This is a short video intended to help navigate your way through a battery removal on the brand new 2018 Softail models . This is a street bob model. Thanks
This is such an improvement over the old design. You used to take the entire seat off; now you get to yank on all kinds of wiring and stick tools in half-blind to reach the terminals also.
Great video! Would recommend one suggestion. Might want to put a rag over the oil dipstick hole. Knowing "Murphy", something will fall into it.....Best, The Sailor
Hey, I had to pull my battery out this weekend. Wanted to say thanks for the in depth video. Saved me a lot of trouble since I was able to prepare before starting. Tip for anyone out there: Instead of a Phillips screwdriver, use a 10mm socket with an extension to get the screws off the battery. By doing this, you can use something like Hold-A-Gasket in the socket so can easily pull the screw out (or put it back in). Chewing gum works in a pinch too.
what a terrible mess, just to dismount a battery! it's really designed for it to be done at official dealers! Who will help themselves on the side of the road, with such a complicated process ??? what a shit !!!
Definitely agreed about plugging the open hole with a rag! The new shock design is amazing but the battery access and removal must have been a last minute rush design at the 11th hour.
I think 'amazing' is stretching things a little! It's an improvement, yes, but I have to remove the seat on my Heritage just to adjust pre-load. That's crap. As is the design of the saddlebags - but that's a different gripe :)
The monoshock is outstanding!. That along with the increased lean angle on my 2019 Heritage 114, make it a comfortable and capable cornering machine. The 114 Milwaukee 8 is fast and fun!
Video was very helpful, thanks!!! BUT who's the wonky R&D that designed this quacky of a maintenance, could have just designed it as a pull thru from the other side...WTF seriously my child could have done a better job with a crayon ( hello Harley, pls. push/put all the wiring, connector, terminals, clips, etc. to "one(1) side pick a side, any side"...
I feel like Harley did it on purpose too make customers come spend their money at the Stealership because they can't, won't or don't know how to do this, or are just simply afraid of turning a wrench. (A lot of people are)
@@PotatoeJoe69 The stealerships (that's great) keep trying to convince us that if you wrench on your own bike, the warranty will be null and void. Yeah I know there is no warranty on a battery, just saying...
Great video, this really did a good job of showing the items that you are talking about while removing them. The rest of the videos people tend to post usually include vague references to parts that need to be removed. This was great
Always pull the main fuse before removing the battery or you'll have to clear a bunch of codes afterwards. Also stuff a rag or paper towel in the oil tank hole before removing the battery.
I am glad I watched your video before just going at it. This is definitely not my old Kawasaki Vulcan which was remove seat and pull out battery. What the hell was Harley thinking?!?
Agreed, but Kawasaki Vulcans don't have a mono shock blocking the battery. The engineers have to cram a lot of stuff into a small space, and that is the end result.
What the actual f*&k were Harley thinking with this design? I've owned a lot of bikes, none have been anywhere near this much of an absolute pain in the ass to get out the battery...
@@alohatatt13 Most of them come with battery tender pigtails already attached to the battery (either by H-D or the supplying dealer), it makes life a lot easier. I've got a 114 Heritage Classic and it would appear that a few of them suffer from a parasitic battery draw as I found out yesterday after 4 days not riding it....battery flat as f**k! It would have been useful on what is an otherwise very helpful vid to mention to remove the main fuse after switching on the ignition as the alarm will sound when the battery is disconnected.
Thanks a lot mate! I was lost without your video!!! I m not mechanician, and my battery failed a few days ago and my harley garage is quite far from me... so thank you really.
I so want to thank you for posting this video. You have know idea how much you saved me with this. I was used to my Pro Street Chopper were all you had to do was remove the seat release two clamps and your done. Hell...I think this video even saved my marriage.
