American Iron Magazine December 2017

TECH • BY CHRIS MAIDA
H-D Layback
Plate Mount Kit
Make room for saddlebags on your Dyna or Sporty
TOOLS NEEDED
• Blue Loctite
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Shrink wrap
• Rubber grommet (small)
• Pick tool
• 3/16" Allen
• 1/4" Allen
• 7/16" wrench
• 1/2" wrench
• Wire cutters
• Wire strippers
• Crimping tool
• Phillips screwdriver (#2)
• Flat-bladed screwdriver (1/16")
• Bike jack
THANKS TO THE HUGE SELECTION OF ACCESSORIES
available today, an owner of any style Harley-
Davidson can equip his bike for a wide variety of
uses. For example, Dynas and Sportsters are more
for hitting the twisties than touring. However, by adding a
few easy-to-install kits from The Motor
Company these models can be effective
traveling machines—as long as you don’t
plan on taking a ton of stuff with you.
That’s the position my buddy Roc
found himself in after picking up a sweet
2002 Dyna Low Rider. Roc wanted a
nimble bike to blast around locally, but
also needed a machine he could take
to see family about 600 miles away. He
needed a way to haul a few days’ worth
of clothes and other necessities and, as
we all know, the easy answer is to install
a set of saddlebags. Since Roc wanted
to install rigid-mounted bags, he also
needed to move the turn signals out of
the way, so the bags could be bolted to
the rear fender struts. Wanting to also
improve the look of his bike in the process, Roc decided to
also swap out the stock license plate
holder and install Harley’s cool Layback
License Plate and Turn Signal
Relocation kit.
This kit combines H-D’s popular
Layback License Plate Mount with an
integrated turn signal bar. You mount
the turn signals to the bar, which gives
you lots of room for saddlebags. This
models and most 2002-17 Dynas. The
Harley website tells you the bikes it
will not work on, but anything with a
side-mounted license plate is a no-go.
As is the norm with many of Harley’s
kits, the Layback comes with all needed
mounting hardware. And since it’s a
can install the Layback kit now and
then get the saddlebags later, which is
what we’re doing. In this issue, we’ll do
the Layback mount and cover how to
install a set of H-D rigid locking leather
saddlebags next time.
1
Here’s Roc’s 2002 Dyna Low Rider before we put it
up on a bike lift with its rear section on a bike jack
and raised to get the clearance needed under the rear
fender. You can also do this job on the ground.
70 / American Iron / Issue #358 AIMag.com