Proof yet again designers don't work on the bikes they design!

Time to update my one or two human readers and the bots on Sportster repairs and motorcycle maintenance.  Recently the taillight assembly needed replacing (no big deal, it was the pressed in threaded piece that had come loose) so I removed the lens, unclipped the j-box and started loosening the bolt holding the base to the rear fender.

Well, what do you know! The tab on the rear fender holding the base to the bike had cracked and fell off when I pulled the bolt free.  Reaching up inside the rear fender, I found the outline of the piece and it's a large plate that is affixed to the rear fender but can't be changed out.  Designer error number 1 in my book.

So I decide to pull the rear fender off, give it to a neighbor to see if he can weld the tab back together and get this fixed.

Enter designer error two:  Multiple bolts through the struts and fender-four on each side counting mounting bolt, turn signal and two for sissy bar/bag mounts if you run either.  Did I mention three are 1/2 inch bolts and one is a 9/16ths?  At least they were all SAE unlike some parts or after-market accessories that are only metric.  Oh wait, never mind as some are allen head and one is hex.  And this isn't even a custom Harley Davidson, although the sissy bar is a one off custom part!  Plus there is the seat bolt, the top mounting bolt to the frame and the turn signal modulator/ECU that bolts directly to the rear fender.  Add in three bolts holding the license plate bracket and I had quite the selection of box end wrenches, sockets, hex bit and allen keys on the table lift tonight.

Designer error three:  This bike has more wiring than the Apollo moon missions and I still haven't figured how to get the main pig-tail out of the fender.  It might just pop through like the stopper in a fender, but I wasn't up to trying that.  So it's coiled out of the way and fortunately is far from where the welding will happen.  Ah, I love doing my own motorcycle maintenance!

So besides the usual contortions to work inside a rear fender, I give the Sportster designers a C- due to excessive connectors and wiring on what should be a straightforward motorcycle.