This is why i don’t like letting the dealer work on my stuff . I had my 3 holes changed after my 1000 inspection and they left all 3 hole plugs loose. One was only turned a couple of turns exposing a lot of threads. I’m an aerospace technician and engineer . I’m very capable so I just said I’m done I’ll work on my own bike . If something fell in that engine with the oil cap off and nothing was said and the customer had problems , all because of not sticking a rag in the hole that would suck and the stem of the problem most likely would never get rooted to the stupid cause but someone would hopefully be under warranty and if not the work and time the bike being in the shop and potentially other issues from hacks doing more work , I don’t even want to think about it .
@@shamon5361 ABS and alarm are always included (non-optional) in Europe. 25% of HD (which is going to Europe) is no longer produced in the States, thanks to Trump. Which means at least 25% of the readers will face the alarm going off, when the battery is disconnected and not being able to turn it off.
Thanks for the concise video. The only things I did differently was using a flat head to help with that second rear clip, my fat fingers couldn’t get it. And I just opened the retaining clip instead of removing it, I tend to break them to often.
Great video, to the point, watched it twice and pulled my own battery from 2020fxbb. The only difference is that I didnt remove the oil cap, and battery slid out at slight angle.
This video is a good " in general " video , I have a 2023 fxbbs114 but it's the same procedure to remove the battery . There's actually more room than this video makes it seem like there is to get to the positive cable through the right cover . A magnetic Phillips head screw driver is absolutely your best friend for the positive screw . I'm not the best mechanically and I have rather larger hands and arms and got this done in about 10 minutes .
That was a pain in the butt. I kept the dipstick in until I was ready to move stuff off. Once I got to that point I removed the dipstick and took a clean sock and stuff it in so nothing would fall into the engine instead of pulling the plug that holds the wires together...I just undid the clip then undid the ABS module line. My battery didn't lift out very easily...so I used a long flat head screwdriver to push it up a little while I pulled it out. I then replaced the stock lead acid battery with a HD Lithium Ion battery. On the Low Rider S...it shaved about 12-13 lbs of weight off the bike. Clipping the battery strap into place wasn't fun. The HD Lithium battery came with some shorter bolts...I used those to attach the leads to. Before putting them on...I put the bolt through the wire head...then used a long pair of needle nose pliers to position the wire in place and a Phillips to push down on the bolt/screw and get it going. Then did final tightening with a 10mm 6 pt socket on a long extension. The tools to be used in the video were helpful. The designer of the bike...made it look nice almost like a Hardtail...but this came at the cost of an easier design to perform maintenance.
Отличная инструкция для доступа к клеммам аккумулятора, с целью подключения зарядного устройства. Спасибо автору видео👍 В противном случае уже думал снимать амортизатор для доступа сверху
Harley couldn’t make a little harder.. but thanks for this video.. i bought a power panel to make all my ad on easy to install.. so don’t have to touch that battery again.. my hands are killing me and lost skin also lol.. Harley-Davidson is probably charge 3 hours labor on a battery change
I have this bike and my question is how the hell are you suppose to hook a charger up to it if the battery dies out on a ride? That'd the 1st question that came to mind. What was harley thinking with this design?
I'm glad im not the only one that thinks the new softail battery location is rediculous. I removed the side covers and seat to hook up a maintainer and shook my head 🤦♂️ I knew I would figure it out if I wanted to but I was waiting untill I needed a new battery to just install everything at once. Figured I'd watch a video to make sure I don't take too much apart 😅
Well at first watching it I was like 🤦🏻♂️but then I noticed it only took just under 4 min. 🤙 I understand thats the only place you could actually put a battery. But knowing now how to get it done, just makes it more fun to get wrenching when the time comes to change out the battery 😁🤙
Hello, I have a Softail Standard, my problem is the battery pull out. Now I've seen you pull a strap under the battery, it's the series I don't have it. Tom
Hi. Great video. Def will help. I’m trying to get to the fuse box on a 2018 FLDE. Is it behind the battery? My battery tender is not charging and I’m being told it could be a bad fuse.
