The Art of Ignorance...or; How Not To Install

I bought the 4-point docking system from the dealership, as well as the detachable rack to go along with it.  It'll offer me the additional packing space needed for the longer trips.

After opening the boxes and looking at the instructions, I figured I could whip this out in no time.  Let's dig in...

First step; remove the saddle bags.  Not a problem at all, just make sure to place them gently onto the grass and make sure they're not going to fall over.

Side angle of the bike w/out the saddle bags.  Looks kinda robotic in there...

A closeup of where the the mounting brackets will go.  The fender strut has a cool feature; a removable insert to allow for the installation of the docking system.  I like the simplicity!  The quick-detach setup on the Electra Glide was way, WAY more difficult.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the insert piece was made of plastic.  Plastic??

Here is where my ignorance first reared its ugly head.  After consulting the directions several times, I was certain that I had the left and the right, correctly selected.

That doesn't seem right, though...

Look, I can't even fit the docking grommet on...the fender is in the way.

Rather than revisiting the directions, I unbolted the bracket, fitted the grommets and reinstalled the bracket.

Something still seems off...how can it be that close to the paint?

Hahaha, oh stupid me.  I had the brackets reversed.  After switching them...hey, that looks much better.

Grommets (and front spacer) are installed, lets check fitment of the luggage rack...

Uh-oh...this isn't lining up correctly.  The rack's front mounting point isn't aligning with the front grommet, it's lining up on the spacer....  Stupid Harley!!

So I switched the front grommet with the spacer and now the luggage rack lines up/attaches to both the front and the rear grommets.

But the look just didn't look right.  Having the spacer on the outside, meant the screw holding everything on that post, didn't seat flush and didn't look good.  Surely Harley had made a mistake and given me the wrong kit or something.

I noted the part numbers of both the mounting system and the luggage rack and then checked them on-line, yesterday.  Huh.  They seem to be the correct items.  So why the hell didn't things line up right?

Hey...wait a minute...  What if the front mounting point of the luggage rack was actually meant to sit on the washer?  But that would mean it was metal on metal!  Or would it?

When I got back home last night I looked again.  Nope; the front point was indeed sheathed in heavy-duty plastic.  Huh.

Swapping the front grommet and the spacer allowed everything to bolt together nicely and cleanly.

And how about that - thte luggage rack even lines up and clicks into place with the greatest of ease.

Ta-da!  Doesn't look too bad at all.

It was a bit of a humbling experience, but live and learn, right?  In my defense, the Electra Glide's tour back attached to grommets in both the front and the back, so I just assumed (don't assume!) that things would be the same on this bike.  But all is well in the world once again.

Now then - where should I head off to, now that I have the extra carrying capacity...