Turning a Sportster into a Touring Machine - Part One - Project Overview, Initial Disassemble

Long-term I would like to be able to tour the country for months at a time while working. Dream world has me doing that on a dedicated machine but I live in the real world and right now I just can't afford a second bike. So we use what we got. I have a Sportster and am taking the time and a little money to make it "tour-able".
In this video I provide an overview of the project and begin initial disassembly. Future video's will include:
* motor mounts
* rewiring for charging computer and cameras on the go
* vibration control
* ergonomics adjustment
* custom welded storage rack
* custom welded sissy bar
* probably something I forgot.

[@Warchief1337]

This is very very similar to what I did. I toured cross-state on my sportster after setting it up for longer rides, and sacrificed the aesthetics (and the handling capacity of the frame geometry) to be able to accommodate that. After a while though I found a Softail that was affordable for me to own, and purchased that as well. Now the 2017 Softail Slim in my garage is my touring bike and the 2022 iron sportster is completely torn down into an entirely different machine. I love them both for different reasons.
Ride what you have and innovate!

[@jamespolucha8790]

The sportster motor is the most reliable motor Harley makes or used to make, the only thing a sportster needs is suspension upgrade, there was a company in California that used to sell a full dresser kit for sportsters that looked really nice, fix it up and keep it you don’t need a 30 -40 grand bagger

[@fkipke]

WD-40 is probably not the best thing to spray on the exhaust connectors because it evaporates quickly, especially in the heat. I may be wrong.