What is the max amp draw on the m8 accessory wiring kit and could this be setup to run a Kuryakyn soundbar, a denali air horn, and a dual led flag pole whip antenna kit or do additional power wire leads need to be run to the battery? I'm assuming there is a need for additional power and there is no room at all on my 2021 street bob fxbbs for a fuse box/block. Any ideas how to run additional battery power lead for multiple devices like this on my bike without creating a wiring mess in the cramped space available both fused and relayed? Could you make a tutorial or know of any available?
Can the harness be used to jump start a dead battery? I have been unable to find an attachment that can connect the harness to regular jumpstart cables.
This is such an improvement over the old design. You used to take the entire seat off; now you get to yank on all kinds of wiring and stick tools in half-blind to reach the terminals also.
Great video! Would recommend one suggestion. Might want to put a rag over the oil dipstick hole. Knowing "Murphy", something will fall into it.....Best, The Sailor
That’s exactly what I was thinking !!!
Aluminum foil impromptu cover …
Putting it back together is the hard part, for me. I would like to see the re-install.
Hey, I had to pull my battery out this weekend. Wanted to say thanks for the in depth video. Saved me a lot of trouble since I was able to prepare before starting.
Tip for anyone out there: Instead of a Phillips screwdriver, use a 10mm socket with an extension to get the screws off the battery. By doing this, you can use something like Hold-A-Gasket in the socket so can easily pull the screw out (or put it back in). Chewing gum works in a pinch too.
Put shrink wrap around your phillips to avoid spark, and use a magnet if you can.
@@loloschool I tried a magnet but the battery hardware is made out of lead
@@ricochetey yup. Just lost the nut and washer 😢 here's hoping i find it 😮
@JJ. Good luck! People have their bikes out here in MN already although I wouldn't risk it with all the salt and road debris out there quite yet
That pisses me off seeing the oil cap off while he's friggin around! Exactly why no one else ever touched my bike!
Yep, I could imagine the negative battery bolt dropping into the oil tank. Rookie video.
what a terrible mess, just to dismount a battery! it's really designed for it to be done at official dealers! Who will help themselves on the side of the road, with such a complicated process ??? what a shit !!!
@Kim R I replace my battery on 2018 fatboy in about 35 minutes
Get a Harley or noko Jump start. You also have to get the noko harness.
Definitely agreed about plugging the open hole with a rag! The new shock design is amazing but the battery access and removal must have been a last minute rush design at the 11th hour.
I think 'amazing' is stretching things a little! It's an improvement, yes, but I have to remove the seat on my Heritage just to adjust pre-load. That's crap. As is the design of the saddlebags - but that's a different gripe :)
The monoshock is outstanding!. That along with the increased lean angle on my 2019 Heritage 114, make it a comfortable and capable cornering machine. The 114 Milwaukee 8 is fast and fun!
Surely loosening all those items with the oil cap off is asking for something to fall inside the engine
When that screw fell, I almost crapped myself. Stuff a rag in there already!
Yes, I'd definitely go with the rag idea. What a faf just to remove a battery. Whoever designed that must have been a sadist.
What a bad design.
with the sidepanel off i would put the dipstick back in till it was in the way of getting the battery out
@@JUNJUN-lw2vr Bad, ahaahaha, its not rocket science ahahahahahah wanker !!
So glad I have a 2017! All those covers!
My thoughts exactly!
Video was very helpful, thanks!!! BUT who's the wonky R&D that designed this quacky of a maintenance, could have just designed it as a pull thru from the other side...WTF seriously my child could have done a better job with a crayon ( hello Harley, pls. push/put all the wiring, connector, terminals, clips, etc. to "one(1) side pick a side, any side"...
+1 ;-) surely having the monoshocks there doesn't help much but it could've been designed a lot better indeed
That is correct , they could have done better job with making the battery a little more easily accesssble..by doing what you said.
You are all missing the “ motive “ !
Take it to the dealership to the tune of $180.00 / hour .
Bla ha ha !
