How do you....

[Steve on 3]

Get large fingers and anything else up in there to remove bolts on slip on pipes. Mine has LOUD pipes on it from the dealer. Being blessed with extra large hands, it's just about impossible to get my fingers and hands in there to remove the bolts, much less put them back. Ok pros..what's the trick?

 

[RcSuD]

Hire someone with small hands?

 

[GARYD]

Get your daughter to do it for you. ThumbUp

 

[rhino 2]

I took my stock mufflers off with a 1/4 inch socket wrench.. :Shrug:
[11 T/G]

 

[lboos]

Steve,
Stop looking at it and get some wrenches and go to work, when I 1st looked at mine [2013 T/G] it looked impossible, and dose take some time on the 1st try.
the hardest part is getting starting :clapping:.
I wanted some louder pipes, so I bought some Rush slip on's and had them installed at the dealer, $98 labor, on the ride home I was not happy with the sound, so I put it in the garage and removed the rush slip on's and put the org. mufflers back on. it's not that hard, just looks that way.
BTW after about 5000 miles the stock Harley mufflers begin to sound a lot better. You can do it .

 

[DTR 11TG]

Like Rhino said, use sockets.ThumbUp

 

[Steve on 3]

Agreed, it looks harder than it is and certainly harder than the two wheeler. I also had a trailer hitch put on just in case we wanted to trailer. It's just getting around all the stuff back there. Have some Fatshotz to go on rather than the stockers. I like the rumble but still eps compliant and legal. Better breathing too. Now. And a/c and tuner.

thanks guys

steve

 

[stroker 23]

I've had same problem cause of long fingers. Gearwrench makes a set of open end/ratcheting box wrenches that are very thin. I've found they work the best.
dan

 

[lboos]

I've found a couple of jobs that I had to take a couple of old wrench's and mod. them on the grinding wheel, either to make them thin, or to shorting them. or to take some off where they would fit into small places, it is cheaper then buying new ones, I think some times the engineers at Harley design some nuts and bolts where most common wrench's are hard to get at, and only Harley dealers have that special tool, and you feel you have to take them back to the dealer even for the simplest jobs.

 

[Steve on 3]

I've found a couple of jobs that I had to take a couple of old wrench's and mod. them on the grinding wheel, either to make them thin, or to shorting them. or to take some off where they would fit into small places, it is cheaper then buying new ones, I think some times the engineers at Harley design some nuts and bolts where most common wrench's are hard to get at, and only Harley dealers have that special tool, and you feel you have to take them back to the dealer even for the simplest jobs.

I may have to take your suggestion and modify a wrench or at least get out the ratchet wrenches. I think that most manufacturers give very little attention to routine maintenance jobs. My Ford truck for example, to remove the oil filter requires about 3 joints in the arm accompanied by some swearing and blood. I have found that the local dealer will change the oil and filter , rotate tires and lube for $29.95. I can't hardly buy the oil and filter for that. Guess who does my service on the Truck?

Thanks

Steve

 

[GARYD]

You're right about mfg's. I remember my wife's Yamaha Virago 1100. To change the filter you had to remove the right floorboard and the exhaust pipe. The cover had 3 allen bolts. 2 short ones on top (not hard to remove), one loooong one on the bottom behind the exhaust pipe. I thought if I ground down the allen wrench I could just barely get the long bolt out = nope bolt was still too long so had to remove the pipe.
Now I know why it cost almost $100 for an oil change - this was back in the 80's. :AGGHH:

 

[bulkness]

1/2" box wrench on the inside one. Shallow 1/2"x 1/4" drive socket on the outside one. I use these and I have paws for hands.

 

[Sloufoot]

I may have to take your suggestion and modify a wrench or at least get out the ratchet wrenches. I think that most manufacturers give very little attention to routine maintenance jobs. My Ford truck for example, to remove the oil filter requires about 3 joints in the arm accompanied by some swearing and blood. I have found that the local dealer will change the oil and filter , rotate tires and lube for $29.95. I can't hardly buy the oil and filter for that. Guess who does my service on the Truck?

Thanks

Steve

If you use the ratchet wrenches, they work great but watch out that you go to the open end to finally take the bolt out. The ratchet end won't clear enough to clear everything above it & unless the box end is reversible you can't get it off the head of the bolt to turn it the other way.
YEP,,,, I got caught doing that ! Makes a person throw out the root beer & start on the hard stuff !