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Thread: Need help: Installing XB wind deflectors (for hands) on 03 XB9 SL

  1. #1
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    Need help: Installing XB wind deflectors (for hands) on 03 XB9 SL

    Hi guys,

    This is a very simple install. However, I ran into a problem.

    The bar end plugs that come with the kit don't fit my 03 XB9.

    https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/17...94188370642893

    https://st-paul-harley-davidson-buel...deflectors-b1p

    I'm thinking about taking my stock bar end plugs, putting an M8 bolt through them and calling it a day. Anybody got any better ideas?

    I tried using a blow torch to melt the provided bar-end and hammer it in the bar. I succeeded in toasting it like a burnt marshmellow. I failed in making it fit.

  2. #2
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hossman View Post
    Hi guys,

    This is a very simple install. However, I ran into a problem.

    The bar end plugs that come with the kit don't fit my 03 XB9.

    https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/17...94188370642893

    https://st-paul-harley-davidson-buel...deflectors-b1p

    I'm thinking about taking my stock bar end plugs, putting an M8 bolt through them and calling it a day. Anybody got any better ideas?

    I tried using a blow torch to melt the provided bar-end and hammer it in the bar. I succeeded in toasting it like a burnt marshmellow. I failed in making it fit.
    Are you sure you still have the stock bars? The stock steelies had a pretty thin walled steel and the hole was fairly large. If someone put alloy bars on, the hole will definitely be too small.

    Rather than heat and smash, I'd just turn them down using a bench grinder or dremel tool.

    My $0.02

  3. #3
    Senior Member BuellyBagger's Avatar
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    IF your bars are stock those plugs will still be a PITA to get in, they're hard to hold straight and force in. I replaced one on my uly after the little crash. I needed an extra set of hands to get it in. I held the bar end plug, place a 2x4 against it that my wife held, and I smacked it with a hammer (dont over do it!) Once it started in a bit it tapped in pretty easily.

  4. #4
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    2003 buell non-R model handlebars are all 7/8th OD and approx. 0.85mm wall thickness. they have never changed thru the entire model run. if you are referring to item #3 in the schematic you attached it is not unusual for them to barely fit....if at all...if they've seen a decade or more of shelf-life. aaron and cody both have good suggestions. two more are:
    1-using a heat-gun with common sense simply heat the OD of the plug till slightly pliable...spray a small amount of lubricant inside each bar end...and tap it in.
    2-if the OD of the plug is bitched up heat it up as in #1 above...try and smooth out the flutes as best you can. then apply a coating of GOOP....can be either general purpose/marine/hobby....and ram it home. you want to apply the GOOP to the plug and NOT the inside of the bars. that insures a good seal as opposed to just pushing the GOOP back into the bar and leaving little to none adhering onto the plug.

    81mAINTt3+L._SY879_.jpg

  5. #5
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Motorcycle dad has spoken.

  6. #6
    Senior Member mmcn49's Avatar
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    Had the same issue on replacement plugs for the TT. Fortunately I have a bench lathe and just turned them down a little. You can accomplish the same thing with a hand file and sandpaper, just takes a little longer. Applying heat to plastic doesn't always have the desired effect.

  7. #7
    Junior Member Peeking Turtle's Avatar
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    I put new ones in last year. I wound up using a socket that would fit around the nub on the end of the plug so that I could push evenly on the meaty part of the plug. In my mind I was at the point where I was going to succeed or smash the crap out of it. Fortunately the socket trick worked. I did use a little light lube like Lunatic says, but I can't remember what it was. Good luck.

  8. #8
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peeking Turtle View Post
    I put new ones in last year. I wound up using a socket that would fit around the nub on the end of the plug so that I could push evenly on the meaty part of the plug. In my mind I was at the point where I was going to succeed or smash the crap out of it. Fortunately the socket trick worked. I did use a little light lube like Lunatic says, but I can't remember what it was. Good luck.
    Thats a pretty clever method.



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