I feel like Harley did it on purpose too make customers come spend their money at the Stealership because they can't, won't or don't know how to do this, or are just simply afraid of turning a wrench. (A lot of people are)
@@PotatoeJoe69 The stealerships (that's great) keep trying to convince us that if you wrench on your own bike, the warranty will be null and void. Yeah I know there is no warranty on a battery, just saying...
Thanks, i had a confusing headache trying to figure out the battery setup on my new bob :P
Great video, this really did a good job of showing the items that you are talking about while removing them. The rest of the videos people tend to post usually include vague references to parts that need to be removed. This was great
Always pull the main fuse before removing the battery or you'll have to clear a bunch of codes afterwards. Also stuff a rag or paper towel in the oil tank hole before removing the battery.
Absolute life saver. Looked super overwhelming but your video made it so easy
Very helpful 👌 thank you I seen the strap but didn't know what it was for lol thank you for making this video
Very useful video, thanks for posting.
Very straight to the point video & informative like I was looking for. Thank you! 🤙🏻
Now we know why Harley came up with the lithium battery lasting four times as long as the old ones. Thanks for a nice video, ride safe.
Mine died after 10k :(
I am glad I watched your video before just going at it. This is definitely not my old Kawasaki Vulcan which was remove seat and pull out battery. What the hell was Harley thinking?!?
Agreed, but Kawasaki Vulcans don't have a mono shock blocking the battery. The engineers have to cram a lot of stuff into a small space, and that is the end result.
Thank you. This video helped me not go insane in this hot garage.
Thanks for posting this how to battery removal. Removed and replaced the battery on my 2018 Softail Slim with the help from your shop
OHHHHH there's a strap!!!!!! That made a HUGE difference!!!!
Thanks for your excellent vid!!
👍🏽👍🏽😁👍🏽👍🏽
What the actual f*&k were Harley thinking with this design? I've owned a lot of bikes, none have been anywhere near this much of an absolute pain in the ass to get out the battery...
That is what I thought also WTF?
even worse than my long gone Intruder 1400 ....
How the fuck do you hook it up to a charger? You can’t get to it
@@alohatatt13 Most of them come with battery tender pigtails already attached to the battery (either by H-D or the supplying dealer), it makes life a lot easier. I've got a 114 Heritage Classic and it would appear that a few of them suffer from a parasitic battery draw as I found out yesterday after 4 days not riding it....battery flat as f**k! It would have been useful on what is an otherwise very helpful vid to mention to remove the main fuse after switching on the ignition as the alarm will sound when the battery is disconnected.
Thanks!!! This video ruled… some other video had you taking the shock out to bring the battery straight up!!! Crazy!!
Thanks a lot mate! I was lost without your video!!! I m not mechanician, and my battery failed a few days ago and my harley garage is quite far from me... so thank you really.
I so want to thank you for posting this video. You have know idea how much you saved me with this. I was used to my Pro Street Chopper were all you had to do was remove the seat release two clamps and your done. Hell...I think this video even saved my marriage.
Video was super helpful. I’m a novice and wanted to hook up battery tender and this helped out a lot . Thanks again
Thank you for this video! Successfully pulled the battery from my 2020 Street Bob
This is why i don’t like letting the dealer work on my stuff . I had my 3 holes changed after my 1000 inspection and they left all 3 hole plugs loose. One was only turned a couple of turns exposing a lot of threads. I’m an aerospace technician and engineer . I’m very capable so I just said I’m done I’ll work on my own bike . If something fell in that engine with the oil cap off and nothing was said and the customer had problems , all because of not sticking a rag in the hole that would suck and the stem of the problem most likely would never get rooted to the stupid cause but someone would hopefully be under warranty and if not the work and time the bike being in the shop and potentially other issues from hacks doing more work , I don’t even want to think about it .
3 holes changed? What do you mean?
Thanks so much for this video. Not a job I'd want to do on the roadside!
Thanks. Left my 2020 parked for five months (on a tender). Now getting some kind of battery warning.
