. This took me a few tries.

Also, don’t worry about cutting the tracer, your front AUX input port will still work.

Here is a closer view of the tracer you will need to cut.

Step 13:
Place the top plate back on the radio, snap the face back on the radio, flip radio seal back over body and install radio back into fairing.

Done! Not so bad huh?!?

Recently we got to install one of these units on an ’08 Fatboy. Installation couldn’t be easier. Remove the existing license plate frame and tail light, install the mounting plate of the Eliminator with a single screw, plug in the wiring harness to the factory harness, and then screw in the top plate with 4 machine screws. Simple! Installation took approximately 30 mins. One thing you should know… you will need to cut down a 5/32 allen wrench to be able to tighten the top plate. There is very little room between the fender base plate.

The customer was very happy with the unit, and let me tell you… the LEDs are really bright on this thing! It has a great pulsing action on the lights when you brake to alert drivers behind you. We are looking forward to installing these many more bikes!

Features include:

• Includes run, turn and brake controller (controls these lights only)
• Illuminates amber
• LED lighting
• A stylish Pyramid Cover is available to cover the three holes let behind (only applies to Softails) when relocating stock license plates above the stock tail light, or the Eliminator tail light on your rear fender.

Available in black powder coat or chrome finish.

Check out our website for more information on the Cycle Visions Eliminator Tail Light Assembly

Hear the difference yourself at www.IronAcesSpeedShop.com and let me know your thoughts.