Yeaaa. Great help. Thanks mate. Really help me to realize that I do not need to move the entire harness on the left side. Huge Thumps up. 🤟🤟🤟💪👍
Thanx fellas. Always helpful to watch these types of videos.
perfectly executed and very helpful video, very much appreciate fellas, we need more great videos like these thank you 🙏
2023 and video helped so much. 👍🏼Legend
Great video short and to the point, very helpful
To disarm the alarm. before you start: Turn on the bike, then remove 40A fuse behind other side panel.
Congratulations,you’re the only one to mention this,probably because an alarm doesn’t come as standard on this model!
@@shamon5361 ABS and alarm are always included (non-optional) in Europe. 25% of HD (which is going to Europe) is no longer produced in the States, thanks to Trump. Which means at least 25% of the readers will face the alarm going off, when the battery is disconnected and not being able to turn it off.
That's why I tell everyone to buy a shop manual if you have never worked on a bike before Thanks for the video
Thanks for the concise video. The only things I did differently was using a flat head to help with that second rear clip, my fat fingers couldn’t get it. And I just opened the retaining clip instead of removing it, I tend to break them to often.
They've made that a lot harder.Appreciate the video 👌
best vidio on this subject i'v seen on u-tube
Thanks for this post as it made getting under the battery cover to attach a heated gear tail all the easier.
Michael G glad it helps! Thank you
Thank you for this!! Was nervous to do this myself for the first time and this video helped a ton!!
Legends, thank you, my original pissy little battery on my fxst has died after only 2 years, time for a agm upgrade
Very much appreciated. Thanks guys!
Great video, to the point, watched it twice and pulled my own battery from 2020fxbb.
The only difference is that I didnt remove the oil cap, and battery slid out at slight angle.
What battery did you put on it??
Great video buddy. Very clear and quick
Thank you for the video. I didn't have to take the dip stick out on my 2018 heritage
Great vid. I was ready to take my sawsall to the darn thing.
Ugh i so wish I would have seen this. I gave up after 2 hours. I hope the fatbob 18 is the same. I’ll try again tomorrow. Thanks for posting.
This video is a good " in general " video , I have a 2023 fxbbs114 but it's the same procedure to remove the battery . There's actually more room than this video makes it seem like there is to get to the positive cable through the right cover . A magnetic Phillips head screw driver is absolutely your best friend for the positive screw . I'm not the best mechanically and I have rather larger hands and arms and got this done in about 10 minutes .
Just needed a video to show how to remove the cover over the battery to install a 2nd heated gear plug on a 2020 fxlrs. Thanx for posting
Best video I found. Thanks
That was a pain in the butt. I kept the dipstick in until I was ready to move stuff off. Once I got to that point I removed the dipstick and took a clean sock and stuff it in so nothing would fall into the engine instead of pulling the plug that holds the wires together...I just undid the clip then undid the ABS module line. My battery didn't lift out very easily...so I used a long flat head screwdriver to push it up a little while I pulled it out. I then replaced the stock lead acid battery with a HD Lithium Ion battery. On the Low Rider S...it shaved about 12-13 lbs of weight off the bike. Clipping the battery strap into place wasn't fun. The HD Lithium battery came with some shorter bolts...I used those to attach the leads to. Before putting them on...I put the bolt through the wire head...then used a long pair of needle nose pliers to position the wire in place and a Phillips to push down on the bolt/screw and get it going. Then did final tightening with a 10mm 6 pt socket on a long extension. The tools to be used in the video were helpful. The designer of the bike...made it look nice almost like a Hardtail...but this came at the cost of an easier design to perform maintenance.
Отличная инструкция для доступа к клеммам аккумулятора, с целью подключения зарядного устройства. Спасибо автору видео👍
В противном случае уже думал снимать амортизатор для доступа сверху
This is great, I was stressing about how hard it was going to be but it seems east.
thanks~ I always wanted to know about it. helped a lot
The hardest part was putting back the cover , matching the bolt/holes
Sooo helpful thanks a lot for the video!!
Excellent! Str8 to the point, thank you.
Great video thank you very much.
good vid nice and clear ,only comment is maybe use the extension on negative terminal as to stop hitting the frame as it is someone's ride .
i have portable jump starter. im wondering where is the terminal points for positive/negative outside
Wow. That couldn't have been more difficult... jeezzzz
Harley couldn’t make a little harder.. but thanks for this video.. i bought a power panel to make all my ad on easy to install.. so don’t have to touch that battery again.. my hands are killing me and lost skin also lol.. Harley-Davidson is probably charge 3 hours labor on a battery change
That is the Whole Point of This Design.
80% of the people will have Harley change the Battery 🤬💵💵💵💵
Thank you. I did not noticed the strap until it was pointed out here. It is over engineered.
Great job! Maybe put a rag over the oil stick area so nothing falls down inside?
Does main fuse need to be pulled on non alarm models?
Hi Mike, thanks for uploading this. This was very helpful. Would you be able to do rear wheel removal video as well? Thanks
Anyone else fear a bolt dropping in the oil tube?
I don't trust myself and would have put a rag in there
what kind of battery tender should i buy for fxbb 19? thanks
"Remove plastic cover and then remove this plastic cover. Remove this plastic from that plastic."
Off to the comments! Good video but I can’t be the only one who was thinking COVER THAT HOLE AND DONT SPARK THE POSITIVE! 😂
I have this bike and my question is how the hell are you suppose to hook a charger up to it if the battery dies out on a ride? That'd the 1st question that came to mind. What was harley thinking with this design?
Thanks. Worked out great.
Great video, sure miss my Dyna!, whoever designed the placement of a battery, sure wasn't thinking.
I'm glad im not the only one that thinks the new softail battery location is rediculous. I removed the side covers and seat to hook up a maintainer and shook my head 🤦♂️ I knew I would figure it out if I wanted to but I was waiting untill I needed a new battery to just install everything at once. Figured I'd watch a video to make sure I don't take too much apart 😅
Thanks just what I needed.
Thank you! Great video!
Super helpful thank you
Now I started to miss my 2008 Dyna.
Nice info man thanks
Great demo!
Well at first watching it I was like 🤦🏻♂️but then I noticed it only took just under 4 min. 🤙 I understand thats the only place you could actually put a battery. But knowing now how to get it done, just makes it more fun to get wrenching when the time comes to change out the battery 😁🤙
😀doin this this weekend ,thanx for the vid!
Awesome. Thanks!
Thanks for helping 👍
Very useful. Thanks!
Great vid thanks
Thank you, well done.
Hello, I have a Softail Standard, my problem is the battery pull out. Now I've seen you pull a strap under the battery, it's the series I don't have it.
Tom
Thank you just what I need
Damn. Do I regret getting an ‘18 heritage
Hi. Great video. Def will help. I’m trying to get to the fuse box on a 2018 FLDE. Is it behind the battery? My battery tender is not charging and I’m being told it could be a bad fuse.
I just got a 21
.. nice machine but that's just dumb, thank you for your help man
Wow, you just really simplified this task. Thanks!
Thank you!
Thank you it is helpful.
What is the max amp draw on the m8 accessory wiring kit and could this be setup to run a Kuryakyn soundbar, a denali air horn, and a dual led flag pole whip antenna kit or do additional power wire leads need to be run to the battery? I'm assuming there is a need for additional power and there is no room at all on my 2021 street bob fxbbs for a fuse box/block.
Any ideas how to run additional battery power lead for multiple devices like this on my bike without creating a wiring mess in the cramped space available both fused and relayed?
Could you make a tutorial or know of any available?
They sure buried it. Would love to know the recommended method to jump start such a buried battery
Should never ever ever jump start motorcycles. Have to trickle charge it, replace it, or tow it.
@@victorylanefreight5294 says a towing company...
@@MGoat76 says the manufacturer. You’ll fry your stator and rectifier if you jump start ANY bike from a car or truck.
Can the harness be used to jump start a dead battery? I have been unable to find an attachment that can connect the harness to regular jumpstart cables.